This is Care Opinion [siteRegion]. Did you want Care Opinion [usersRegionBasedOnIP]?
Care Opinion

A & E - Utter Chaos

Story from nhs.uk

"A & E - Utter Chaos"

About: Princess Alexandra Hospital (Harlow)

My family and i have never been to the PAH. It's not very nice to have to write a bad review, but the care my parents received was not very good at all. My parents were in a car accident last Tuesday. They were bought in by ambulance (very good care). My mum had a cut to the back of her head and my dad got the full impact on his right hand side. This resulted in a dislocated shoulder severe bruising and shock. Both my parents were in severe shock as were the family. As soon as my sister and i got to A & E we had trouble to find them. The corridors were stacked up with trolleys. Patients waiting for cubicles. The whole A&E is a maze of corridors that are not clearly signed so you have no idea where you are going. To cut a long story short after my dad had his shoulder put back in place ( still woozy) he was turfed out of the cubicle in to a wheelchair and wheeled off by a nurse. By the time we got our belongings we had no idea where our dad had been taken. We found him parked in front of a complete stranger in a dingy waiting room corner. My dad was only in his vest, still had a canular in his arm plus all the patches from where they were monitoring his heart and blood pressure. My dad is 74 years old. That sight made me want to cry. Where is the pride and dignity in nursing now? Finally a doctor gave my dad his pain relief and appointment card for the fracture clinic. She then proceeded to remove the canular and patches in front of everyone in the waiting room. With so many A&E departments closing down i feel this is the way things are going. Very sad indeed.

More about:
nhs.uk logo
Do you have a similar story to tell? Tell your story & make a difference ››

Responses

Response from Shahid Sardar, Head of Patient Engagement, Patient Safety and Quality, The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust 10 years ago
We are preparing to make a change
Shahid Sardar
Head of Patient Engagement, Patient Safety and Quality,
The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust

give patients a voice

Submitted on 17/03/2014 at 21:20
Published on Care Opinion at 22:06

Dear J Stokes,

It is so disappointing to read about your experience after a significant amount of work to try and improve our patient's experiences in our emergency department. It is particularly distressing to read about your experience at the end of your visit. I know that the team have been particularly busy this winter but that is no reason for the experience that you have had.

We have redesigned the space in the emergency department in order to improve the flow of patients and are in the process of improving patient information and signage so that the space does not feel so confusing. We have also established an emergency department user group composed of patients, ambulance staff, GP service staff and other users and would welcome your input if you felt this would be helpful. I know we would be happy to have your input.

Once again I really do sympathise and can read your evident distress in your comment and so have escalated your concerns to the emergency department clinical leadership team. The team are very concerned about what has happened and wish to make contact as soon as you are ready. So, if you are willing please call us on (01279) 827084 and we will do everything we can to assist.

  • {{helpful}} {{helpful == 1 ? "person thinks" : "people think"}} this response is helpful
Response from Princess Alexandra Hospital 10 years ago
Princess Alexandra Hospital

Submitted on 18/03/2014 at 10:50
Published on nhs.uk on 19/03/2014 at 03:00

Dear J Stokes, It is so disappointing to read about your parents' experience after a significant amount of work to try and improve our patient's experiences in our Emergency Department. It is particularly distressing to read about your experience at the end of your visit. I know that the team have been particularly busy this winter but that is no reason for the experience that you have had. We believe in providing care to a standard and of a quality which we would accept for our loved ones. We have done some work to improve Emergency Department with a redesigned space to improve the flow of patients and we are in the process of improving patient information and signage so that the space does not feel so confusing. We have also have an established Emergency Department user group composed of patients, ambulance staff, GP services and other users and would welcome your input if you felt this would be helpful. I know the team here would be happy to have your input. Once again I really do sympathise and can read your evident distress in your comment and so have escalated your concerns to the emergency department clinical leadership team. The team are very concerned about what has happened and wish to make contact as soon as you are ready. So, if you are willing please call us on (01279) 827084 and we will do everything we can to assist.

  • {{helpful}} {{helpful == 1 ? "person thinks" : "people think"}} this response is helpful
Opinions
Next Response j
Previous Response k