"Fantastic spinal consultants, terrible layout..."

I rate the hospital as terrible, but the staff as five stars.

I need to give a bit of background information about North Tees before reviewing James Cook, as it's important to know why I actually swapped.

I was the victim of medical negligence at North Tees Hospital. 5 months after submitting my complaints, I have yet to have a single formal response. Basically, the consultant could not be bothered to help me with a spinal injury dating back to 2004 & they discharged me knowing I was in agony & virtually immobile. As I'd expressed concerns about a discectomy they were due to perform, the consultant cancelled my surgery, stating that it would not help me (when they'd previously told me it would & I'd signed consent forms & had pre-assessment). Every time I visited the same consultant, they'd contradict what they'd previously told me. The main examples are offering me surgery, then telling me surgery won't help me when I question the success rates. Another example is telling me on 3 different occasions that my groin pain is due to a compressed part of the sciatic nerve, then telling me it isn't & never investigating why it hurts there. The only reason they cancelled the surgery is because I expressed concerns about the op, & the consultant was too worried about complications & potential complaints from me if they messed up.

I therefore asked to be referred to James Cook. I visited 22 August 2017. The spinal surgeon at James Cook was absolutely brilliant. Very polite, professional & helpful.

The surgeon at James Cook offered me 3 options which North Tees failed to offer, but which they most definitely should have offered.

James Cook's consultant offered me a nerve root blocker injection to try & ease the back/sciatic nerve pain. They offered me scans of my hips, stating that groin pain's often down to hip problems. Finally, they offered me the same surgery that North Tees 1st offered me but reneged upon, if the nerve root blocker does not succeed.

After 13 years of agony & constant mistakes & negligence at North Tees, I have a renewed sense of hope that I might have a chance of finally being mobile again & not having to take Morphine like Smarties anymore. I finally feel positive.

Even if the treatments fail, at least James Cook Hospital tried, rather than fobbing me off like North Tees. The treatment at the 2 hospitals were complete polar opposites of each other.

James Cook Hospital itself is a nightmare. The hospital is gigantic, but the available parking is appalling. No matter the day or time, the car parks are always full. Disabled bays are few & far between & taken by people who do not display a Blue Badge. I had to walk 20 mins to get to the department & 20 mins back, with a spinal injury as we had to park miles away. People park outside of bays, anywhere they can, because of a woefully inadequate amount of parking. Then you are charged for the privilege of having to park 40 mins round trip away!

This results in stress & pain!