Very unimpressed by the standards on Surgery Ward
In the past I have used the Outpatient Services at the Montefiori Hospital and I couldn't fault them. I also wish to bring up the positive comments made by the patient about how lovely and professional the anaesthetist and consultant were.
However, I wish the same could be said about the nursing staff on the Surgery Ward at a time when I was accompanying a relative who was to undergo surgery under GA.
Never have I come across a medical facility where it is NOT a common standard for nursing staff (here 2 nurses and also the nurse in charge) to greet !!! patients (and relatives) and to introduce themselves and explain why they have come when entering the patient’s room. What is more, the nursing staff did not engage with the patient (or myself, never asked who I was) at all, even to talk about the weather, not to mention showing any sympathy or to give assurances, totally uninterested. They were more like 'robots processing meat'. Equally, communication was absent after the surgery, I had to call for an update (prompted by a concerning call from patient) but never heard back from them, sadly, the only information was coming from the patient on their mobile phone…
In addition, the poor communication seemed to show a lack of customer approach towards the self-funding patient: for example, the patient was repeatedly told that the consultant doing the surgery was NOT physically in the hospital, apparently, was working on a shift at an NHS hospital, even worse, a senior member of staff let it slip that they might be late on the rainy day. Another instance was the insistence that the patient attends the pre-op assessment split into 3 separate appointments on 3 different days! it was only when the patient threatened to cancel the surgery that everything was put into one day.
Another issue is a lack of policies on areas such as visitors, whether you want the visitors to be present in the run-up to surgery, as in my experience, relatives were NOT made feel welcome (for example, I was told, rudely, by staff things like ‘calm down’ or 'you don't have to be here') when vocalising concerns/feelings/asking Qs). How about showing some compassion and offering a cup of tea and a chat if needed? Next, a policy on the use of mobile phones by patients after GA is badly needed, for example, patient called when still groggy and confused after GA, making claims that made me worried! Finally, a policy on Infection Control and Prevention needs reviewing because visitors were using patient toilets, which is at odds with info at your www, other hospitals and level of infection control expected of the patient pre-surgery. The patient was instructed to shower with a surgical scrub, change their bedsheets, towels and their clothes on a daily basis 5/five days before the surgery!!! Needless to say, they did not bother to check if the patient had complied with it.
Disturbingly, the nurse/HCA? doing admissions did not seem to be adequately trained as there were blunders that did not inspire confidence in the care, they also came across as 'unable to speak' as they were not communicating one single bit (no hello, how are you?, no small talk/jokes, request for water ignored), as if there was thin air in the room, you had to prompt them with Qs. Some of the 'surprising' blunders : the patient was handed in a wristband with their details on it with the nurse NOT following the protocol by verifying the details with the patient beforehand (a serious patient safety incident) (another patient safety incident occurred one day before surgery when the patient got the go-ahead for the surgery at lunchtime only to be told on a late afternoon that another mandatory blood test needed, explicitly told that if no show, the surgery cancelled), further blunders: the patient was given their own Medical Notes File for the whole life ( unrequested!, GDPR breach) to write on top of when doing paperwork instead of a clipboard, nurse not aware of catheter in situ (another patient safety incident) plus (no handover sheet on them, anyway), patient instructed to put all their stuff onto the windowsill, NOT the cupboard in the private room, valuables not locked up as the nurse forgot...
What happened in the end was I ended up being labelled rude and racist by a condescending manager (English) due to a complaint about the above involving some staff of also Non-Caucasian origin and in addition, after I asked two members of staff to speak English as I did not understand being convinced it was a different language, when it was just a different variety of English. Ironically, I am a foreign national whose first language is NOT English, and I just had not picked up on their accent. By NO means, is it about the COLOUR of YOUR SKIN, it IS about your COMPETENCE as a NURSE.
You have lost a customer!
3 November 2025
Unprompted review
