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alcoholic liver disease

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"alcoholic liver disease"

About: Queen Elizabeth Hospital (Gateshead)

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A relative is an alcoholic and suffered serious problems due to liver disease and various complications, She was placed on ward 4 which is a respiratory ward due to lack of beds on ward 11. She has been on the ward for eight days with no improvement and we have been getting conflicting answers to the severity of her disease, have asked questions that a hepatologist or a Gastroentologist would know, but don't know if the doctors we are asking are experts in these fields. The patient cant comprehend what has happened to her and no family member has been sat down and had an explanation to what has happened or what will be done, which is very frustrating.

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Response from Queen Elizabeth Hospital 11 years ago
Queen Elizabeth Hospital

Submitted on 21/02/2013 at 12:04
Published on nhs.uk on 22/02/2013 at 04:15

We're sorry to hear that your relative didn't have a positive experience in ward 4. Without knowing the details of the patient we wouldn't be able to comment on specifics, but bed managers, doctors and nurses, would have attempted to transfer the patient to ward 11 if the primary diagnosis was alcoholic liver disease, so we do apologise if no bed was available on this occasion.

Doctors on ward 4 are experienced in all aspects of medical care, despite it being a respiratory ward, but would have asked for a gastroenterology opinion if required. Staff do try to keep patients and families up-to-date on a daily basis, so we are sorry if this did not happen and the communication was inadequate. There would have also been an option for your family to make an appointment to see your relative's consultant, but you may not have been aware of this. If you would like to discuss this further or provide feedback as to how we could improve the experience for other patients you can contact our Patient Advice and Liaison Service on pals@ghnt.nhs.uk or 0800 953 0667.

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