"Misdiagnosis, but fantastic care at Stafford Hospital"

I initially went to Stafford Hospital A&E with a lump on the side of my face, where I was told that it was likely a small stone in my saliva gland, and was nothing much to worry about. I then went to see an out of hours doctor at Cannock Chase Hospital, who didn't even give me a further examination, just read the notes from A&E. I later saw an ENT registrar back at Stafford who seemed to show nothing but indifference, telling me that I would have to wait 1 month for a scan, and even if it was a tumour it would likely be benign (It did later transpire that it was benign). I felt like I wasn't treated with very much concern, and it caused me an enormous amount of worry due to the size of the tumour there was always the danager it could be malignant.

In the end I opted to go private in order to get a scan and biopsy, as I couldn't wait for one month on the NHS with the knowledge that I might have a tumour. This gave me the correct diagnosis of a tumour in my parotid gland. Had I gone through the NHS I would have had to wait 5 and a half weeks after my initial visit to A&E and misdiagnosis before I found this out.

Whilst I found this very disappointing, I must stress that I was treated respectfully by staff at all points, and the care I received after my diagnosis was fantastic.I had my operation done on ward 7, and the surgeon and their team were brilliant, and treated myself and those around me with respect and kindness. The surgeon gave me a new sense of confidence as they were so positive about the operation, unlike others before. The after care I received was great.

I've had a couple of operations on ward 7 in the last few years, and I've always been treated exceptionally well.