"Level of inefficiencies and disorganisation..."

Anything else?

I have ready various reviews and I think that in general there is not a fully representative set of comments on this site probably because people feel there is no point or simply cannnot be bothered. My comments are based on about a dozen visits in the last 18 months with my mother in her eighties plus numerous visits with her in recent years. Parking at Good Hope is shockingly inadequate and over-priced. I have met several visitors in a state of panic because their relatives are seriously ill & they have had to queue for 20 to 30 minutes to park. The bookings system is unfit for purpose in 2013 and need reviewing by someone with common sense & a proper understanding of such systems. Two examples, by no means the worst of my experience. (i) My mother had to arrive for tests at 1pm. There was heavy snow and noone had cleared any pavements or the car park making pushing a wheelchair extremely difficult. She was taken from the check in area & I was told I could not wait with her & they would call me. She was eventually seen at between 6.30 and 7pm & left waiting in a drafty area for hours. The consultant told her he thought she had skin cancer (which she did not have). (ii) prior to an operation we attended pre-op tests. Half way through they realised they had not booked one of the necessary tests so could we come back tomorrow which we had to do, regardless of the substantial disruption a few days before the op. The only one part of the queueing system that seemed to work was the section for taking blood where they use the, tried & tested, numbered ticket system. Lifts - this week one of the lifts in the Treatment centre was (as it often is) Out of Order with no sign. On one occasion when my mother was hospitalised & ready to be discharged they said they couldn't get a porter or transport until the next day so she would have to stay in. The pharmacy was closed at the weekend so she was unable to obtain drugs to be discharged at the weekend. Some staff are busy but clearly others do not have enough to do.This week three staff stood around at Desk A in Treatment centre while many patients sat waiting. On one visit there was a blue surgical glove discarded on the floor of a lift. This was still lying there several hours later when we left. No cafe open during evening visiting hours and no proper shops. During one visit the consultant spoke about how it was the first time he had met my mother, so I had to explain to him the history of my mother's case and his involvement.He looked at the notes rather sheepishly as he clearly had not even bothered to read them prior to the appointment. I have left department "unknown" below as it was several departments. The purpose of this review is to ask the executives to think carefully about the way Good Hope is run. It is full of many excellent, hardworking, dedicated staff but clearly run badly and if one visits Heartlands Hospital the experience is entirely different. This is meant for the best of our patients.