"A & E Excellent, Ward 24 Not so Good"

Mum was admitted to A and E as an emergency. The staff there were amazing, nurses, student nurses, Drs, HCAs and paramedics, all working under a lot of pressure and facing a lot of abuse from certain patients and their relatives. When I arrived the dept was overflowing, I was taken to Resus and advised that Mums condition was critical and there was a possibility that she wouldn't make it through the night. I was kept updated with all her tretatment.

Due to the excellent care she received, she survived and was transferred onto Ward 24.

Ward 24 is an entirely different matter. I had to ask on 5 occasions to speak to a Dr. Eventually got to speak to someone after Mum had been there for 2 weeks. Mum struggles to understand, she said they don't explain her treatment and she is scared. Yesterday there was a dirty towel under Mums bed, (not hers), and a cardboard urinal on her table (again obviously not hers), and she was sitting in a dirty, bloodstained nightdress.

This leads me on to the car parking. I never had a problem getting parked, but £3 for over 20 minutes is ridiculous. Due to Hartlepool hospital closing ward by ward, I am faced with a 50 mile round trip just to get to North Tees, as well as the car parking costs.

Totally the wrong decision to close Hartlepool.