"Avoid the A&E"

Ever since the hospital got taken over by the Royal Free, services have gone down, especially at the A&E. First of all, there is now no disabled parking in front of the A&E. One needs to park elsewhere and navigate their way around the hospital passing 'secret' doors to get to the A&E. That means if you have a small child and are unlucky to be on a wheelchair, you are in trouble. Obviously one cannot keep calling an ambulance each time one needs the A&E and a taxi is not always appropriate or available at short notice. I have had 4 A&E admissions in the last few months and each time, it's taken a full day to be seen. The cost of parking is extortionate, even with the free 4 hours for registered blue badge holders. Surely if one is visiting, it is OK to pay but if one is stuck at the A&E there should be no charge. So parking and waiting times aside, what else bugs me about things nowadays? The fact that staff seem unable to communicate between them and one has to keep asking about their blood test results, when one is due to go for a scan, has the medication been prescribed and getting different responses each time. They also do not pay attention to people who arrived alone. They think that locking them into a bed (if you are so lucky to get a bed... lately it's been no beds, just go outside and wait for hours on end!) is doing their duty. Never mind if they need the toilet, never mind if they are thirsty or in pain. Complete isolation and indifference. It is not my fault that you are running beyond capacity - it is your administrators' fault! I am sure the Trust is making a lot of money from renting out the parking lot to a private company, so surely they could reinvest and increase capacity. Barnet hospital used to be old and tired but the staff there always wore a smile on their face and showed compassion. Now they are corporate employees, or so it seems. There are so many ways our hospital could improve so that our lives are made a bit easier! Then we will be better as patients and we won't upset your staff by complaining. Eg. don't let us starve and die of thirst! Bring back the tea stations. So what if an escort drinks some tea? They are people, too and spend endless hours with us (which means of course they cannot leave our bedside in case we need something...) Add salads in the sandwich cart. Some people cannot eat bread... Or - and this is a radical idea that will probably make you laugh out loud - install a delivery service for the restaurant - get an app, let us register and log in, click on today's menu, select, pay by card and have it delivered 10 mins later by our bedside. By the way, the restaurant and the shop are about the nicest things about the hospital although I am not keen on the new drab decoration which I find quite depressing. And the staff at the restaurant are always helpful, carrying trays for me and offering help before I even get to ask. Last thing to complain about: size of disabled toilets. Can't manoeuvre. Grrr!