I was shocked at the length of time and the lack of care shown by staff when we visited the orthopaedic "gate" - yes, we are not to speak of departments, wards or clinics, but "gates" like we are awaiting a trip to Spain or something. However, after being called quickly to the "gate" it was all too quickly like a trip to an airport, with a two hour wait for my wife to see a consultant. The staff didn't seem to have a clue about what was going on, and one person there was quite indifferent to the people and kept saying that they didn't know what the problem was and that we had to be patient. This member of staff kept wandering off for breaks of leaning against the wall out of sight. My wife is in a wheelchair in in quite some considerable pain, and we were kept waiting, there was no signage to indicate wait time like at the BRI and staff did not issue apologies or reassurance. It seemed a shambles. Eventually we got to see a doctor, who did an investigation and then immediately asked us to fill in a customer satisfaction from from the General Medical Council while still in his office in front of the doctor, who said so they could get residence in the UK to escape from another country! You couldn't make this stuff up. The doctor had a pile of these filled in by previous patients on the table in front of us. I read a couple while the doctor did the examination. We have decided they we would never like to go back to Southmead Hospital again.
"Long wait to see spinal specialist"
About: Southmead Hospital Southmead Hospital Bristol BS10 5NB
Posted via nhs.uk
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