"not brilliant, adequate."

What I liked

I visited A&E for morphine induced bowel obstruction. The attitude of the triage nurse, insofar as they spoke to me, indicated that they felt that constipation was the patient's problem (they never asked how I had come about it). I waited 2.45 hours, a reasonable time. I was eventually x-ayed and given an enema which relieved the immediate problem a little (I appreciate, this was an A&E and not a surgery). The 2 doctors were pleasant, attentive and appeared in control.

My complaint is that there was a notice up stating that there were no Doctors in attendance - how can you have an A&E department at a major hospital without Doctors? I understand about Pembury - but that is a drive of a further 50 minutes at least, on top of the 30 it takes me to get to Maidstone. As it turned out, there were doctors in attendance, so why have a poster saying there aren't - or is it that there will not be doctors in the future? As it is, I nearly left to find an A&E with doctors, before I noticed somebody in a different coloured outfit, asked, and it turned out they were doctors' colours.

Maidstone needs its own hospital - its over 20 miles to Ashford, more to Canterbury (which isn't a 'proper' hospital any more I think) and the drive to Pembury is so long and tortuous as to be stupid. Sack some of the managers who got moving loans to shift to Tunbridge Wells (nice if you can get it eh? moving from poor Maidstone to rich Tunbridge Wells on the taxpayer) and use the money to keep Maidstone going. After all, it was founded originally because a far-sighted consultant considered it far too far for pregnant ladies to be ferried to Tunbridge Wells/Pembury from Maidstone. How has that changed? The roads aren't better, they're worse because they're older, without good maintenance and clogged with traffic.

What could be improved

Take down an inaccurate notice.

Anything else?

There was handwash that kills MRSA - what about C Diff, is there no handwash to kill it yet?