Disgusting hospital

[Furyfurious]

I was discharged from hospital this week following surgery and a 5 night stay at an NHS hospital. I am absolutely traumatised. What I have seen and been exposed to was totally shocking. I will definitely be looking for a Private health care policy. The Nurses attitudes, patients attitudes poor (not all ) but a shambles. The smell of the ward, the food etc sorry but there needs to be resolution

Wards vary so much. DH has been in and out of hospital several times this year. Back in the summer he was basically dumped in a ward, no one came near it for hours, staff offhand, he looked a total mess and smelled. He was desperate to come home.
But back in September the ward he was in could not have been better, lovely staff, plenty of engagement with the patients, he looked beautifully cared for every day.

I've just come out of my local hospital after an admission for asthma. ED was carnage with 160 patients, but I still felt looked after, and the ward I went to was lovely! They were very busy, but I was well looked after, and felt really safe. It was clean, and nights were quiet, and I managed to get some sleep between nebulisers. To be fair, I've had loads of admissions with asthma, and always had a good experience.

I recently went to a private clinic as a NHS patient, everything was fine until the aftercare/discharge bit, the nurse didn't know how to put the blood pressure cuff on and then put it on upside down, I asked for tea, with milk, he came back with peppermint tea and milk, the other nurse nearly gave me the wrong discharge notes with another patients personal details and op details on, I was told to get changed, I left my disposable shorts on the floor as wasn't sure where to put them and was also struggling to bend down because of the pain and she said "the bin is there" in a horrible tone, a patient in the next bay was being sick and she rolled her eyes and slowly walked to her with a sick bowl. I've been to a private hospital as NHS patient before and the care was great.

My visits to amazing hospitals like GOSH or the Royal Marsden were where I encoutered excellent professional standards - so why can't all hospitals be like this?

DD had less than amazing care at GOSH. They wanted to do an MRI scan and lumbar puncture of her under general anaesthetic. I only agreed to the lumbar puncture, under a general anaesthetic. No fault of ours, as we were there at 7 am as instructed, and they got round to her at 5 pm. They did the MRI scan, but there was a delay and the general anaesthetic was wearing off. They made three attempts at the lumbar puncture and told DD (with SEN) to keep still, a word she doesn’t understand, being a conceptual word. She told me, it fucking hurt. (She was 16). Eventually they gave up.

The consultant rang me up the next day and apologised. However for a young person with hidden disabilities, who frequently needs medical attention, I didn’t want that kind of unnecessary experience for her, in case she was terrified next time, she had to go to hospital!

If the hospital was in England you can provide information on your experience here. The CQC do not investigate individual complaints (you need to follow the trusts complaint process for that) but if lots of people are reporting similar experiences that might trigger them to take a look.

https://www.cqc.org.uk/give-feedback-on-care

PALS at Pinderfields hospital in Wakefield, were not in the slightest bit interested in helping me. They just treated me like I was lying and basically just gave excuses for horrible behaviour and treatment by the nurses. I haven't got the energy to try and find out where my next point of call would be for me to try and complain about my treatment.

Doesn’t surprise me, I’m a HCP and listened for years to patients stories of hospitals and never quite believed other HCP could be that bad. Then dh got cancer and I found out for myself that it really is that bad.

Theres always been a contempt for patients behind closed doors (especially HIV, MH patients and anyone with an addiction) and I’ve seen it myself at work but it’s not hidden anymore.

I have had an absolutely shocking year with my health and the NHS have been negligent at times. I was forced to go private but can’t afford that anymore so back to the NHS. I think the years of mismanagement and the abuse of the health system has all but destroyed the NHS

💯💯💯 some of the nurses are so very uncaring and lazy. The cleanliness was OK except the toilets but I guess it's hard to catch when the patients mess the toilet up. Some of the nurses seem to have no idea what they are doing and also the noise at night is so annoying. Talking and laughing loudly at 2am. Banging and slamming doors. It's horrible 😞

I have PTSD from my birth 20 years ago - total neglect. My case was written up as part of a study but it didn't change anything. I got access to and read all my notes about 5 years ago - endless lies and nasty comments. Deeply weird behaviour by one GP in particular. They also wrote that I had "OCD" when in fact my mum had cleaned the hospital room because there was dried blood and faeces on the floor and walls. Just disgusting and neglectful in every way. And it isn't 'free' - it isn't even cheap by world standards.

Interesting about the door and bin slamming at night.
Every hospital I've ever worked in changed to door closers and silent bins years ago.
You simply can't slam them.
Perhaps complain and suggest this.

Just to add some nurses are absolutely awful.
Impossible to get rid of and managers don't care as long as they fill the shifts.
It stopped being about patients years ago.
Now a box ticking exercise.
Target met ✅

Those who do care usually end up being driven out or driven to breakdowns.

As a nurse these kind of stories make me incredibly sad. The NHS is free at the point of contact for everyone, no matter how complex or trivial the condition. I left ward work as we were chronically understaffed for the complexity of the patients we cared for. Call bells were left unanswered for unacceptable amounts of time and patients not given the level of care I would want for anybody due to simply not having the staff to everything. I appreciate that people have bad experiences but that's largely due to lack of staff and funding, the staff are fundamentally kind, its not the kind of job you can do if you don't care. If you have an issue please please bring it up whilst your there, nothing can change unless people know what's happening.

I have PTSD from my hysterectomy a few years ago. It was the most awful experience. Staff seem to treat patients as an inconvenience, pain levels not believed, medication withheld. Expected to use a bedpan with male visitors in the room. Food and hygiene levels vile. But we're meant to put up with it as it 'free' apparently. It's dangerous and degrading.

I had spinal surgery in August and went private - it was like stopping in a hotel. Food was great, care was wonderful, staff chatty and happy. Different world. They asked me if I wanted to go home and I said no. My consultant is actually interested in getting me the best result not something that 'will do'.

It was disgusting when I gave birth in 2007. I was told where the showers were and went in to find blood, used maternity pads, overflowing bins, no toilet paper, mold...this wasn't in one shower, this was in multiple and the blood was crusted on the walls in places. This is a leading hospital. We've just taken out private health care after witnessing what friends and relatives have gone through at NHS hospitals recently.

Rather, that poor patient shouldn't have been left smelling of feces.

I had two endoscopies last year and was treated with kindness and consideration during both. Also during two visits to A&E.
I'm in Oxfordshire, I think standards vary wildly by region.

Pinderfields are horrendous. I am not surprised.

I wouldn't like to be in any of your holidays!

Are there annual ratings for hospitals like there are for schools with OFSTED?

I think it says it all when my DH who is an NHS consultant has always insisted that the whole family have private healthcare!! We have a family plan and even though the premiums are expensive as it covers 5 of us we have had far more back in claims than the cost of the policy. The speed of getting investigations and consultant appointments means that you always have the peace of mind that issues are dealt with promptly and for anything non-urgent you can schedule appointments at a convenient time and I have never had an appointment or procedure cancelled or rearranged like so many are on the NHS.

There are CQC ratings.
They are supposed to visit spontaneously but in reality they announce an inspection and all all hell breaks loose.
Staff are coachedbullied in what to say and the staffing is great on those days.
Matrons sweep round ensuring everything is perfect, all the wards are spotless and all the numbers add up.
Then is goes back to usual.

We have (unfortunately) extensive experience of NHS care over the past 20 years. Like pp, both dd1 and I were diagnosed with PTSD after her stay. Dh had a small procedure done privately recently which was our first experience of a private hospital. The difference in staff attitudes was astonishing. They were kind, patient and had time for us. I'm assuming because they're not stressed out and overworked. It really brought it home how we shouldn't be so accepting of the decline of the NHS.

By contrast, I had surgery in a private hospital and my treatment and aftercare was way worse than it was when I was in an NHS hospital. Yes, the food was better and the room was nicer but other than that, pretty much everything was worse.

My mum was a nurse and ended up having to retire early. She had a frozen shoulder which required surgery but she refused to have it. She said she saw so many patients coming in with something minor and ending up with mrsa etc, and sometimes never even leaving that hospital again that she’d rather live in poverty and pain.

DH was in hospital recently for a couple of weeks. Couldn't fault the treatment and care.