"Disgraceful care at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Glasgow"

Dear Sirs

My mother has been suffering breathing issues and severe chest pain for over a week. I had to get an emergency appointment for my mother due to her breathing. Her GP prescribed anti bio Doxycycline 100mg one a day with 8 steroid tablets for a week, but did say she was border line for going into hospital. But for a week I was to keep an eye on my mum during this time and report back to the GP. My mums GP is an excellent doctor very knowledgeable. By the Friday my mum was concerning me so much that I contacted her GP and spoke to them where we agreed to get her an xray which I took her to The Vale of Leven in Balloch with a letter from her GP. The next day her GP seen her again and after assessing her they suggested that my mum go into hospital that day as her breathing was 30 breaths per minute and in a lot of chest pain, also exhausted and stressed due to her illness. Her GP said they would call the hospital Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Govan Glasgow to get her admitted but was told she would have to come to the acute assessment department in the Queen Elizabeth Hospital first before they would consider admitting her.

We got to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital just after 12pm that day which I had my mum in her wheel chair. Went to reception in the acute assessment department and the receptionist there just ignored us but know I was there eventually they acknowledge me with an unpleasant look. I explained that my mother’s GP had sent us over and handed over the GP letter. We were then told by the receptionist to take a seat over in the corridor, which was not accessible for wheel chairs which we had to stand near an entrance door and move every time someone was been wheeled in and out of the corridor or medical staff needed through the doors.

After about 30 minutes a very pleasant nurse came to take my mother’s bp, after another wait my mother was taken into a room by two nurses and put on the bed where they did an ECG test and the other nurse put a cannula into her arm. During this time the two nurses explained everything step by step to my mum what they were doing, have to say they treated her like a human being while making her comfortable throughout this. After which I was told to go back to the waiting area.

After about 2 hours my mother’s name was called by a doctor. I wheeled her into the cubical with the doctor who then asked my mum in an abrupt and forceful manner what was wrong with her. My mum who was finding it hard to breathe never mind talking, she tried to explained the best she could. Seeing her in so much distress I intervened which the doctor seem to take a dislike to. I explained what had happened over the last week and why her GP sent her to the hospital even although her GP explained all this in his letter and form. The doctor then asked me does my mother smoke which I replied yes and how many a day, I felt the doctor then made the decision to dismiss her from the hospital before any examinations. At that point I felt total disgusted with the treatment from this doctor, I believe if she was a drug addict or alcoholic she would have been give better care.

The next thing my mum was screaming in pain as the junior doctor put a needle in her hand not explaining what was happening the doctor in charge I was talking to then took over as they were trying to get fluid from her hand bone which you can imagine would be sore but they could have warned us and treated her as a human being not as a piece of meat and the degrading way they dealt with my mum. You can image by then my mum was in such a state of distress the next thing the doctor asked her more questions that she couldn’t answer which I did for her and seem to be snubbed for answering by the doctor in charge. The doctor in charge then asked about the pain in the chest which the doctor then proceed to abruptly push any mum’s chest where she let out a yelp that it was sore. We were then told to take another seat in the waiting corridor while the doctor got the blood results back. By this time my mum just wanted to go home she was in so much distress that I had to calm her down and everyone who was in that waiting area could not believe the state my mum was left in.

After another 90 minutes we were called by a junior doctor who was about to take us into a room to discuss my mums condition but ended up discussing her medical condition in the corridor full of patients and members of the public and staff while the doctor in charge stood in the cubical area corridor about 20 feet away. The junior doctor explained in front of everyone that they had the blood work back and had a look at the xrays which they showed no problems and it was anxiety.

I could not believe what I was told and by then my mum was in total distress. As you can imagine I was very angry at this whereby I asked the junior doctor to get the cannula out of my mother’s arm now so I could take her to a hospital that will treat her correctly. The junior doctor was taken aback which I did say if they didn’t take it out now I would take my mother home and I would do it as I work in a medical company. We went back to the corridor to get her bags and coat, by that time some of the nurses came concerned of what was going on, just then the junior doctor came and took her to a cubical to remove the cannula, which we then went home in such a distress state that she refuses ever to go back to the Queen Elizabeth hospital.

I am not in a habit of complaining but this was totally out of order 7 medical staff in the hospital seen my mum that day, including the medical receptionist and only 3 of them treated a 72 years old women like a human being.

Her GP as I said is very good at what they do they would have not sent her to the hospital which they tried to get her admitted if they thought she did not need it, they're not a time waster and neither am I as I work too which I took the day off that day. All we tried to do is get my mum treatment but all we got was disgusting treatment.