Anyone have their surgery at Toronto East General?

I'm home from surgery at Toronto General last Wednesday. I had the worst experience with the nursing staff both in the recovery room and on the 5th floor. There was very very little help, so bad in fact the tv rental lady went and found me some ice and water. I'm just wondering if anyone else experienced the lack of compassion at this hospital that I did?

Yes I was.Pretty much but a lot of nurses from any hospitals r too busy to help so my hubby always stays as much as he can. Even the nurses always say hes such a help cuz a lot can't be bothered at all.

Sorry to hear about your experience.  I was lucky to have my husband with me but do agree, some nurses were more approachable and helpful than others.  There was actually quite a big contrast between them.  I was fine during the day, but nights were long, with little to no support.  Other than extreme nausea, I had no major issues so considered myself lucky.  I was very happy to go home but do appreciate the nurses that were very helpful and took the time to show that they did care.

That's too bad to hear. The program was new when I was in, and didn't even have proper sheets to fit the big bariatric bed. My upper body lay on the cold plastic for my stay, as the non-fitted sheet kept falling down. The staff didn't quite get what to do with me and I was given full sugar jello. I wasn't a good advocate for myself on OxyContin so I ate it and had a bad reaction.

I had hoped they improved by now. let them know your experience. It might help others in the future!

I had my surgery at Toronto East General Sept 2. There were young girls going around at night to see if you needed water. During the day they gave me a pitcher of water and when I needed a refill they had psw's on the floor that would go and ge****er towels face cloths. They also he'd PSW's that would help during the night if you had to use the washroom. I guess I was lucky. I thought for an old hospital they were very organized. 

The he only thing I thought was strange is I had different nurses than the other women that was in the same room with me. That was a little confusing. But the nursing staff I had were awesome..

Wow, I'm surprised and sorry to hear this. I had my surgery at TEGH two years ago and everyone was really fantastic, especially the nursing staff.

Before my surgery while I was prepped and waiting outside the operating room to be brought in (and very scared - never had surgery before), the anaesthesiologist came out and kindly introduced himself to me and asked me if I had any questions - he said he would see me in the room as well, but he would be wearing a mask so he wanted to introduce himself first without it since some people find that intimidating.

After the surgery in the recovery area, I don't remember much because I was in a fog of morphine, but the orderly who took me from recovery to my room on the 5th floor was lovely - he was chatty, put me at ease, made jokes that made me smile, and handled the awkwardness of transferring me from stretcher to bed (which was difficult since I was over 300 lbs and I had to help) matter-of-factly and without embarrassing me.

The nurses who were assigned to me were very helpful over the next couple of days. No mess-ups on my menu like Kelly describes, thank goodness. However, for the rest of the day of my surgery, I wasn't allowed to have anything at all, not even water, and I was so thirsty I was parched! I thought maybe it was because I was on morphine that first day of surgery and they didn't want me to vomit?  Anyhow, the nurses came when I rang, helped me to and from the washroom throughout the evening and middle of the night (I was able to go on my own the next day, thank goodness), and were friendly when they came in.

The only complaint I had was that they didn't bring my pain meds regularly - I had to request them, and by the time I knew I needed them, I was already in pain again. I thought it would make more sense for them to bring them on a schedule so that I didn't fall back into pain. So the morning after my surgery when I was more lucid (and they took me off morphine and started me on percocets), I found out from them what the minimum dosage schedule was, and then half an hour before the next dose was due, I rang like clockwork, and requested more meds (since it took them some time to get the drugs and approval for the next dose). So that worked out. And they were nice about it.

I realized later that percocets are actually oxycodone (I didn't know this, not having been hospitalized or needed major painkillers before), and so I'm thinking the reason for their reluctance to give it to me automatically on a schedule without me asking for it is because oxy is highly addictive, so maybe they wanted to make sure people only get what they absolutely need. I don't know. In any case, I got a prescription for 40 pills to take home the next day, and when I found out it was oxycodone at the pharmacy, I was very nervous about that and used them sparingly at home and weaned myself off them quickly before I'd even had ten of them, and then realized I was exercising the same caution that the nurses were in the hospital!  I brought the rest back to the pharmacy for them to dispose of a few weeks after surgery. Some friends and family and I joked about the resale value of them on the street...could've paid for plastics! LOL.

That said, I did have to be admitted a few months ago because of stomach pains that they wanted to observe overnight, and I did notice that the breakfast the next morning was not at all WLS-friendly, even though it was in my charts that I was a gastric bypass patient (in fact, that's why they kept me overnight to observe me and run tests the next day, just to be on the safe side).  I forget what the breakfast was exactly now but it was full of sugar and carbs. I think a muffin and something else. And then lunch was mac and cheese and that canned fruit salad packed in sweetened juice for dessert. Hardly any protein and packed with carbs and sugar. So that wasn't very helpful. If I'm ever admitted again I will have to make it very clear that I'm hypoglycemic and will need whatever diet they give to diabetics.

Anyhow, again, I'm sorry you had such a poor experience there. Most people I've talked to in my neighbourhood (I live near TEGH) tell me their experiences there have been very good, and my other experiences at that hospital have been wonderful during very stressful times. Before he met me, my husband also had the experience of a family member who spent her last several months before her death as an inpatient at TEGH, and he says her care was top-notch.