"We are regulars at this hospital. ..."

What I liked

We are regulars at this hospital. Regular staff are very friendly and care a lot about the patients and their families. Unfortunately my sons and I have experienced large numbers of disinterested agency staff during our stays there, especially at weekends.

The wards are generally very clean and the facilities for parents are better than most hospitals provide.

What could be improved

I wish there were fewer agency staff needed to fill the shifts on the wards. Or that the agency staff that are used were at least familiar with where things are on the wards and had a basic command of English... The permanent staff are fantastic and I cannot fault them but there are too few nurses on at any time especially in the winter months when there can be large numbers of children with complex needs on the wards needing high levels of care. As a parent I find I am unable to leave the bedside of either of my children when they are inpatients as I am needed to do all the care except the most complex procedures such as IVs. Therefore I am very rarely able to get anything to eat or drink other than what I can run to the vending machine on the ward for.

Anything else?

Parking is dreadful. If you are going to the Alex I would urge you to take public transport or get a lift there as the queue for the multistorey is often 2+ hours long.