"Communication urgently needs to improve"

After an emergency admission on Monday, my daughter was finally scanned yesterday for a suspected blood clot - a life-threatening matter, or so we were told. During her stay, the level of communication with her has been woeful. The consultant who saw her this morning with the results was astonished that she had waited all this time for a scan. Waiting per se has not been the issue: everyone appreciates that there is pressure on resources. But to be left with no information about what is happening and why for days on end merely leaves patients feeling uncertain and unnerved. In my daughter's case, such feelings mounted into unacceptable levels of anxiety - and when she expressed her dissatisfaction, in de-fused and reasonable terms - she was told she was being rude. The lack of empathy was astonishing - and makes a mockery of the glib corporate notices about improving customer care. Please, please attend to communication as a matter of urgency. Regular updates - if only to explain that there are unavoidable delays - are really necessary for managing patients' expectations and therefore their stress.