"Outpatient Chemo at Weston Park Hospital"

When you or your relative is to receive outpatient chemotherapy at Weston Park Hospital be prepared for a very long, uncomfortable wait. When my husband was going through chemo there were some days when we would arrive at 9.30am (although I'd be stuck in the car park queue until 10.00am) and not leave until after 6.30pm.

This was because his 'chemo cocktail' would only be made up by pharmacy once his blood tests came back ok and it would seem that the pharmacy department have little regard for the number of hours a patient has to wait in the dull, uncomfortable waiting room.

To make matters worse, on those occasions when his chemo took so long to prepare if his treatment had not been completed by 4.30pm we'd have to trek upstairs to the day unit because the chemo suite doesn't stay open beyond 4.30pm (and that's only if they've got two nurses working). During this time there was no one keeping us informed or monitoring progress on our behalf. In short, a very exhausting and frustrating experience.

The quality of nursing and medical care we experienced was very good, but the systems at the hospital need to be given some serious consideration. After all, this is a group of patients who can't afford such delays - time is their most precious commodity.