After three rather torrid days in bed last week our GP arranged a bed for me in the Medical Assessment Ward at UHNS and an ambulance to get me there. That was a good choice because at the time A&E had closed its doors and ambulances were queuing down the road.

A checkover by the Assessment Consultant confirmed I had a bad UTI with a temperature nudging 40C and would be treated by the only NHS approved non penicillin based intravenous antibiotic three times a day for at least two days. After that Microbiology said it would be OK to go home with an oral antibiotic for another week.

11pm that night I was transferred next door to Bay 2 of the Short Stay Ward and within an hour or so of them pumping the first dose into my vein things improved, though from the smell of the stuff I'm sure it was really varnish they were using.

At various times I shared my 6 man Bay with Arthur, who could hardly walk but kept on toddling off to the loo without his walking frame with the rest of us in chorus calling the nurse and shouting at him to stop before he fell. One time he even tied to wrest the open Bay door off its hinges as his addled brain thought it was the loo door. We also watched sadly as his family broke the news to him that he was having to go into a home. Afterwards he was in tears, but in it all he never said a word to any of us.

Beside Arthur was another guy who was bed ridden and in a bad way and three of us had to watch the sad, sad visit by his family as they made what they had been warned was possibly their last visit.

There was another guy in the corner who was possibly the most grouchy bloke I've ever met, but under it all was a lonely widower with a strong line in irony. Another guy was an octogenarian retired ex sergeant major who had terrible lung and leg problems but once they gave him crutches he made regular sorties outside for a fag. In this he was usually accompanied by the younger chap in the bed next to me, a diabetic alcoholic who'd been spewing blood the day they brought him in.

Added to that group were two late arrivals, one a very young drug addict in terrible pain who was told by the consultant that he needed at least three weeks in hospital to sort out all his medical problems, but I suspect the staff felt he'd hop it before that. The other was a slightly older addict who was having problems balancing the demands of an overbearing Col. Blimp type father and his pretty boy partner who was hanging about outside the ward.

I'm v glad to be back in my nice, calm, safe home.

Those NHS staff members deserves medals for what they have to deal with.

pleased your on mend

Bet you were so relieved to be back home Andy, wishing you a speedy recovery. Ellen.

All the breast Andy and you have almost mirrored and put in words the bulk of my bed stay in a ward in the RHCH Winchester for a long time last year.

The NHS are blooming brilliant and when I hear of the financial issues with them it makes me weep when I was told that when I have finished with my aircastboot, I simply bin it!!! If you google these to buy one they are about £80.

Very best wishes Andy - your blog/draft book was one of the things that grew my interest in Eribas

Thanks for the good wishes all, at present the cure is almost worse than the disease, if you know what I mean. The oral antibiotics are making me feel carp. Still only another 5 days to go.

There is one thing I can't forgive hospital routine for though. Waking me up at 6am to stick a needle in my arm for blood testing and pushing pills down my throat way BEFORE the first cup of tea, that's just not right and is bordering on taking the 'u' (as in UTI). What right minded institution does ANYTHING before an early morning cup of tea, it's sacrilege and probably against the Human Rights Act AND UN Charter.

We worked out that we'd been awake for 2.5 hours before the tea trolley hove into view of a morning, just as the luxury breakfast was being served. That is just plain WRONG in the wrongest degree of wrongness. One guy suggested we have flasks and ask for them to be filled at the 8.30 tea session, again a ridiculously early last hot drink time, then we could have a 10.30 and a 6am brew.

Hi Andy hope you are on the mend ,best wishes .

Yes the waking and needle, plus arm grip are not on, but I've never been one for botherig about early morning tea, but found that I needed something like that to fill the darned time till brekkers if nothing else.

I've had a couple of brief stays in hospitals , I always got the ward with a noisy bed neighbour. All night long they would be shouting and swearing and then in the day time they sleep like a baby....
I needed a rest when I got home.

I know people generally frown upon the suggestion that you go private but in my experience of three fairly recent hospital stays it could be worth it to get some decent rest. I can't believe that such a high percentage of folk normally spend such noisy nights, or do they put it on specially for hospital? I bet those folk that frown upon private treatment have never spent time in a normal NHS ward.

Incidentally, the staff were telling me that the wards in the new part of UHNS (shortly to become Royal Stoke University Hospital - RSUH) have four bed bays and ensuite facilities.