"Difficult experience at Nottingham City hospital"

I was admitted to the City hospital Nottingham in March with pneumonia. I arrived in hospital at 9.30pm but was not seen by a doctor until 1am during which time no-one informed us to what was happening. I was in considerable pain but not offered any pain relief - indeed even after seeing the doctor, pain relief was only forthcoming when my husband asked a nurse to track down the same doctor to prescribe it. The doctor we saw was not very communicative nor did he take into account my pain whilst examining me. The emergency admissions unit seemed to have plenty of staff on it at night but there seemed to be little done on the ward. I was not told how to call a member of staff nor could I get to the emergency beeper. The staff on duty during the day were very much more attentive although at one time I was given an oxygen mask belonging to another patient. I was kept on the unit for 2 nights as there were no beds available on wards. When I was finally admitted to a ward, I was appalled at the lack of cleanliness and care. Patients frequently shouted for attention repeatedly before being seen and there did not seem to be enough staff to provide the care that was needed for the needs of the, mostly elderly, patients. The toilets and washing facilities were filthy and I was never shown a bath or shower room. One of the patients on my bay had MRSA but there did not seem to be any specific provision for her, indeed she used the same dirty toilet and washing facilities that we used. The team of doctors that cared for me on this ward were excellent and worked very hard to get me well enough to leave, particularly as we had been told that an ultra sound scan that I needed was impossible until the following week. Thankfully the team were able to get a mobile scan to me on the ward otherwise I would have been in hospital for more than a week instead of the 3 days that I did endure.

We have always been staunch supporters of the NHS and have received exemplary care from them in the past. It is therefore a grave concern to us that the service seems to be under such strain and that staff and resources are not available to return the NHS to its previous excellent standard.