"Appalled at no change in 3 years"

Anything else?

After an awful experience 3 years ago as an in patient myself and an even worse experience with my father in law last year, I hoped Lincoln County may have changed but it's as bad as ever. my son was admitted to the assessment ward this week by His GP, he was told he had to go to hospital straight away and couldn't wait until the following day. We arrived on the ward at around 8pm and were spoken to by a nurse who spoke across the room over their shoulder, they told us what bed number my son was in and told us to go and find the bed and which room it was in ! They also trotted out what seems to be a stock mantra now "we're extremely busy but we'll get to you eventually". That should have been our indicator for how this stay would progress. Someone turned up later to take blood but they had forgotten something and left my son saying she would be back in 2 minutes ---- they returned 9 (yes 9) hours later ! No doctor came to see my son until 6am ! After seeing the consultant at 8pm he was told he would have a scan later that afternoon and the doctor would review it, and speak to him and probably discharge him that evening. There is not enough space to write all that subsequently happened but none of it is good, in a nut shell, my son was moved to short stay, and, no doctor ever arrived that evening despite numerous enquiries and assurances the nurse was chasing them up. By the following afternoon the doctor still hadn't arrived and my son was told that 1) The doctor he was waiting for leaves at 5pm, 2) someone had informed the doctor that my son had gone home and that's why they hadn't been to see him, and 3) the only way for the doctor to see my son was for the ward doctor to put in an 'online request' but that wouldn't be picked up until the following afternoon ! Another 24 hours ! Begs the question that when constantly asking where the doctor was the previous evening to be told we're chasing him up, who was the nurse chasing up and, if they leave at 5pm ? didn't the nurse know they left at 5pm ? If not, why not ? Who told them my son had left ? And, most of all, what's this about online requests that take 24 hrs to be picked up ? I'm an ex nurse and I've never heard the like !No wonder they're short of beds ! My son asked to see who he complained to and a nurse went to get the ward sister but returned with a bit of paper and told my son sister said for him to write a letter to the address on the paper. Hmm. Anyway I have now complained through PALS to a very nice person who is going to look into all this. At least one department at LCH seems to work properly and I can't praise PALS enough.