"have no beds some people have to sleep on two..."

Dear Anonymous – I am sorry that you and your best friend had such a poor experience at Southmead Hospital. From your description it appears your friend was admitted to the AMU (Acute Medical Unit) which does have special reclining chairs for patients. The aim is to assess patients and then send them to the specialist ward most suited to their presenting condition or theatre. I am sorry if this was not explained to you at the time. Please be assured that any discharge of a patient must be clinically approved and therefore there will have been a good reason why your friend was not given a dressing for their wound; sometimes the natural healing process is promoted without a dressing. I am also sorry that you found the staff did not communicate clearly in other ways as the Trust views clear communication as an important aspect of patient care. The toilets in the Brunel Building are checked and cleaned on a regular basis, and I regret that the facilities had been abused by other users in between these regular checks so they appeared to be poorly maintained. I sincerely hope that should you have occasion to visit the hospital again you will have a much more positive experience. Kind Regards – Steve Sykes Advice and Complaints Team