"The Consultant always did what ..."

What I liked

The Consultant always did what he said he would do. If he said he would be back to discuss something, then he came back. If he said a test needed doing, then it was done. I am very pleased with the way he has treated me.

What could be improved

Ward 17 is a mixed-sex ward. It has 16 beds. It has shared toilet and washing facilities. These consist of 2x2 wash basins with flimsy curtains to pull across in the same room as the toilets, and 2 showers, only one of which works. There is no privacy. This is a disgusting state of affairs particularly for people with limited mobility. There are queues for the single shower every morning. It is a basic right to be able to keep clean.

Anything else?

I was in Ward 17 for nearly 2 weeks. My date of birth on my bracelet was wrong. My name was spelled wrong and my address was wrong. I am a vegetarian and stated as such but the first meal sent was a beef stew (The nurse insisted there was no meat in it). The next 6 meals had items missing from them no matter what I filled in on the menu.

I was prescribed some medication whilst in hospital. The day after being given it the pharmacy technician came up to the ward as they had put the wrong label on it.

Some of the night staff were unbelievably noisy. I accept that jobs need to be done but they discussed their social lives and laughed and shouted from end of the ward to the other with no consideration for patients.

One night at midnight the fire alarm went off. It rang for 10 minutes but no staff appeared so I walked down the corridor and heard the staff in the office chatting away so I went back to bed. It continued to ring for another 10 minutes or so. I asked the next morning what happened and was told someone had burned some toast and the alarm rings until the fire service comes - nothing to worry about. Nothing to worry about? What about those people who can't move who are lying in their beds wondering if they are going to burn to death?

Not good enough.

Yes, there are some very good members of Staff but they tend not to be the ones you remember after these sort of experiences.