"The building"

What I liked

The building

What could be improved

Number of staff

Attitude of staff

Communication

Transport home - had to wait 9 hours

Anything else?

When my father (aged 87) was first admitted to hospital, he was able to take himself to and from the toilet. He could attend to his own hygiene, washing, dentures etc.

After nearly 6 weeks in hospital (and twice being discharged and immediately re-admitted), he is depressed, doubly incontinent and unable to walk more than a few steps even with a frame.

It's juts not right when a man who fought in World War II, helped to liberate prisoner of war camps, managed a business for 30 years and, until recently, cared for his disabled wife is reduced to tears at the thought of going into a place which is meant to help him, not torture him.

Every time I visited, my father would say, ‘Thank God you’re here. I only feel safe when you’re here.’

Two staff in particular were very kind and helpful – but speaking to them they were totally unhappy with the way they have to work, saying that there is just no time to spend doing proper nursing. To sit and talk with elderly patients and to reassure them. Many patients are confused or depressed and they have seen the way they deteriorate during their stay in hospital. These staff have told me they are considering leaving the hospital because they are so unhappy. When I said I would be raising issues with the hospital, they said, please do because they never listen to us. We are so understaffed and the patients are suffering because of it.

During one night, my father tripped over on his way to the toilet. After that he was told he could not go on his own and had to be accompanied. He was told to press the call button when he needed to go. This, he did, but due to the delay in staff reaching him, sometimes as much as 30 minutes, he could not hold on. Wearing pads became and easier option for the staff, but this meant they told him ‘don’t worry, just do it in the pad’. My father, like many, is a proud man and became very depressed at this.

Barnet Hospital is a great a advert for taking out private health insurance!