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A&E

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"A&E"

About: Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham

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I was surprised at the inadequate design of the reception area which was cramped with cheap seating. Some patients appeared to be very ill, possibly infectious and there should be proper space for segregation. Hospitals of all places should be concerned to limit infection. Some form of initial triaging by a qualified nurse should take place immediately on entry; I'm given to understand that takes place elsewhere although I've never witnessed it myself. When it came to triaging this was being done in corridors as the cubicles were all full. Again down to inadequate capacity provision but I suppose this is what we have to expect from a PFI. The space for the registrar was similarly cramped. Interestingly we noted that the most spacious allocation was given over for the reception staff which only goes to show who matters most in today's NHS. My treatment was fine save that my GP had sent me to A&E because they assumed it had facilities for a scan. Instead this - an 'urgent' scan was done about a month later at City. Clearly a wasteful way to proceed as a new hospital like the QE should be adequately equipped to carry out diagnostic checks on the spot. I have no complaints about my treatment; merely I find it depressing that very little has improved since my first experiences of A&E about 20 years ago.

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Responses

Response from Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham 10 years ago
Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham

Submitted on 08/08/2013 at 13:47
Published on nhs.uk on 09/08/2013 at 04:00

Thank you for taking the time to provide feedback on your experience at Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham. We welcome all feedback and would like to assure you that all comments are taken seriously and acted upon as part of our ongoing commitment to improving patient experience. We were very concerned to hear that some aspects of your experience were not what you expected. We strive to provide the highest standard of care possible and we are very sorry that this has not been your experience. Your comments have been forwarded to the senior staff responsible for the Emergency Department; the Matron has responded with this information: “The seating is wooden as when we have previously had padded chairs these have unfortunately been vandalised by people in the waiting room. This type of seating is also easy to clean for infection control purposes. Triage takes place after registration as this is appropriate. All patients will be treated the same initially as segregation in the waiting room would cause concern for all and would be a breech of patient confidentiality. However if the reception staff are given information that someone may suspect an infectious disease, the patient would be immediately segregated. I am sorry that you found our space was lacking, without knowing which part of the department you were treated in it is difficult to fully establish the reason for this. If you were treated in the minor injury section, we are aware that we need to find additional space for clinical treatment and we are currently reviewing this to find a solution. Without further details relating to your individual circumstances we are unable to comment regarding why you didn’t receive your scan at this hospital. If you would like us to look into this further and provide feedback directly to you we would be very happy to do this” If you would us to do this please make contact via our Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS). PALS can be contacted by phone 0121 371 3280, by email PALS@uhb.nhs.uk , via the hospital website http://www.uhb.nhs.uk/pals-form.htm or in person by dropping in between 9am – 4.30pm (Mon-Fri) to the PALS office located to the left of the Information Desk in the main entrance of the new Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham.

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