" I never want to return to NGH again"

I am a middle aged lady who unfortunatly has many heath issues including mental health problems where I stayed at Berrywood MHU which was excellent. However I am sorry to say in my opinion Northampton General is an absolute disgrace to the nursing and medical profession, and this is my story.

Recently I was admitted 3 times for severe chest pains and trouble breathing and have had this diagnosed various times with various problems such as hernia, pancreatitis, gastric flu, water infection, ulcers etc but in short no Doctor or consultant has actually confirmed any of these so called diagnoses.

2 months ago I was rushed to A&E with my acute pains but did not have any of my medication on me and felt I was basically dumped in a room alone, scared and afraid as well as being very confused because I did not know what was happening to me or where I was. As a result I began calling for my husband in my poor mental state. A seemingly surly nurse poked her head around the door telling me to be quiet or they would call security. I was crying desperately but she gave me no chance to explain my upsetting confusion. The next thing I knew I was being dragged in my opinion violently off my gurney by two huge security men (when I was only calling for my husband), they took off my hospital gown and I felt they threw me to the floor. Then they took hold of me and led me out of A&E and deposited me on the pavement outside at 2am.

The following week, and with the same chest and breathing pains, I was on AEU for nearly 30 hours before being transferred onto a ward where I believed I would be cared for. Oh how wrong I was. I was refused my prescribed medication, which I have been on for 7 years because the doctor had not signed it off and the first night I was in terrible pain and the lady in the bed next to me had her bed-TV on without headphones all night, so I didn't sleep.

The next day my prescription medication was still being refused and I was just given paracetamol which was no help. The following day the tv lady was discharged and the nurses made up the bed for the next patient, laughing and giggling amongst themselves. Politely, I asked what the joke was and one nurse said they were admitting a regular patient who spends all night screaming and yelling but that she was harmless. I was surprised to hear this from a nurse. Anyway the second the lady was brought onto the ward she did indeed begin to yell and scream at the top of her voice which really upset several elderly ladies on my ward too.

I am so sorry to say I could not stand anymore and had not had no more than 4 hours sleep in 3 nights. So I did something which I never dreamed I would ever do and discharged myself, shaking, broken and in floods of tears at what I had gone through. It upsets me to think others have been put through much worse than me at the hands of certain staff at NGH. Fortunately there are only few, but its these few that spoil the reputation of the lovely, caring hardworking staff who work so very hard. However, I never want to return to NGH again.