"Delayed Diagnosis"

My Mother has been in hospital 1 week today, she was admitted after receiving worrying blood test results from her GP last Tuesday, she was in hospital on the Thursday. After being turned away from A&E the following Sunday.

During her first 4 days, without even knowing what is wrong with her, she was moved to a different ward 4 times, all the while feeling unwell, and anxious.

My mother was due an MRI scan on the Friday morning, but due to the hours worked by the Dr's who conduct the MRI scan, she was not able to be seen that day, and so she spent all weekend in hospital, when she could have been comfortable at home.

The MRI scan was conducted on Monday morning, before which the dye was injected under the skin instead of into the vein, causing my Mother unbearable pain and discomfort in her hand, the Dr had to "squeeze" the dye back through the needle hole!

She then had to wait a further 48 hours for results, as the Dr didn't have time to see her before his shift finished at 5 o'clock! What a nerve wracking time that was! It turns out it was bad news, there is a growth, and there is a high chance it is cancerous. So he told her she would be having a Biopsy today, I phoned my mother this morning to wish her luck and not to worry, to which she responded, "They forgot to put me on the list! ".

This is on going, my mother could be in stage 1 or 2 for all they know, and may need treatment to start with immediate effect.

Not forgetting that in amongst all of this, a very careless porter turned up on her ward with a wheelchair and called her name, and made an inappropriate comment. My mother almost passed out. It turned out that the patient he was looking for was on a different ward and not my Mother.

I am absolutely bewildered by the lack of care, empathy and understanding of the staff at this hospital. It is a Joke! My poor mother is terrified, all my family are on edge, and I have had enough. All we need is to know what we are dealing with. That is not too much to ask.

If the Dr's worked shifts instead of flouncing around between office hours, we would not have this problem. Somebody could have seen her sooner, somebody else could have made sure she was on the list for biopsy.

They are messing with people's lives!