"Appalling"

What I liked

Nothing at all with regard to the Hospital Doctors,trained staff and treatment my father has received during 2012/2013.

The Paramedics were excellent and most helpful and understanding

The efforts made by student nurses who seemed to be the only ones concerned about patients on C10

What could be improved

Attitude of Doctors and staff towards the patients and relatives.

Doctors who are prepared to speak to relatives about the condition and treatment of their sick family member

Your response to these feedback complaints which always suggest people contact PALS, done that, by email & hard copy and also the ELHT, on 10th October , still waiting for a reply!. So response times could be quicker.

Also nurses should be reminded to wash their hands when going from one patient to another in 13 weeks of visiting my Father I have seen this happen twice.

More blankets, I have had to buy bed throws to keep my Father warm as there are so few blankets on these wards

Anything else?

Where to begin.. Lets start with C22 Urology - this department in August sent my 86 year old father home with a faulty catheter that could not be emptied which resulted with a traumatised sick man dialing 999 in a panic. Ward had told us the District Nurse had been arranged to visit the same day, but unfortunately they forgot to tell the District nurses! during his stay on this ward the staff were uncaring, uninterested, and treated my father terribly , so when he was admitted to RBH again in October he was terrified of being sent back on that ward, and it is only because of the repeated insistance from the family we have managed to achieve this.

13 weeks later he is still in RBH, having had stays on 2 other wards and his experience on C10 was a Doctor and staff nurse changed his catheter without having a bowl for spillages so he was soaking wet with urine and they just covered him up and left him.

Now he is on C18 which is marginally better than previous wards, although he has fallen out of bed twice and this had been reported to us by other patients not the staff. Earlier this week we were informed that it looked like he had had a stroke and an urgent CT scan had been requested but the Doctor actually ordered a chest xray and as it was late evening the urgent scan could not be carried out until the following day.

The most disturbing part of all this for me was the fact that I asked to speak to a Doctor after the scan was carried out and in total I waited 4 hours over 2 visiting slots and in the afternoon was told he would be a few minutes, then he had left the ward and it was suggested I came back later when I would have a better chance. When I returned later the nurse said she would call for the Doctor, but by the end of visiting I was told she had gone home and refused to come and see me. A nurse contacted the Doctor who would only relay a message via she would not even speak to me on the phone.

In a word disgraceful.