Queens Hospital

Really bad experience at Queen's hospital, from entrance until I've left.

I've had an awful abdominal pain which was going all the way to my back, I couldn't stay straight on my feet for too long and neither on chair.

I've arrived there at 15:18 and after 15-20 min one of the nurse took my blood pressure and my temperature, after that I have waited for 6 hours to be assessed so I'll know which department should I go. I understand that there was cases urgent that had priority but still it's not acceptable to wait that long. After 6 hours I was sent to emergency major b, yellow area. I have arrived there helped by my daughter, I've check in at the reception, waited for another half of hour to be assessed again and to do the blood tests. I finished all this around 11pm. After that they've told me to wait in the other area from major b at a&e to be called by someone whenever my results were ready.

I have waited until 3am in the morning to be taken by someone. The doctor that came, the only person who actually cared for his patients helped me. He gave me a strong antibiotic and he booked me in for a ct scan at 9 am. The pain wasn't as much at that moment as it was when I've arrived but it was still there, I could walk a bit better after the antibiotics. He prescribed me some medicine but he specified and insisted not to take them until the doctor from next shift reads my results. I've left the hospital at 6am.

At 9am I came for the scan, the lady from reception didn't even know where to send me and move me from there to there. After the scan I've been told that I'll wait 2 to 3 hours for the result.

I have waited until 4 pm, so another 7 hours spent over there for nothing. I decided to ask a nurse around 3pm, she moved me from one side to another, she didn't know, she told me that there's no doctor to read my scan results and told me that was going to find someone. At 4 pm a lady doctor came and took me inside and asked me what is my problem with my file in her hands. I started to explain her again what was wrong and that I did the scan. She DID NOT read my scan results, she DID NOT told me if it was ready or not she was really uncaring, and at the end told me to take the prescription that the previous doctor gave me, she DID NOT even looked at that prescription.


I've left the hospital with pain, without a proper answer of what I have and totally disappointed and really tired of this uncaring staff.

I had to go back at home to check what is wrong with me on my money, even though I pay taxes and work and have a life here, because In here I didn't get a proper treatment I was really neglected.

parking is Hell and who ever design the hospital, don't have trouble walking , pushing a wheelchair, a baby buggy horribly seeing everyone smoking outside hospital,

I had some friends who used to say "If you go to Queen's Hospital, don't stay overnight cause you won't ever leave if you do!" Well it's not THAT bad.

Saying that, if you live in the catchment area for this ambulance service there's really nothing you can do about where you're going.

There have been a lot of bad stories over the years in the press about Queen's not being what it should be. People going in and being in their beds in their own excrement and the standards just not being up to much. Well I'm fortunate to not have gone in as a patient for a few years (I went there back in 2012 because I broke my hand.), but had to visit my Dad in November because he had a stroke. Fortunately his speech wasn't slurred and he had no physical aliments, he did (and still does) suffer from aphasia as a result, this basically means he lost the ability to read, watch TV, listen to music, understand time and mixes some of his words up so it sounds like he's talking nonsense.

Good points:

Not many I'm afraid. The hospital is very new looking.

It has facilities for people who are visiting their friends and relatives; Costa and a few places to eat.

The receptionist and nursing staff were polite and helpful.

The aftercare was very good; the hospital arranged various nurses and behaviour therapist for him very quickly.

Bad points:

I visited a few times and didn't leave with good impressions of the place really. Firstly it smells like horrible and rotting food, puke, pee and crap; there's really no delicate way to put it! I'm assuming the staff can't really smell it, but it is prominent. Personally I think they should go back to the days of disinfecting everything, and stop underpaying the cleaning staff, surely hygiene should come first?

The place is a warren, and it's very easy to get lost, which I did the first time I visited. The ward I needed to go to wasn't plainly marked.

Although staff were helpful towards me, their attitude was completely different to the patient. One catering staff assistant asking dad a question but then completely ignoring his reply.

My dad has a limited diet that he eats and he hated the food, he said it tasted "diabolical", he ended up eating very little of the hospital food and was "told off" for not eating it. Honestly it smelt inedible to me too. Fortunately they didn't seem to care that we brought food in that my Dad could eat. (Is this a good point or a bad point?)

In my Dad's ward there were lots of old, infirm, and senile patients, at least two of whom constantly shouted during the night and day. So he had no sleep some days because of all the noise being made.

The Doctors wouldn't or couldn't tell us exactly what my dad's diagnosis was, what treatment they were going to take and when he would get certain tests and would be allowed to leave. My mum and her friend had to find a doctor/specialist and grill them intensely to get the information we needed from them.

Because of cuts with staff and funding, and the running of hospital like businesses rather than places to save people's lives. We're forced to make do with what we have. To put up with substandard hygiene. Doctors and nurses working long hours for little pay. It's basically what you get.

So if you're in the Essex/Havering area and you call an ambulance or have to go to hospital for physiotherapy, or surgery you'll definitely end up at Queen's. Not good, but it'll save your life.

My family and I have had a reasonable service from Queen's so far. However recently my husband who has difficulty and severe pain when walking, due to a work related knees injury, had an appointment with Mr. Ali in the Orthopaedics dept, and found after a few hours waiting to see him, he said he could not do anything for him. This was not the result my husband wanted! We have asked for a second opinion via another Consultant.
We have had an original appointment for October... 11 months after the injury! We contacted PALS to get us an earlier one. After they rung us with the appointment date... 3 days AFTER that date he received the appointment letter for the date we had already attended! No wonder people are NOT turning up for there appointments! It should be those who run it who should get the proposed fines that Mr. Hunt wants to give non-attending patients.

The Queens Hospital was built to replace the original Oldchurch Hospital which dated back to the pre-war era and had seen better days being riddled with dereliction and bugs and viruses. So the authorities came up with the new Queens hospital, one that was to be clean and state of the art! So what did they do once the building was complete? Transfer most of the equipment from the old hospital, and where did the viruses end up, no prizes for guessing that one. We all here of hospitals not maintaining there expected levels of hygiene and The Queens is one of these. They have had some pretty bad press due to a number of alleged reports of negligence and more recently they have restructured the management following a serious incident, however time there CCU does get my vote after seeing there level of care towards their patients.
Unfortunately we cant live without them and we are grateful when we need them and come out repaired or alive.

I have to visit the Oncology dept because of my wife's breast cancer, I used to enter the hospital through the Old Church road entrance which is about 25 yards from the car park but some time ago a sign was put up in the oncology dept stating that drivers that come through that entrance will be fined, so I now have to enter through the A25 entrance and drive the whole length of the hospital grounds which seems ludicrous because now you have dozens of cars driving from one end of the hospital to the other and back again which is hundreds of yards pumping out toxic fumes which can enter the hospital through open windows and doors for the patients, staff and visitors to breath in, I thought hospitals were supposed to care for peoples health problems not cause them.

This is and upgrade of the old Oldchurch hospital. Based in the heart of Romford this is the newest hospital in Essex. It is clean and fresh and doesn' even look like a hopsital. Its a shame about the waiting times of the hosital but the facitlitys are good including the cafe and parking facilitys. Better than Oldchurch.

What a joke so as a carer I understand they busy under presser under paid under staffed but what a bloody joke so I took my mother their who had operations on foot last Monday but from 3pm today was bleeding 101 advised us to go a n e asap which we did we queued up from 05:15 and finally got to rest 18::00 to speak to reception then were called straight in room where lady decided who we see then we waited time ticked by still waiting but had warned mum four hour wait ish no prob bearing in mind advised to go an e and mum a diabetic and had bleeding foot thought she was sorta emergency case septic or clotting and eating every few hours in mind to but when still waiting 8pm mum hobbled up asked roughly how long said one in front you then ya in thought OK great then I went up after Dr after nurse after Dr came called people so 9pm I went up explained I know your busy I don't want to add to it but plz my mum a diabetic and needs to eat but sort her foot she said her computer info had just changed she didn't know till looking that instead of seeing two Dr now seeing one that she is next to be called and they had put her back in queue so basically forgot about her so we watched another six people go through wen we were supposedly next so we were vocal on leaving and will sue if goes septic or we can't stop bleeding when get her home due to negligence and poor disgusted service shocking it got so bad