"Bad experience at Stoke Mandeville Hospital"

Disappointingly I have had a bad experience with Stoke Mandeville Hospital. My father is in his 90s and fell at home; we called an ambulance and he was taken to Stoke Mandeville Hospital. The good news is that in less than 24 hours he was discharged, very sore and bruised but with nothing broken. Most of the staff I talked to were fantastic however the way everything is organised and managed is shambolic. I seriously wonder if there is anyone managing this hospital.

I was told to call A&E after 4 hours but, in my experience, they almost never answer the phone or the phone rings for 10 minutes and then ends the call with a message 'sorry no-one is available'. Over a period of 5 hours, starting at 08.30 in the morning, I rang 9 times and I only got through once. When I did I was immediately put on hold for 5 minutes as 'all the computer systems had gone down'. Answering a phone does not require a Doctor or Nurse, just an administrator to give the most basic information.

When you are trying to find information on an elderly parent this is really distressing. All I needed was some to tell me he had been admitted and was being assessed. Then I eventually got a call saying I could come and collect him, and there was a bizarre system which required me to queue with the A&E patients to say I was there and then wait with them until my father came out. In total I had to wait nearly an hour in this crowded area which seems to be a bit crazy given I was told he was ready and the current Covid situation.

Then when he did appear he was limping along on the arm of a nurse.  I asked how he was expected to walk all the way to the car park and they said I could go and get my car and drive up to the A&E entrance which would have been crazy as it is a single lane being used uniquely by ambulances not to mention this would have required him climbing over the barrier specifically designed to prevent this. So they reluctantly went and got a wheelchair whilst both of us waited in the crowded A&E waiting area.   

At the end of August last year my father had to go to Wexham Park Hospital following a similar fall and we had a fantastic experience. I was called by a Doctor or Nurse several times during the 12 hours he was in the hospital and when he was discharged they told me to let them know when I arrived and to wait outside (to minimise the Covid risk). Then a porter wheeled him out and took him all the way to my car in the car park. I do understand that the NHS is under massive pressure due to Covid-19 and that all the staff are working incredibly hard but that was also the case last August. Stoke Mandeville appear to be creating problems due to poor management.