"My past experiences of NHS hospitals and..."

What I liked

My past experiences of NHS hospitals and staff have been pleasurable and I have always been full of praise. The doctors and nurses I saw this time were impressive and I expect sometimes they could weep with frustration at what has happened to their service.

What could be improved

Theatre admissions was a shambles - why every man and his dog is allowed into the waiting area, I have no idea! This meant that there were not enough seats for the people actually waiting for surgery and the area became very cluttered with bags, people, sticks, walking frames and wheelchairs. I felt very sorry for the more elderly people who must have feared tripping and falling. The section where patients are seen by the doctors/nurses is no more than a curtained off area next to the seating and whether you wanted to know or not you couldn't help but hear all the intimate details of each patient - when did you last have a wee/use your bowels etc! It doesn't matter but it surely could be handled a little more sensitively?

And why call everyone for early appointments and keep them waiting all day - from 7:50am admission, I got to theatre at 12:45pm.

Anything else?

The most depressing part of the visit was being taken to the xray department by a porter. On previous visits to other hospitals (probably in the time when porters were part of the hospital staff, not a service that is contracted out) porters were always reassuring, kind and caring. They would have a cheerful word - "take care, there's a bit of a bump coming up...." etc, they would treat you as a person and you felt looked after. The porter here was listening to their mp3 player. They said no word to me at all and when we entered the lift I had to gaze at the rear wall - I couldn't see, but I bet they faced the door! I waited 40 minutes for them to return - I wasn't too surprised when I realised that it was 10:30 - tea time, I expect. On the way back to the theatre admissions, I was wheeled into a lift next to a large industrial size wheelie bin and left facing the back wall while the porter chatted to a mate about Christmas working times! Needless to say, I didn't feel of any more value than the rubbish I had to travel with!