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"Hospital feedback"

About: Guy's Hospital

Recently visited UCC on the Friday before bank holiday. First impressions were very poor as the receptionist was unreasonably rude, not looking up to welcome people and her tone giving off impression she did not want to be there/was frustrated. While I sympathise with being in a customer facing/patient facing role is not easy, consideration should be given for people who come to UCC and reception staff should at the bare minimum be polite and treat people with respect. Next issue at UCC was a terrible show of ineptitude. I was called in by the nurse despite having a condition requiring a doctor. As I started running through my issue, the nurse stopped me, embarrassed, saying she was expecting me to have a sprained ankle - another patient. They were friendly and apologetic, checked the name of the correct patient and walked me out. They then called 2 wrong names before they got the right girl with the sprained ankle. While this is a minor error and we all make mistakes, it did not incite confidence that the nurse made a mistake with the name not once but 3 times. My final issue came with the doctor I saw that day. A female doctor, she did a few checks, and then asked me to do a urine test. When I came back, she was seeing another patient (not an issue) so I waited another 10min in the waiting room. When I came back to see her, she then apologised for the other patient saying "I thought he was just going to be a quick one, but turns out we had to do a mini operation". While I appreciate the apology, there is no need to divulge any information about other patients, especially as this was stated as if the patient had been a hassle - not professional. Finally, following my urine tests she explained that I did not have glandular fever or tonsillitis, but may have another infection and I could get a blood test at a proper GP if my swollen gland has not gone down by Tuesday. The final blow today (Tuesday) is on going to my GP and getting a blood test, he told me there was no way glandular fever could have been ruled out until I have a blood test, and he would not be able to confirm tonsillitis until a further week as it takes a while to develop. Basically, the prognosis given by the GP at UCC, while it may turn out to be correct, was based on limited information on which she couldn't/shouldnt have made any conclusion. This is purely wreckless as a doctor to say a person definitely does not have a condition, if you have not done the necessary tests to confirm that. Needless to say, the treatment I received from reception through to doctor at my GP was a stark difference from the treatment received at UCC. The point is, it is a real shame the standard at a UCC cannot be maintained to the same level as a GP. Why should staff be more rude and less competent? The benchmark should be the same regardless of whether its a GP, A&E or UCC.

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Responses

Response from Guy's Hospital 9 years ago
Guy's Hospital
Submitted on 15/09/2014 at 13:22
Published on nhs.uk on 16/09/2014 at 04:00


I was concerned to read of your negative experience in Guy’s Hospital’s Urgent Care Centre (UCC). The Matron responsible for the centre has now read your feedback. He will aim to discover how these issues occurred and what the service can do to improve the experience patients receive. If you would like to discuss these issues with the staff responsible for UCC, or receive a personal response to your concerns, please contact PALS by telephone on 020 7188 8801, 020 7188 8801 or by email at pals@gstt.nhs.uk.

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