"Sad to say but not much at all."

What I liked

Sad to say but not much at all.

What could be improved

My mother waited 3 days laying on her back immobile with a broken hip before they finally operated on her. A junior doctor admittted the huge cost of one particular drug may have played a part in the delay and given the obvious lack of nurses it would strongly suggest there is a strict policy on saving money at this hospital. If an operation is cancelled because of other emergencies then basic nursing care dictates you should ensure your patient eats and drinks again but this did not happen. I had to insist my mother had something to eat. Twenty four hours after the hip replacement I found my mother still in bed. Clinical evidence dictates patients need to be mobilized as soon as possible after surgery but again this did not happen. I had to insist my mother was moblized into a chair. One nurse and one health care assistant for twelve patients is unacceptable.

Anything else?

Given we have a choice about where to receive health care treatment I would strongly advise readers to exercise that choice and go somewhere else. Kent & Sussex Hospital appears unable to provide minimum safe levels of care and the evidence points to penny pinching at every level. Immobile patients risk developing chest infections, DVT's and pressure sores. Saving money on expensive drugs leads to discharge delays, blocking beds and costing the taxpayer at least £400+ a day. This is a short sighted and incompetent way to run a hospital. The medical staff were good, the health care assistants would help if asked but the nursing staff were too few and too busy with paperwork and too many patients to be truly effective providers of health care or advocate for the patient. Seems that NHS management still can't see the wood for the trees.