Blackburn Royal Cockup Hospital!

[webglynne]

Blackburn Royal Cockup Hospital!
Thursday!
I took Kathleen into primary care on Boxing Day to be looked at, she had passed no water for 24 hours. It cost me £3.00 to get a taxi from the old Queens Park entrance to the hospital as waiting for an ambulance could have meant waiting 4 hours, £3.00 for a few hundred yards travel.

I should have insisted on a home visit but that is hindsight.

Kathleen is now home complete with the sign I put over the bed
“THIS LADY CANNOT FEED HERSELF!”
but without her wheelchair. So I called the ward and was called back when they found it, “Can you have someone come for it?” “No I cannot!” I said.
“It will be Sunday before we can send it back to you!”
“It will B£*&%$ well not! You will get a taxi and have it here now!” And I put the phone down.

Later another call, “It will be with you in about an hour by taxi!” But surely things like this should be in someone’s notes?

P S I have not checked if she has her teeth!

P P S. Is there still a hospital bus?

Where does it run from?

What times does it run?

Can one board in along the rout?

What rout does it take? We live Willows Lane area.

[SPUGGIE J]

Originally Posted by webglynne

Blackburn Royal Cockup Hospital!
Thursday!
I took Kathleen into primary care on Boxing Day to be looked at, she had passed no water for 24 hours. It cost me £3.00 to get a taxi from the old Queens Park entrance to the hospital as waiting for an ambulance could have meant waiting 4 hours, £3.00 for a few hundred yards travel.

I should have insisted on a home visit but that is hindsight.

Kathleen is now home complete with the sign I put over the bed
“THIS LADY CANNOT FEED HERSELF!”
but without her wheelchair. So I called the ward and was called back when they found it, “Can you have someone come for it?” “No I cannot!” I said.
“It will be Sunday before we can send it back to you!”
“It will B£*&%$ well not! You will get a taxi and have it here now!” And I put the phone down.

Later another call, “It will be with you in about an hour by taxi!” But surely things like this should be in someone’s notes?

P S I have not checked if she has her teeth!

P P S. Is there still a hospital bus?

Where does it run from?

What times does it run?

Can one board in along the rout?

What rout does it take? We live Willows Lane area.

Hope she is ok now after that carryon.

Never mind a cock up it sounds like they dont give a tom tit up there for people that need them. Thing is though the taxi was a hind site on their part and was agreed to so they dont have any complaints or patient service black marks. As for information written down I would lay odds on they didnt bother looking for any.

[BERNADETTE]

It beggars belief that a sign is needed to alert staff that a patient can't feed theirself doesn't it? Glad you got the wheelchair sorted and as for a hospital service bus yes there is one. It leaves Peel Street at about twenty past the hour and does pick up along the way. It goes via Willows Lane so yes you would be able to use it.

[Margaret Pilkington]

Webglynne, this is not the place to air your grievances against the local hospital.......there is a complaints process within the hospital, whereby you can air your concerns and the hospital will have the opportunity to address those concerns......by airing your concerns on here you put the hopital at a disadvantage.

If you think that your treatment was not of a suitable standard, then the people who dealt with you need to know this....how else can it be rectified?

If you bring your concerns to the people who can sort it out for you, then someone else may be saved a similar experience.

As for the taxi fares, I am sure that you could have been re-imbursed for your 'out-of-pocket expenses.......or at least that used to be the case.
I would enquire about it.

Lots of people are very happy to condemn the local services.....but few people come on here and tell us when they have had a positive experience.

[shillelagh]

i have margaret ... and i always say thank you .... a positive experience that is ...

[Margaret Pilkington]

Jen, I am not surprised about that....your mother brought you up well.

[Retlaw]

[quote=Margaret Pilkington;773947]Webglynne, this is not the place to air your grievances against the local hospital.......
I don't see why he should'nt have a rant on here.
I was in the old Royal twice and never again.
The noise in that place was like being in Foster Yates and Thoms Foundry, no thought about patients sleep deprivation, I stood it for five days, ripped the butterfly thingy out the back of my hand and packed my bag and left, even though I could hardly walk, I had to drag my bag with the handle of my walking stick, till I found a phone to ring someone to pick me up.

That noise in that new hospital is even worse than the old one every trolly has square wheels, I've not a been patient in that one nor will I ever be, the staff may be good, but the enviroment is bluudy awfull.

Retlaw

[shillelagh]

thats true .... and shes probably looking down nodding her head at the minute!!

[Margaret Pilkington]

I just think that it is unfair to post such comments if he hasn't given the hospital the opportunity to hear his complaints first.
The complaints process is there to be used, it is there so that the hospital and the ward concerned know their failings, and have a chance to respond to the criticism levelled at them.

Hospitals are not quiet environments....there is always something going on.......and sleeping isn't enhanced by having someone in the next bed snoring, f@rting, or needing a commode in the middle of the night(or worse...the crash cart)........I worked there for almost 30 years and although some of the trolleys had wheels that squeaked, I never saw a trolley with square wheels.....that is why today, they try to get patients home to their own environment as quickly as is safely possible.

[Royboy39]

Originally Posted by Margaret Pilkington

I just think that it is unfair to post such comments if he hasn't given the hospital the opportunity to hear his complaints first.
The complaints process is there to be used, it is there so that the hospital and the ward concerned know their failings, and have a chance to respond to the criticism levelled at them.

Hospitals are not quiet environments....there is always something going on.......and sleeping isn't enhanced by having someone in the next bed snoring, f@rting, or needing a commode in the middle of the night(or worse...the crash cart)........I worked there for almost 30 years and although some of the trolleys had wheels that squeaked, I never saw a trolley with square wheels.....that is why today, they try to get patients home to their own environment as quickly as is safely possible.

Margaret...you are spot on with your observation.
Happy new year and let the complaining nannies give credit where it is due.
You and I know that the NHS is one hell of a service and let us be thankful for that.

[Neil]

Originally Posted by Margaret Pilkington

I just think that it is unfair to post such comments if he hasn't given the hospital the opportunity to hear his complaints first.

Many people don't want to make official complaints so instead blow of steam to friends. That is all he was doing. I also think that others reading the thread may double check what is being done to their family when in hospital.

I have posted on here before about incompetent and lazy staff at what was Queens Park. Things like mixing up 2 patients medication chart and not cleaning beds before the next patient was admitted.

In fact we had that bad an experience when when Rhonda was having our eldest that we went to Burnley for the next one.

I have also posted about my own good experience when I had a couple of operations there and when my son was in having his tonsils out.

[Margaret Pilkington]

Neil I respect your opinion, but stand by what I have said for the reasons which I have clearly explained.
When I was working for the NHS I was involved in dealing with complaints about service and I can assure you that I did my utmost to resolve the concerns of patients and their relatives who were dissatisfied with the treatment they had received.......so I am speaking from experience and I know that it would be far better for Webglynne to direct his concerns through the correct process so that action could be taken to resolve the issues.
This forum is read by very many people, people who may need the hospital in the coming weeks.........it can frighten these people. Not good.......and worse not fair to the hospital because it cannot respond to criticism of this kind....or resolve the issues for the people concerned.
It used to be said that someone who had had good treatment rarely told anyone about it, but that someone who had had poor treatment would tell 20 people.....now with the internet it is more like 20million.

[jaysay]

Originally Posted by Margaret Pilkington

Neil I respect your opinion, but stand by what I have said for the reasons which I have clearly explained.
When I was working for the NHS I was involved in dealing with complaints about service and I can assure you that I did my utmost to resolve the concerns of patients and their relatives who were dissatisfied with the treatment they had received.......so I am speaking from experience and I know that it would be far better for Webglynne to direct his concerns through the correct process so that action could be taken to resolve the issues.
This forum is read by very many people, people who may need the hospital in the coming weeks.........it can frighten these people. Not good.......and worse not fair to the hospital because it cannot respond to criticism of this kind....or resolve the issues for the people concerned.
It used to be said that someone who had had good treatment rarely told anyone about it, but that someone who had had poor treatment would tell 20 people.....now with the internet it is more like 20million.

Nobody has more to thank the NHS for than me, as your well aware Margaret, I have nothing but praise for the doctors and nurses at the sharp end of delivering service, its the thick end that I have he problem with. You say there is a complaints procedure, not as you notice. Last year when I was an inpatient, I was ready for coming home and they dispatched me to the "Patients departure lounge" I kid you not, I thought it was a bloody airport, this was at around 12.15pm. I had not had a nebulizer since 8-30am and lunch had not been served so nothing to eat either, I was told my TTOs would be brought to me in the PDL, I was waiting for just one course of anti bios, and I waited and I waited and I waited, I was not pleased nor where the staff, who actually gave me the address of the patient care manager, I arrived home around 6-30pm. I wrote a stinging letter to the Patient Care Manager, I have yet to receive a reply. Since that episode I have been in three times and on each occasion, when I was ready for discharge the PDL has been mentioned and I've told them where to stick it, and I have never been sent there

[Margaret Pilkington]

When you write a letter of complaint it has to be acknowledged within a couple of days and then the complaints procedure has to be set in motion in 5-7 working days and the complainant has to be kept informed of the progress of the investigation......this can be done by letter initially and then usually face to face meetings are convened.....in your case it would have been at your home address becase of your medical condition.
But you have to make sure that the written complaint goes to the complaints department.......although when I was working at the hospital we even made note of verbal compalints and acted on those as if they were written complaints....we had to maintain a log of complaints and also the action that was taken to redress the complaint, and we had to document the outcome.......our department had a patient information board on view, which listed the level of complaints, the actions taken, and which complaints were resolved.

I should perhaps state at this point, that I no longer have any dealings or contact with the hospital in question as I am now (happily) retired.

[Margaret Pilkington]

Jaysay, the Patient Departure Lounge (what a misnomer that is!) was instigated to relieve the pressure on beds, just before I retired........it was fraught with problems then and it still seems so. Many of the problems occur because departments like pharmacy are snowed under with requests for take home mediciations that all come in to be done at the same time........I didn't know what the answer was then and I am sure the place has got busier so the problems will have worsened I'm sure.......but the only way to get things changed is for people to keep plugging away at those who make the policy decisions to implement such schemes........surely there must be ways to anticipate when patients are going to be discharged and get their medications in advance........failing that why don't they issue a script that can be made up by an outside local chemist and get them to deliver it to the patients home?
Ambulance transport was another bugbear, and patients could have seriously long waits for transport to their homes. Emergencies make ambulances unavailable for taking patients back home. You can't argue with the fact that the emergency need is greater.....but again there must be ways around this.......and they need to be used.