"NHS is failing"

What I liked

My mother was admitted on 22nd Aug 2011 into SEU my wife works at a hospital in London & I was treated in the Nuffield last year. All I can say this dept is the worse I've seen. The staff do not interact with the patients they treat the elderly with contempt do not explain what is going on. When you ask for details you are fobbed off. My mother asked for a glass of water which was given to her from the sink (non drinking water) when she explained this to a nurse she was fobbed off “are you sure you know at your age things might be confused” My mother is a highly intelligent woman who was a government advisor before she retired. The day she was rushed in and various members of her family wanted to know how she was they were fobbed off with please contact the “designated contact” even thought a contact had been assigned.

To summarise I feel the nurses are overworked, understaffed, too many agency nurses, no consistency, lack of personal care, conveyor belt comes to mind. Think about your patients they are human no matter how old they are.

What could be improved

Being a nurse is about healing the sick and being caring, not targets this has been forgotten. If this is what the NHS has come to give me Private Health I was shocked!