"Disappointed - Lack of dignity and bad..."

My GP advised me that I was referred here for treatment of a specific issue that I have suffered with for some time.

It is sad to say that everything seemed very disorganised from start to finish; the best part was being discharged. I received a health questionnaire through the post 4 days before the procedure which advised me to return it in the 'pre paid envelope' and that failure to do so would mean that they would not be able to undertake the procedure. No pre-paid envelope was enclosed, and with it being so close to the date of my procedure, I had to pay £6 to post it special delivery to ensure that it arrived on time. When I arrived, the person at the front desk said they hadn't received it and would need to complete one in the waiting room. When I specified it was special delivery, so I KNEW that they had received it, they miraculously found it. Yet, with the offer of completing one while I wait, it made me wonder why I had been advised in my letter that failure to return it in time would mean I would not be able to undergo the procedure, since this was obviously not true? So I wasted my time and money.

My appointment letter stated one admission time, which was then crossed out and an earlier time was written next to it in biro. So of course, I went in for the earlier time. I needn't have, since I was waiting up until the original, later appointment time. What a mess.

Then when I was finally called in for pre assessment, I discovered that the hospital thought they were just investigating my symptoms, not undertaking the procedure I was referred for. When I tried to explain that my GP had clearly stated that they referred me for treatment, not investigation (since a number of GPs confirmed my condition through investigation), I found one staff member to be irritable with me. Thankfully, the surgeon agreed to treat my symptoms while investigating it.

Following the procedure, I was wheeled into recovery where the nurse could not find anyone to hand me over for monitoring for a good 5-10 minutes. I was in a lot of pain and largely ignored while porters and other staff were just chatting, joking and giggling amongst themselves. There was no water on hand to drink, and it took the nurse a while to find some. They would not let me go to the toilet to clean myself up following the procedure, meaning that I was left lying in bodily waste that had escaped as a result of the procedure. How humiliating and degrading. I was itching to leave and get home so that I could get on with looking after myself since I was not receiving that care here.When I was eventually allowed to go to the toilets to clean up, there was no toilet roll.

The only good part of the experience was being discharged; the member of staff who did this was very kind, clear and thorough.

Overall though, I left feeling disgusted, humiliated and degraded. I am so disappointed and will ensure I am referred to the Hallamshire in the future