"dissapointed again"

Russells Hall is a bit hit and miss.

Sometimes you go there and everything is fine how it should be, other times they are too rushed and don't really care.

Staff are fine apart from seeing ambulance staff grouped together chatting in the corridor about various patients.

What I mean by hit and miss is this I took a day off work having had a text message to say I had to see a nurse. I went along and it was to book me in for my operation, funny thing was I hadn't received a letter or anything about it.

Good job the MRSA nurse checked and told me there had been a mistake, ok people make mistakes. Next appointment I had the world worst examination. This was it - hello, is it your shoulder that hurts? Yes. Does it hurt when you lift it? Yes. Can you show me?

Yes.

Does it hurt now? Yes.

OK I will send you for a MRI then walked off.

The nurse came in and said that I would be receiving a letter, never checked about my hands hurting or numbness, or tingling, that was it , I was stunned.

Next one went better because I wasn't going to be fobbed off and I wanted a witness to be sure I checked me properly, which the consultant did.

Third check up and now I've been banned from the hospital for telling a few home truths and saying I was going to report them.

This is how it went - sat in the cubical and doctor walks in.

Mr Read? Yes.

He stands there looking and when I asked where my doctor was as I believed I was only seeing them was told not here today then silence.

I asked did they have my notes or xrays? No.

So I asked what was wrong with me and guess what they didn't know.

I said I only wanted to be seen by my doctor, so they just walked off.

That was my professional examination - a doctor who was waiting for me to tell them about an existing condition and which shoulder it was - what a joke! I could have said I had a bad knee and they wouldn't have known.

A nurse came in and I was abrupt - can I see my doctor? They're not in. I said I wanted to complain, as this was the second bad exam I'd had and nobody seem to care.

I am sitting there in massive pain and nobody once asked if I was ok so I did get annoyed.

I said I wanted the doctors name so I could complain, the reply I'll get another nurse.

Another nurse came, then another and eventually I got the doctors name.

The doctor refused to see me as they were with some one else, then they said they would see me.

I said I wanted an independent witness then they said they wouldn't see me.

Enough was enough - loss of wages, a doctor who obviously hadn't read my notes or looked at my MRI scan - the usual nobody cares and I am still in pain, so I complained.

I admit I was rude, but if I'd had the professional treatment I was expecting I wouldn't have been.

I've had an operation at another hospital in Edgbaston and I couldn't fault the staff or consultant.

Fantastic treatment and beside manner, spoke to me like a person and informed me every step of the way - so silly me expecting the same service from Russells Hall.