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NHS Hospitals


I was admitted to Fairfield General Hospital Stroke A & E Department on 14th July 1018 at approx 10.30am with a TIA, I started having a seizure at 9.20am I felt in a daze with both arms & legs violently shaking about as well as my head, I also felt a burning sensation in the top back section of my head as well as left front side of my head also shaking from side to side, after 10 minutes I telephoned an ambulance I said just “Ambulance” Stroke” as I wanted to say more but could only get 2 words out to explain, she said address please I very slowly said, Rose…wood Crescent, ...Chadderton, then strudeled any thing strudel to say more so she stayed on line & asked me to try & say what’s going on after a period managed to tell her about the symptoms I was having, when the ambulance crew turned up they asked what went on I eventually told them, the checked my heart & was OK discovered I had low oxygen level so put me on oxygen bu noise through asthma, then took me by stretcher in ambulance to Fairfield General Hospital the stroke doctor said we will give you a head MRI Scan so did when I had it still struggling to get any words out I said have “I stroke” he said no I just said “TIA” he said no neurological so sending you to see neurologist so I went still struggling to speak, to [name removed by moderator] (spelling), he said “you have not had a TIA mmmm how can I explain this” he said “your brain runs like a computer but the brain more advanced then the computer & like a computer the brain crashes so your brain when you have a lot of stress & a lot going on in your life, that is what happened to you so we admit for observation over night then see you in the morning“, I just said very slowly & strudel said “but I have symptoms of TIA” he said “I don’t think so” smiling, I said “no you wrong” he said “I don’t think so Mr Fletcher I will now send you upstairs to rest & recover.”
He said “because a brain MRI Scan was not showing bleeding” he said “you could not have had a TIA!” I thought well a TIA often does not show up in MRI Scan & he should know that so why is he dismissing it? It upset me that a long standing Neurologist that I have known since 1994 when I had my first Major Stroke, then strokes & TIA‘s following the Major Stroke? Why was my records not checked when he was the one that wrote them all?
I have a stroke condition which has never been named, which I would like to know what it is called.
I had by 5pm fully recovered as chatted to the nurses & patient at side of me we even managed a laugh even though we where ill in health.
I discovered that Ward 5b was struggling to run it effetely because they had only half the staff that they needed the poor nurses was having to run from section to section of this large ward of stroke victims, which was making the patients anxious and upset, the nurses did the best they could but was run off there feet & unable to carry out all there duties to a professional standard and all patients suffered as result.
I only managed 3 hours sleep as was refused any medication in case of brain bleed so why say that when consultant said it was not TIA?
I saw a Dr AA Ansari a very nice professional consultant in the morning of Saturday 15th July 2018, who speciality general medicine arrange my medication. Unfortunately, the hospital only had half so had to wait for most medication till I got home.
In general I felt so sorry for the poor nurses that was doing a very professional job but could not carry out all there duties through being very short staff as head staff nurse told me so, I told her you doing a great job besides that well done, the next patient agreed with me.
I also felt sorry for all these poor patients that are not getting the proper care that they are desperately needing, something need to be done in our NHS Hospitals as similar in other hospitals around the country, please let me know any bad experiences that you have faced present or past.
I am going to campaign to get the NHS services, including social services, etc, so the more information I can get the better chance of us making changes to the NHS in England! So please any experiences you may have, will help with my new campaign that I feel strongly about, many thanks Kenny Fletcher x.
Replies
I had a blazing row with a senior gp doctor in charge of A&E who misdiagnosed me as having crumbling spine and prescribed medication about as useful as smarties and sent me home.
I had a A&E nurse verbally berate me for wasting A&E time on another occasion I was misdiagnosed.
I was verbally berated by a nurse for lying about the OD I had taken only to get an apology when the blood test proved my case.
On 3 occasions I have been told that a new non-neural pain was neural without receiving any tests except to see if I could move my feet having made it clear that it was only when walking I had a problem. The third time was last Monday night / Tuesday morning.
On half-a-dozen occasions I have been told by A&E doctors that I have no idea what is wrong with me because I am not a doctor. Each time this was followed up by asking to name the condition I had when I had gone to A&E to find out.
When I told the head of Orthopaedics I had fractured my L3 vertebrae 2 weeks before seeing him he searched through an 18 month old MRI scan and told me I hadn't. When I explained it was at a different hospital and they emailed the CT scan and results he said, without looking, they hadn't received anything. This same doctor then spent 20 minutes of my 30 minute appointment telling me about him having to undergo major surgery for a strain he incurred playing golf and how difficult this made things, instead of discussing the surgery I needed to continue walking. He then grudgingly put me down for microsurgery and gloated that I would have to wait 18 months as he needed more important surgery. When I complained and asked to be put on the 3 month waiting list I was given a second opinion instead. This doctor spotted that my MRI showed the microsurgery might not be possible (the head of department missed it completely). After a CT scan he obviously found his concern warranted and, rather than admit his boss made a mistake, decided I didn't need the surgery (having waited 3 years and had 4 other surgeons all say I needed it). When I argued he became verbally abusive. When I said I needed the surgery to continue walking due to the other spinal damage he asked me who had told me I had other damage. When I said "His boss" he became more abusive still and told me I would have to get another opinion at either of 2 hospitals he knew I could not travel to and then ordered the nurse to remove me from the room. I complained to PALS about such treatment and they have ignored my complaint.
On 3 occasions I have been put onto a ward having made it explicitly clear that my MH precludes my coping with this. On each occasion I was refused my medication at my usual times as no senior staff were available. Despite being unable to walk far enough I was so angry and had so much Adrenalin rushing from anger, anxiety and panic attacks that I actually managed to walk out of the hospital (the third time I walked out with a catheter in place.
The hospitals in Essex have been ordered by the government to provide FULL staff on ALL Cancer wards meaning that ALL non Cancer wards are badly understaffed and usually have only 1 senior person per 40 patients. I have seen cleaners calling for an emergency resuscitation for a patient who fell asleep while using a nebuliser as cleaners are the only staff in sufficient quantity to have 1 per ward of 6 or 8. On that occasion I had to wait for 90 minutes before I could take the Tramadol I regularly take for flare-ups waiting for a senior staff member. It was my own medication and, instead of being at a pain level of 8 or 9 for 90 minutes, I could have taken it immediately at home. This was the first occasion I walked out.
I went to A&E for a OD, was verbally abused by a doctor, given no treatment and sent home unable to walk due to the OD. On another occasion for a similar OD I was treated by 2 nurses unable to speak English and, after 4 hours, taken off an A&E bed with no explanation, put into a wheelchair and left alone in A&E reception by a telephone to call a taxi. On both these occasions I was in such a state when I got home I immediately took and additional OD and ended up in an ambulance back to A&E for the second time in 6 hours.
I'm sure there are more but that's all I can think of for the moment.
TK
The hospital told me 2 of my heart valves are not working. A consultant took me into a room and showed me on a computer what my valves looked like. He spoke to me for 20 mins.
Someone wrote a letter tk my doctor and totally left out the condition my heart is in.???
Any ideas?
Er no I ended up switching specialists immediately. Our first appointment was a complete waste of time and money. I drove down to see the doctor at the well meaning recommendation of the pediatrician. But he simply refused to answer any of our questions or schedule a urodynamics test as well for our son. The appointment lasted less than a hour. He acted completely unprofessional towards us.
Not impressed. I wrote a letter after that explaining my concerns and asking politely if we could see another urologist. Thankfully I was listened to. I had a terrible experience with my MFM doctor during my third pregnancy as well. That was the first time I learned something new about medical professionals in general. They are not always willing to answer any questions. Which is shocking really. I want to be involved with my son’s care. I am a valuable member of the medical team as well as any doctors. Please respect my opinion and advice. Answer any questions. It’s that simple. Oh and order equipment too.
Some specialists are frustrating. I’m clearly not the only one. Reading these bad experiences and stories has made me feel better.
TK