NHS Hospitals

disabledkenny1

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.

feir

I now have anxiety around hospitals, after having 4 kids, several miscarriages and a stillbirth and having mostly positive experiences (with always overworked staff). They even had to work on getting my anxiety down when i went for my pre-op assessment because my blood pressure was racing and too high, and last time i went to A&E i set off the alarms on the BP monitor lol. I haven't been back since, i would spend hours just crying in the A&E waiting room until i become hospital avoidant and stopped going. i've been to the doctors since and my BP was it's usual slightly on the low side but fine.

I made an official complaint about my care last time i was (begrudgingly) admitted and it was not around my care, but  more on my dismissal and that i was sent home off my face on painkillers but nobody had noticed i was unable to walk. I was asked whether i could manage my own self care and then nobody followed up on that. I've been recommended to occupational therapy more than once and again not heard anything about this.

Unfortunately i am now considering seeking legal advice to take money from services that are already struggling but i don't see why i should be left in the state i have been left in and i know all anybody cares about is money and if i am being punished for being disabled then i am going to retaliate. I've had enough. Being disabled should not be a punishment. Care and a quality of life is a privilege not given to all, i would say it is a basic right but if that right is not being applied to all then it does not exist.

That's my story, partially and in it's most basic form.

disabledkenny1

Thanks Feir I agree with you, did you go through the NHS complaints procedure as I know that's the first step to take, but in my case its lack of staff the staff did a fantastic job they just very under staff through NHS cutbacks, which in my opinion wrong.

feir

Hi. First thing i did was complain on the reviews page for the hospital, they told me to go to PALS but tbh my physical state was really bad at the time and just trying to do anything was so hard that i was using all my energy to try and rebuild my life to a very basic level and getting my kids to be more independent as well as become my carers was the priority then, also the longer i've been left to fend for myself the worse my mental health has become (even discounting the hospital anxiety i do have problems with depression now). I struggle mentally now  but have more days where my thoughts are clear, trying to get anywhere in the system tends to make me feel mentally worse and can make my depression worse for a couple months even to the point where my suicidal thoughts are magnified and become to high for me to cope with.

Not sure whether to bother with PALS or not now, more want to see a solicitor because the system itself needs changing. I'd like to think my poor care was down to cutbacks, they definitely weren't going to admit me and discharged me too soon because of a lack of beds. I do feel medical staff on the ward did show me a lack of care though when i was discharged, none of them cared about the state i was in and didn't know that i was unable to walk and they are to blame here so i cannot support that they did a good job in this case.

Topkitten

I have had repeated problems with doctors both in and out of hospital.

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

Misscleo

I went to hospital cos i couldnt breathe. I couldnt walk was i a bad state.
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?

April2018mom

I recently made a official complaint about my son’s first ever urologist. We were referred by our pediatrician after I asked him to do a referral. The urologist basically told me that  all children with SB have bowel and bladder issues and need to be cathed frequently. He was terrible. 

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. 

disabledkenny1

Hi Topkitten so sorry to hear of your trouble, I would write a letter to the chief of the hospitals involved & make sure you keep a copy, wait for a reply then contact your local press that tends t shake them up a bit, also contact your local councillor again by letter as then you have written proof, I hope this helps, take care Kenny. 

disabledkenny1

Hi April2018mom I agree with you the so-called professional consultants in the NHS, in general, are OK but a number refuses to answer any questions or inform you of your condition & offer you chose I feel that they just want to see you & push you out of the doors so they can get on with the other patients, again like nurses the doctors are short staffed, but we should not be suffering, thanks for sharing, Kenny.

Topkitten

@Misscleo, I can only assume that the forms used for reporting that particular visit precluded the inclusion of the specialists opinion for some reason. Not all reports are particularly good for what they are meant for as their design is usually quite old. Perhaps you could contact the specialist concerned and ask him to contact your GP and send appropriate information. His letter or report might not have the same restrictions. Don't forget that most A&E doctor's are junior's and thus may not have the experience or training to accurately describe or even understand the problem. I have found that many doctors refuse to include things unless they have the experience to understand fully how to describe problems for fear of getting things wrong and leaving themselves open to being sued. Another reason why it is not such a good thing to constantly complain about doctors even when they are wrong, they become "gun shy" to quote an American term. Complaining about and suing doctors began in America and has become prevalent here too and forces doctors to be much less forthcoming with information for fear of making mistakes even though trying to help generally.

TK

thara

I’ve switched specialists twice now. The first time ever I asked for a new MFM because I felt that the current one was ridiculously unrealistic and negative about my son’s disability. My son’s first ever PT was shockingly unwilling to be flexible, recommend exercises or suggest answers to my questions. Nor would she order any equipment or touch his legs or feet. So I looked for a different pediatric therapist who could work with us. I’ve heard some stories of unprofessional doctors and therapists too. Our lovely NS recommended a new PT after I complained about our son’s PT. She was actually unwilling to touch his legs and feet. The old therapist was working in the hospital where Noah sees all of his specialists so I asked them about physical therapy sessions. Some doctors are flexible others are infuriatingly rigid. We have to complain about these stupid people. 

disabledkenny1

Hi Thara what does MFM stand for, please? I feel it all seems to come down to finance each doctor passes the buck as it would go on another doctors budget, typical NHS which is a mess, good luck getting it all sorted & I hope Noah gets the therapy that he needs, take care x

disabledkenny1

Hi Topkitten the consultants where both senior both I had seen in previous years in Oldham Royal Infirmary so they should have known my medical history, it was a young consultant that discharged me saying that I had a TIA & that the symptoms will stop in a few days, which are blurred vision & confusion when I wake up whether asleep for one hour or 8 hours. Thanks for your message I appreciate it very much, take care Kenny 

thara

disabledkenny1 said:

Hi Thara what does MFM stand for, please? I feel it all seems to come down to finance each doctor passes the buck as it would go on another doctors budget, typical NHS which is a mess, good luck getting it all sorted & I hope Noah gets the therapy that he needs, take care x

Maternal fetal medicine. 

Matilda

The only hospital doctors I have confidence in are consultants.  The rest, even registrars, are junior doctors and make decisions based on guesswork.  They really haven't got much of a clue. A consultant told me that in his young day doctors had to wait eight years post qualification before becoming registrars; now it's two years. Say no more.  GPs are more knowledgeable than junior hospital doctors.

disabledkenny1

Hi Matilda I had the opposite experience I found the Junior consultant better than the 2 senior ones as they just said my TIA was in my mind & need mental health referral yet the Junior consultant told me I had a TIA & the symptoms ie confusion & blurriness would clear up within a few days even though it took 2 weeks to clear up.

EmilyH2023

I work in a hospital so feel free to ask anything or questions