"One member of staff was helpful and..."

What I liked

One member of staff was helpful and interested (which was an unusual attribute in comparison to others working there) but this did not change the overrall experience of waiting ALL DAY from 7am to 7pm when the surgery was supposed to be an AM appointment!!

What could be improved

I have a comment about the Same Day Admissions Unit at Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow.

It is a chaotic place to be. A family member was admitted to this area at 7am for a morning procedure (nil by mouth since midnight). She was not sent into surgery until 7pm ! Nil by mouth all day, totally dehydrated and hardly able to walk into surgery.

Two members of the staff in attendance that day in SDA were surly and unhelpful. One member of staff when asked to do something on the phone stated, and I quote, ''I'll do it but in my own sweet time'' !. Her attitude was consistent in this. When I asked her (nicely) to turn the aircon off as it was freezing, and patients were sitting around in dressing gowns for hours on end, she hardly acknowledged me.

Same Day Admissions closes every day at 2.30pm and yet there were about 6 patients still waiting to go into theatre. According to one staff member, this is a regular occurrence.

These patients end up going into theatre mal-nourished, dehydrated and feeling weak and unwell - and this is before the surgery takes place !! Ridiculous and requires improvement asap. You would not run a business like it!