"I have read the previous comments ..."

What I liked

I have read the previous comments about this hospital and wholeheartedly agree that there are many positive comments that can be made. Most staff are kind, friendly and willing to help and there is a choice of food and if a meal is missed or you are hungry then the kitchens are most helpful. The hand wash is in a prominent place but no-one monitors that visitors use this and I saw many visitors who didn't bother.

What could be improved

A major issue for any patient who is immobile is that a buzzer is answered quickly and that staff help patients to the toilet when requested, unfortunately this doesn't always happen. Buzzers are left to ring and ring, this is very distressing for whoever wants assistance and very annoying for the rest of the often poorly patients in the ward. This really isn't good for any patients dignity, I couldn't get out of bed myself unassisted to get to the toilet, I was in agony trying to hold on and finally had no option to wet the bed as I just couldn't hold on any longer. The nurses just seemed to be all to accepting of the fact that they had to change yet another wet bed, rather than respond to the buzzer in the first place. This happened to all of the patients in my ward and there was much discussion amongst the other patients and their visitors as to why this should be happening.When my Sister went to ask why the buzzer wasn't being answered she was made to feel as though she was a big irritation.The buzzer could have been answered promptly and nursing staff could save many hours of time by not having to change wet beds. Sometimes staff are just talking at the nursing station and just ignore the buzzers and they have no way of knowing until it is answered if it is for a toilet call or a genuine emergency.

Anything else?

Visitors often have difficulty in parking as the car parking at the front of the hospital often seems to be taken up by nursing staff who could park at the staff parking at the back of the hospital.