"One hand can't find the other let alone..."

What I liked

The direct medical care.

What could be improved

My mother in law is treated for a complex diagnosis which needs multi disciplinary care. We are frequently give contradictory information and non of the departments seems to talk to the other or read each other notes repeatingly resulting in the first 3/4 of the time allotted for a consultation going over past history which would be known if the notes were just read. Also a 78 year old cannot be expected to hold all her complex medical history in her head which has resulted in a few close calls when treatment has been advised for which another medical condition is contra-indicating. Communication between departmnets is not what is expected.

The blasted phone system is a joke - I can never get put through to the department/ward/person I want and I have a failrly clear accent free voice. The voice recognition system definitely requires an upgrade!

Anything else?

The medical care my mother-in-law received was good, with a few glitches becuse of lack of staff or poor communication. The restriction on visitors on some wards made it difficult for a family member to be present when the consultants/doctors did their rounds and as she is hard of hearing and her treatment/condition made her a little confused this lead to a lot of chasing being done to find out what was going on especially when one doctors handwriting was so poor no-one could read it. It is hard to comprehend how an elderly patient with little family support could cope and fully understand their treatment so have a valued say in what was being done.