"Staff helpfulness for families"

Attempting to contact my father who was apparently on Mercer ward only to be told he was on Whatman ward. I know that he was in bay D off of Mercer ward as I had visited him three times however the staff on Mercer ward were very unhelpful seeing as he was around the corner from their desk - hardly a 10 second walk and told me to ring Whatman ward ( no offer of transferring the call ) I know everybody is busy but this was on a Sunday ( not the busiest day of the week ) Eventually after several more calls the switchboard managed to connect me to Whatman ward where the staff were very helpful - Full praise to them. I fully support our NHS staff and know they do a very demanding job however there was no need for this unhelpfulness in the first place. Call made at midday on Sunday the 9th February 2014.