"Would have been so helpful if I had been referred"

I had a right side mastectomy and then a further Axillary clearance at Wishaw General Hospital. My impression of the procedures done and aftercare was excellent.  However I was struggling to get there to get dressings changed etc after large amounts of fluid leaking from a Seroma.  It was mentioned that I could contact my GP practice for help with the dressings.

I did that and was told that the GP practice do not do that sort of thing any more, and that I should contact the Treatment Room and was given a number.

I was given an appointment quickly and saw nurse Dawn. She was quite appalled at the look of the dressing/amount of fluid that had leaked to the dressing. Dawn cleared it up and dressed it really well - I felt comfortable that my wound would last until the next appointment. However Dawn told me about the District Nurses and made sure I had the numbers for them (including one that had an answering machine) so that I could phone them if it was outside of the Treatment Room hours, or NHS 24. I felt so comfortable that I had people that I could reach when I needed them, and that I had been given a little independence back instead of having to rely on others to get me to Wishaw. Nurse Dawn gave me that, and I will be forever grateful for the care she, and the other nurses, are giving me.

I didn't know anything about the Treatment Room, and it doesn't seem like the Wishaw team knew about them either. 

It would have been so helpful if I had been referred to them from the Wishaw team so that I could have seen someone much earlier.

From a patients point of view, it seems that the Treatment Room (and I assume there are others for other areas) does not have a high profile, yet I found the provision of care to be second to none. As a result of my experiences, I would request that some sort of communication is circulated within the hospitals to remind them of the Treatment Room and that they have taken over the functions that the GP practice nurses used to do. Perhaps a leaflet to give to patients leaving hospitals with wounds that can direct them to the Treatment Room if required would be helpful. I know that this all costs money, but the help to make sure patients know about this service must surely outweigh that.

Can I reiterate that my care at Wishaw General and also the Treatment Room were both second to none. It would however have helped me immensely if I had been advised of the Treatment Room on discharge from the hospital.

Many thanks.