"The Pain Management Team are excellent, ..."

What I liked

The Pain Management Team are excellent, but very very understaffed. They do try their best and visited me regularly during my last few surgical visits.

The Day Surgery Ward has great staff and I have not had any problems here.

The Audiology Dept are absolutely fantastic, the audiology technicians are always happy, helpful and very knowledgeable.

What could be improved

This is my local hospital, I have had several admissions over the last 7 years and to be honest I am scared to ever go back. Seven years ago, this hospital was a nice, safe and competent place to be cared for. However now it feels like it is the worst hospital around.

It feels that noone pays any attention to known problems and past medical history.

I would go as far as to say certain surgeons are too arrogant and will ignore any advice given to them by patients GPs who have a much closer and long term knowledge and relationship with their patients. They treat patients like idiots and don't show much caring at all.

Infection control is appalling and if you are one of the poor souls that gets MRSA they don't care about isolation on many wards. When I told a nurse on the new AAU that I had MRSA infected wounds her response was that they wouldn't isolate me as "its everywhere anyway". Then when I was transferred to a new ward they were not told I was infected and it caused chaos. But then if you observe the staff you will see just why infection is rife here.

A couple of examples - the walls of isolation rooms are often covered in blood spatter which is NEVER removed. I questioned a domestic who told me they don't clean walls, only floors and tables.

Some nurses will happily stand on patients beds (WITH their shoes on) to open/close windows instead of finding a pole.

I have been left with blood soiled sheets for 48 hours or more and the sheets were only changed when I called in a night manager...

They do procedures on your bed, which involves blood loss and in one instance an abscess being lanced, yet they do not clean up the equipment, your bedsheets or the patient.

Even medication is an area they struggle with. If you don't take your own medication in with you, it can be 3 or more days before you get all you tablets provided. I have regularly been given the wrong tablets by nurses during the drug round, even to the extent of giving me medication that would have put me into anaphylactic shock and possibly KILL me!

When you raise it with the nurses they laugh it off and it happens again and again..

HCAs and bank staff try to operate technology they are incapable of working, even blood sugar testing is beyond many. There are far far too many things to include here.

Overall, my one comment is this - Admission to this hospital basically needs the patient to look out for their own health!