"The standards of care"

My wife had a fall and attended Sunderland royal hospital. Our local hospital is south tyneside and we have always had excellent treatment there. Most recently my wife had a fall a few weeks ago and was in south tyneside for a few hours.

What a difference in the standards of care we received between the 2 departments. My wife advised nothing is too much trouble for the staff at south tyneside, on her last visit she was given something to eat, regular hot drinks and staff were friendly, chatty and funny, including her in conversations and making her at ease with the situation. Waiting times were explained to her by the nurse in charge who was funny and extremely down to earth. My wife advised nothing was an issue for them and if she needed the toilet, her needs were attended to as quickly as possible.

On attending Sunderland royal she was dumped in a room and left for several hours waiting to be seen. She said the nurses were dour, constantly complaining about how busy they were and abrupt. Bloods were taken by a nurse who didn’t wear gloves or wash their hands.She asked for assistance to the toilet and was ignored. She asked for a glass of water and was ignored. She had her scan and then had a 5 minute discussion with a doctor who said she could go. Blood results were not discussed or explained. My wife said it was like the doctor wanted her out of there as quickly as possible. My wife left after 5 hours and wasn’t given anything to eat or drink despite being diabetic. She asked for assistance to the toilet and was ignored. The journey home was awful for her as she was desperate for the toilet l. The indignity is appalling.

We both wish instead of going to sunderland, which was the nearest hospital when she had her fall, that we had travelled to south tyneside. Both departments were busy at the time she attended. Yet the standard of care we received was vastly different.

The staff at Sunderland hospital did not show enough empathy and compassion. Well done south tyneside. Sunderland - hang your heads in shame.