"Impersonal and late"

I attended the clinic for an ultrasound scan. I have had a number of ultrasound scans at the Freeman Hospital in the last two years and those experiences have all been excellent. Despite being run by the same NHS trust, I found the experience at Ponteland Road Health Centre to be so poor that I have gone to the trouble of finding out how to provide this review.

I arrived in good time for my appointment at 9.40am and reported to reception. Despite that I was not seen until 40 minutes after the time of the appointment. Not really good enough so early in the morning.

When I was taken into the room the nurse introduced herself and the sonographer in a very cursory manner. The sonographer was sitting with her back to me and did not acknowledge me in any way. When she started the scan she did not utter a single word. The only words that she spoke were instructions to turn and that I could leave. Extremely cold and disrespectful to me as a patient.

Being given the paper that I had been lying on to wipe off the gel was rather surprising. Surely you could spare a clean sheet of paper!

It is easy to address the issues I have highlighted. Talk to your colleagues in the same NHS trust because they provide an excellent, positive service. I hope that my next scan will be at the Freeman Hospital. I will be sure to go out of my way to tell them what an excellent service they provide having had such a dispiriting and disappointing experience at Ponteland Road Health Centre.