"Good experience and some suggestions"

My husband recently had an appointment in the outpatient department. Of the screens that advise you how long your expected wait times are, only 2 clinics were updating the system. We waited over an hour to be seen, which we didn’t mind, but our anxiety about the appointment was quite high which wasn’t helped but us not knowing even if our consultant was doing a clinic that day.

SUGGESTION no 1: keep all clinic waiting times updated to avoid patient concern and interruptions to the clinic staff.

My husband then attended the preassessment clinic and he needed blood taking. There was a long wait which again we didn’t mind. Many people didn’t realise they had to take a ticket even though there is a small sign on the phlebotomy room door. This caused them to interrupt the already extremely busy, hardworking phlebotomists to ask them what to do

SUGGESTION no 2: Improve the signage in phlebotomy. Have a large sign on the pillar as you walk into phlebotomy saying’ please take a ticket from the machine and take a seat. This phlebotomy service is for St Peters hospital patients only, please go to Ashford hospital if your GP has requested blood tests.’

SUGGESTION no 3: Advise patients attending preassessment clinic to ensure they have a supply of paracetamol and ibuprofen at home for use following their surgery. This would surely save the trust much money as they wouldn’t need to supply these to take home after surgery.

SUGGESTION no 4: The staff in the admissions lounge need to be reminded to clean the finger before taking a blood sugar sample as they don’t seem to do this possibly leading to false results.

Overall our experience at St Peters was good, my husband was treated promptly due to his condition and everyone we met was polite, helpful and courteous. My suggestions are just the observations of someone watching and waiting and are intended to help the people who are working so hard to keep the hospital running. Thank you all for what you do, you are appreciated.