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"Disgusting behaviour from those who should know..."

About: St Michael's Hospital (Bristol)

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I visited the ENT department on this occasion as I have hearing loss and constant noises in my head and ears said previously by medical professionals to be Tinnitus. The individual I had a consultation with seemed uninterested in the hearing loss and Tinnitus but instead became fixated on an existing medical condition I have affecting my balance that i have had for a number of years. During the consultation they became very argumentative and made some bold assumptions and statements on my lifestyle, all of which were completely false, when I tried to explain that they were quite incorrect in their assumptions they came back straight away arguing further, it became apparent it was pointless me saying anything as they didn't care what I thought, they didn't care what the truth was. Usually I take with me all my hospital letters to consultations and did so on this day, including one from a senior consultant i saw last year stating a possible but not definite diagnosis for the medical condition affecting my balance. I showed this individual the letter in a bundle with other letters and they pulled it out immediately, read it quickly, then repeated it word for word as if they'd thought of it originally and stated this was what was actually wrong with my balance, even though the letter says the word 'Possibly' and stated not definite as i'd had no tests of any kind to confirm or rule this out. A lot of what they said during this consultation completely contradicted the information given to me by senior ENT consultants and other qualified healthcare professionals over the years. I am more inclined to believe what they say rather than this individual. Rather worryingly during this argumentative tirade this person told me i should get my revoked driving license back as the wording for the DVLA categories had changed and technically i could get my license back, i asked them whether it mattered i was a danger on the road due to my ability to drive safely being severely impaired, and they told me it did not matter that I was actually a danger on the roads, but that i should get my driving license back and drive a car because if i did then i would be cured if I drove a car long enough. Shall I apologise now for anybody I injure or kill because this individual said I have to get my license back because they think i'll be cured if i drive long enough? I cannot express here how angry I feel at this individuals behaviour, not only did they not read correspondence thoroughly, but they then chose to behave completely irresponsibly by suggesting i do this. I feel that the original reason I went to the ENT Department was not adequately addressed and I left the department feeling rather exhausted and puzzled by my experience.

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Responses

Response from St Michael's Hospital 10 years ago
St Michael's Hospital
Submitted on 31/10/2013 at 14:19
Published on nhs.uk on 01/11/2013 at 03:01


Thank you for taking the time to comment on NHS Choices. We are very sorry that you had a poor experience of care in the ENT Department. This is clearly not the standard of service that our ENT team aims to provide to patients and we will share your comments with them. We would very much welcome the chance to look into this issue fully for you and would be grateful if you could contact our Patient Support and Complaints Team (0117 342 3604/ pals@uhbristol.nhs.uk) so that we can do so. The Patient Support and Complaints Team can also arrange for you to have a further discussion with a clinician about your care and treatment, if you would like to have one. Thank you again for your comment.

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