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"Absolutely disgusted!"

About: The Tunbridge Wells Hospital

I want to give this hospital 5 stars for nurses and junior doctors who were absolutely wonderful but my score is overshadowed by my treatment at the hands of 2 senior doctors! Was taken to A&E on the 17th with severe abdominal pain and vomiting, seen quickly and diagnosed with a minor blockage in my bowel (constipation) told to buy laxatives and try them. On Sunday, having spent the night in agony returned to A&E and was admitted for 2 nights to the gynae ward who decided it wasn't constipation and they needed to investigate.. Staff on the ward were lovely and so helpful. Doctor booked me in for a CT scan on the Tuesday and put me on morphine liquid for the pain. A new doctor took over who promptly reduced my pain meds to oral ibuprofen (not effective) He came and saw me Tuesday, didn't examine me, just asked if I was in pain and then told me he 'thinks' the pain is 'probably' my bowels, that I would be having blood tests and going home. I then found out from the nurse that he had actually cancelled the CT scan the previous day! Returned home with useless painkillers and saw my GP on the Wednesday who examined me and phoned the hospital straight away asking them to admit me and investigate my gallbladder and other similar causes. Got to the surgical assessment unit about 6pm. Was admitted by a lovely nurse and doctor and booked in for a scan the next day. Put on clear fluids only and an IV drip from 6am in prep for an ultrasound. then was seen by a different doctor about half 9 who said that he was sending me home and would send a scan appointment out in the next few weeks! His reason was that the ultrasound department was too busy to see non-urgent cases (6 days of continuous severe pain is apparently not urgent) and that the scan wasn't going to fix me anyway so no point in rushing. After having me in tears the nurses starting preparing my discharge when a porter arrived to take me for the ultrasound! The doctor told him to take another patient in my place. The nurse and the porter kindly took me up to ultrasound anyway where I was seen within 5 minutes leading me to believe the doctor was just a liar. I was the second patient seen! The doctor was rude, condescending and patronizing, speaking to me as though I was an idiot. The ultrasound results luckily came back normal and a junior doctor suggested going to my GP for omeprazole to see if that would help. It is now too late in the day to get an appointment. So I will be spending another night in agony and because there has been no further investigation done, I could be in pain still for much longer. My experience of Tunbridge wells hospital has been a shambles. Some doctors there overrule other doctors at every opportunity and seem keener to get spare beds rather than helping patients. It's disgusting that I have been sent home twice in agony. Keeping me in with the promise of scans twice that were then cancelled with no acceptable reason why is ridiculous. Why keep me in at all?

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