"Poor attitude of hospital staff"

When I arrived at A&E the staff member on reception was rude telling me it was an “emergency” department and making me feel straight away that they thought I was wasting everyone’s time. I was there because my GP told me over the phone he wouldn’t see me and there was nothing wrong despite me being in agony.

However, when I saw the doctor they were very kind and were pretty sure of their diagnosis within minutes. I was sent for a CT scan where I had to stand in the corridor waiting despite feeling faint and in considerable pain, apparently there were no porters to help me and no chairs for patients.

Back in minors I was diagnosed with kidney stones and told I needed an emergency operation. My partner left and I remained on the trolley waiting for a bed. From then on I was ignored, no offer of food or drink and nobody to check on me. Due to a very loud patient shouting for hours it was impossible to get any rest and despite shouting for help several times nobody came until another patient attracted the nurses for me.

In the early hours of the morning I was transferred to Tandridge Ward where I went to the toilets before getting into bed. The toilets were disgusting but I said nothing assuming they would be cleaned before the morning. I was given a cup of coffee and a stale sandwich, there was no choice. In the morning 9am the toilet still hadn’t been cleaned and I heard somebody else complaining.

I was told there was no cupboard for me to store anything so another patient gave me hers and put her items on the window sill. I was not allowed to see my partner when he brought a bag of clothes and wash things. He was told to go and get a lateral flow Covid test but these are not available in the hospital anywhere. He then had to make an appointment to see me. By the time he came to see me I had been moved to another ward and when he arrived they weren’t vaguely interested in his Covid test, didn’t ask him to wear a mask and he stayed several hours until I went to surgery. 

The anaesthetist told me to drink two large glasses of water but didn’t write it down and nursing staff, who I found to be rude, wouldn’t allow me to drink or take essential medication.

Surgeon and operating theatre staff were amazing but back on the ward the nursing care was appalling. Nurses didn't seem interested, one spent most of their time on their phone. I was given a stale cheese sandwich. Other patients in the room were on the phone all day speaking very loudly, this continued long into the night keeping me awake. Another patient had a massage bed that made lots of noise which also stopped me from sleeping. Nurses were very argumentative about pain relief and eventually I phoned my partner and asked him to come and take me home. The nursing staff were very difficult about me wanting to leave despite surgeon saying I could go home after the operation. I asked two nurses to phone my partner, one wrote his number down and said they would, he never received that call. I came home and have been in agony ever since. I have tried to phone the hospital but most of the time nobody at the main reception answers and I have not been given a doctor's name or extension number to contact.

I go back today in terrible pain and awful diarrhoea from the medication and thrush from antibiotics and a possible UTI for a pre-op for another op at another hospital next week. I can only hope the staff are more kind and caring this time and that the hospital next week offers a better standard of care. I am certainly not impressed with the arrogant and unkind attitude of the staff on Tandridge Ward and Nutfield Ward.