"very poor"

The Newcastle Hospitals strive to provide the best quality care to all of its patients and we are sorry that the care you received did not meet these standards. Patients with fractures are seen in the first instance by the team in the Emergency Department, and those with fractures, which have no complications, are usually treated with painkillers such as paracetamol once any necessary support has been fitted. This analgesia is not routinely prescribed by staff as many patients have this at home or it can be readily purchased as an “over the counter medicine” ,and we are sorry if this was not clearly explained to you.

Fracture Clinic at the Royal Victoria Infirmary ensures that it sees all patients with fractures the day following the incident. This means that the Fracture Clinic can be exceedingly busy and its workload can be unpredictable. In anticipation of this, an additional fracture clinic was provided between Christmas and New Year to provide extra capacity and we apologise for any delay you experienced. However, it is important that patients do not feel that their appointment was rushed, and I am sorry that you feel this was the case. All patients who attend the Fracture Clinic have a letter dictated to their GP and patients also receive a copy of this should they wish to do so. Should additional services, such as physiotherapy, be required then this can normally be provided at the same clinic attendance.

Unfortunately, without the detail of your case it has not been possible to respond more specifically. We are very willing to further investigate your specific concerns and experience in more detail to enable us to identify how the shortcomings you identify occurred, and to give you the opportunity to discuss your experiences directly with a member of staff. If you would like to speak to someone further about your experience and receive a more detailed response please contact the Matron Julie Waite, or Mr. Paul Anderson, Patient Relations Manager on 0191 233 6161.

Unfortunately, the Newcastle Hospitals is not responsible for the provision of ambulance services and we are, therefore unable to comment on this aspect of care. However, you may wish to raise your concerns directly with the North East Ambulance Service.

Thank you for taking the trouble to provide us with feedback about your visit. We will ensure that this is shared with the staff in the department to ensure that we can bring about improvements in the services provided.