BMI Healthcare 

The NHS says patients can get 2nd opinions and doctors can’t discriminate but Mr Chapple who works at BMI Thornbury in Sheffield ended my care with the whole colorectal Dept when I got one + this was after a complication. He also medically gaslighted me for 2 yrs

A letter on 14.11.18 before Mr Chapple knew about the 2nd opinion said

‘Mr Chapple or another clinician would be more than happy to find a solution to your problems'

His secretary on 20.1.20 wrote she was going to contact the surgeon I’d got a 2nd opinion from and my next letter from Mr Chapple on 20.3.20 said

‘It was agreed there were no further surgical treatment the colorectal department could offer you. It was also discussed that the therapeutic relationship that exists between yourself and the surgical specialists involved in your care had completely broken down’

The GMC has rules when a Dr can end a r.ship (abuse, theft) and what he must do (warn patient first) but Mr Chapple didn’t follow ANY of these.

I asked him in 2020 to not end my care but he showed no concern but when I threatened to raise a concern about him to the GMC he quickly changed his decision (which showed me he knew he was wrong) and let me see his colleague but then said nothing could be done and his colleague echoed his words.

In 2018 when I asked if there had been a surgical error he changed + I was medically gaslighted from 2018-2020. A letter from him on 21.9.18 said

‘I arranged for repeat ano-rectal manometry which was performed on 23.7.18. This shows reduced pressures compared to the previous manometry’

A letter from him on 29.4.19 said ‘she has a number of psychological issues which are influencing the perception of the severity of her symptoms’

I couldn’t understand how he could see my symptoms had gone worse and say the problem was psychological but I now know it’s medical gaslighting, it’s dismissing the facts and lying that the patient has psychological problems and using that to not help the targeted patient and caused me A LOT of distress.

I received 5 responses full of medical gaslighting, the 21.2.19 letter said ‘further physical treatments should not be offered until your psychological issues have been addressed. The 8.5.19 letter said ‘your psychological problems need to be addressed and that until that time it would not be appropriate to refer you for further ano rectal investigations’ I sent questions in Feb, Mar, Apr and May 2019 but Mr Chapple on 21.5.19 said ‘we are unable to provide you with any further information and. . continued correspondence with you would not be beneficial . . further emails we receive from you will be filed and not responded to’.

He used the gaslighting to refuse me treatment, a diagnostic test and answers from 2018-2020. He knew I’d tried a treatment with his colleague in 2016 which hadn’t worked, 3 alternative treatments that hadn’t worked and then there was the complication after surgery with him and I was very upset but he still treated me like this and went to end my care in 2020 over a 2nd opinion. This is now way to treat a vulnerable patient.

NHS rules say if something goes wrong the NHS provider must tell you what will be done to put things right and I sent this to Mr Chapple but he dismissed it + I didn’t understand this as these are the rules but this is medical gaslighting, the facts are dismissed.

I didn’t have psychological problems + Mr Chapple knew it. On 24.5.18 I asked for a referral to a Dept to discuss the complication. In 2018 I emailed Mr Chapple about some tests that might help and on 3.8.18 Mr Chapple himself wrote to me about these. The questions I sent Mr Chapple Feb-May 2019 showed all the research I’d done into collagen synthesis for wounds, NICE guidance about my health. I also sent Mr Chapple 2 emails in Oct 2019 and Feb 2020 about reading NHS nutrition for wounds + a report on supplements. I sent receipts of protein, mineral purchases, I was proactive + saw my GP’s 14 times, my GP notes show they were in touch with him

Thorbury, Sheffield replied ‘sorry that this is HOW YOU FEEL’ as if Mr Chapple didn’t do anything wrong I just feel that it’s wrong + said they didn’t have information but I copied from his letters and NHS rules so if you’re thinking of going to Thornbury, here is a peek into how they’ll respond if there are problems and you can ask if you want to go there and pay

So i tried to call this morning to find out about costs for treatment.
My phone call was answered buy a very rude and abrupt lady.
I explained 3 times that I would like to know the costs for treatment.
The receptionist for Dr Sameer Singh was extremely arrogant and gave short answers. Did she care? no, was she waiting for ther shift to finish? Yes. Will i be recommending Dr Singh? No. Could the service be improved? Yes.
I would give this a zero star rating if I could.

What a shame, business lost because a receptionist didnt wash her ears out and listen to the question carefully the first time.

VERY BAD!

I decided to go private as the NHS backlog due to the pandemic would evidently mean I'd be waiting for years for the procedure I desperately needed doing. So following a consultation in December 2021 with the surgeon, I was informed it would be through the BMI Meriden (circle health group ) which I thought would be great. I was initially given at the consultation an approximate date for the op of the end of January 22 beginning of Feb 22 , I heard nothing apart from a dietician appointment by video chat. I sent an email initially asking for an update with no response then a week or two later sent another one being increasingly frustrated as I hadn't heard anything. Then was given middle of March dates , due to the diet and timescales pre op... that isn't going to happen now. I sent another email no response again, after a week sent another frustrated email then got a response off some big wig , the explanation was patronising to say the least. And basically made me feel as though I was being a nuisance.I had at this point even rang the Meriden directly, was told again someone would get back to me as they had NO RECORD of me at all.... no one called me back. Couldn't believe what I was hearing. Considering this procedure will be costing me around £12000 , my argument is at the very least periodic updates does not seem alot to ask. I was assured someone would be in touch and I'm still waiting. All this waiting around left in limbo for 3 months without regular information is now affecting my mental health , I'm getting depressed and more frustrated. I initially took this step to try and better my life for myself and my family but so far the whole experience has had the opposite effect. Wishing now I hadn't turned to these people for help now as they quite simply just do not care. Which may not be true but from my point of view it certainly doesn't seem that way. I'd recommend going somewhere else , these people do not care for your wellbeing physical or mental, that much is clear to me.
****Update****
So after sending my info off to these people not only has no one got back to me, I've also recently learnt that the reason why I have had no surgery date, is due to the CQC ( Care Quality Commission ) offered the BMI Meriden an ultimatum, that they stop the Bariatric patients coming in or they'll be closed down.
At no point has this been disclosed to me, I have now asked the surgeon for a full refund of my consultation fee, and I am refusing to pay for the dietician consultation.
Surely these people have an obligation to be completely transparent, but how can I put my life and health into these people's hands when they cannot even be honest in the first place. Disgraceful!!!!.

Very poor service was booked on 22nd February 2022 after long procedures while i was on holiday Dr got covid. Now been over 4 days been trying to get back booked in again. There reservation department stepney E14 didn't reply to any of my emails, rang after long wait left message to call back on Leigh's voice mail no call back. After 3 days tried to ring finally got through spoke to lady called Kazim. She very unhelpful and didn't want to book after insisting she said would book and confirm via email. Nothing she was lying didn't send no confirmation. This hospital management is very poor and they don't respond to complains or take customers seriously. what is the benefit of having private insurance if its going to be worst then NHS?

A SHAM and BACKSTREET hospital. They botched my cosmetic surgery and have left me looking a hot mess (dr karim kassam) . They also refused to provide any type of resolution and insisted that there is nothing they can do. What a disgrace. They enjoy ruining the lives of teenagers and young women. I have been silent about this for a while but i cannot continue. The so called doctor claimed to be a professional in ethnic lip reductions, but how true is this? I genuinely believe he did not have the expertise that he claimed. I will not rest until the hospital gives me some type of monetary compensation for not only the travel, time wasted and the FLOP surgeries. 1. One day i travelled all the way there for the surgery and when asked if i had eaten a few hours before i said yes as NO ONE told me prior that i wasnt supposed to. I was given no documents of the procedure aswell. USELESS HOSPITAL! I was reduced to tears as I had to leave and had spent so much money and time commuting. The nurses were also incredibly rude and dismissive. Then I was contacted by a rude and mannerless lady by the name of Beth. I think she was a senior hospital director or something, who felt it was okay to be ageist towards me, shout at me and be patronising. She ganged up on me with a lady named Beirut because i was younger in age. Don't get me started on when they tried to scam me out of money for a covid swab i got when they didn't tell me there was a fee for it. SCAMMERS. A BACKSTREET HOSPITAL WITH BACKSTREET STAFF. GIVE ME MY MONEY BACK. If this continues to be brushed underneath the carpet I have no issue contacting the Sun or the Daily mail about the issue along with the horrifying pictures of my lips post-op. If that fails I'm going to make a video about this on my Youtube account which has hundreds of subscribers and I'll ask friends and family to repost so that it can reach a wider audience. They can't get away with treating people like this.

EDIT: Very sad to see that the lady Katy who has been replying to others is refusing to investigate the matter and has edited her initial reply where she said she would investigate. Horrific.

Stay away, this hospital is a joke. Are they employed to take people of the NHS waiting list without seeing them?
I received an appointment letter after the appointment. Telephone number does not answer all options do not exist. When you finally google different numbers staff just send you on a wild goose chase. Department to department and no one knows,.
Stay clear this is shambles. Rude staff and no change of getting an appointment here!!!!

I have just had extended abdominoplasty, hernia repair and liposuction carried out by Adam Sawyer at Poole Harbour Hospital.

One minor negative is my room was oppressively hot despite having windows open and radiator turned off and a fan.

The whole team were AMAZING!! All the nurses were incredibly kind and caring and lovely and took the time to make me feel as comfortable as possible including helping me have a wash (thankyou to the lovely Corinna) and washing my hair. (Thankyou to lovely Elina). My Anaesthetist was informative and confident, which made the experience much less stressful. Colin and Natalie in theatre were both hilarious and again reduced my stress levels. Adam was brilliant as always, even phoned me on my mobile the following night to see how I was getting on.

The food choices were excellent - a shame I wasn't up to taking advantage of it.

I'm only currently 2.5 days post op so very early days yet to review my procedure success but I have every confidence in the end results.

Thankyou so much to everyone who was involved in my care - you are all amazing!

I will not be using my health insurance to have any further procedures with any BMI Hospitals. I always like to think the best of people but in my case BMI would not accept any liability or acknowledge a procedure that went wrong.

Akhtar Hussain.

An honest appraisal I have had 4 surgeries done by Dr Hussain over a period of 7 or 8 years. Initially I found him to be polite and professional. The surgeries have been lower blepharoplasty, rhinoplasty, upper / lower blepharoplasty with canthoplasty (x2).

The first 2 surgeries were without incident and results were unremarkable and conservative. The 3rd surgery was the beginning of a nightmare from which there is no recovery or waking. Dr Hussain has made such a mess of all aspects of the surgery and left me suicidal and without hope. My GP actually started to cry when I we discussed it. I have spent £33,000 in London trying to ‘fix’ Dr Hussain’s terrible work, using a renowned Harley Street surgeon using facelift, lid implants and 3 bone drilled canthal fixations. I have now been advised there is just “too much damage” and I was unable to close my eyes for nearly 18 months.

I truly wish to warn any potential patient against surgery with Mr Hussain. He is very dangerous, remorseless and will try to tell you the result is OK (really!!!). I am happy to share my journey, multiple pictures, letters, etc or meet in person to show the results. What started with a hope for improvement ended in the worst event of my life. The trauma is unbelievable visually and mentally and if I can warn anyone from repeating my mistake it is worth it.

BMI have also been terrible in response and advised they could not (or would not) even provide mental health support. Think very carefully as when things go wrong BMI Aberdeen are absent. The atrocity was in their hospital and they have stood behind a disclaimer (signed when I was in a desperate state and not of sound mind) to avoid any engagement. Shame on the surgeon and the hospital.

I had an ACL reconstruction and meniscus repair by Nick Howells. Mr Howell's secretary was great for 'squeezing' me into an early consultation, (around one week), August 2021. Consultation was informative and Mr Howells explained my MRI scans to me which was really helpful. He said op would be before year end.
I was offered a cancellation op at end of Aug but could not attend. Then radio silence until I was offered an op in Dec, which they cancelled at short notice. Had an offer of an op in Jan with 6 days' notice which I took.
Pre-op questions felt quite limited and conducted over phone, 2nd time they mainly relied on previous replies.
Covid PCR test was efficient and pleasant.
On arrival at 7am shown to my room and nothing much happened, told after a while that I would go to theatre at 8:30.
Had a visit from anaesthetist, who was very pleasant, also Mr Howells which was reassuring, and also physio who practiced techniques and stairs with me.
Cannula never even created a bruise, amazing !
Went to surgery, had anaesthetic and woke in recovery. Lovely chap in there kept me company until I went back to my room.
In room had water and lunch, tea and biscuits. Would very much prefer option of mugs to small cup and saucer, much easier to handle.
Mr Howells came and explained it had gone well and what to expect in terms of hamstring pain as scar tissue develops. Explained that I should be immediately weight-bearing and only use crutches for balance. Physio came and said same.
Discharge felt chaotic though - influenced by fact that person collecting me might be delayed due to power cut at home, but even before that event, there was no clear indication of when discharge should occur.
Given exercises to do to prevent thrombosis, but not really clear what will happen in terms of physio rehab, maybe I was away with the fairies and didn't understand? Not sure if NHS will contact me to arrange, or if I should contact them, and if so, who, where, when and how?
Pharmacist came and dispensed drugs, I incorrectly said side-effects weren't explained in discharge form, but realised at home there was crib-sheet with the details. Pharmacist was very nice too.
Pain in knee joint is minimal, all pain originates from hamstring donor site, more swelling than expected, painkillers made me feel sick so stopped them on day 3 and 4, but restarting as the hamstring pain is making my walking action very stilted, still not walking normally though.
This is day 6, able to bend knee reasonably, and can go up steps, walked 1.3 miles around the house yesterday, hoping to do short walk today outside.
Leg is quite swollen from knee down, have a fat ankle and lots of bruising at back of knee.
The surgery was arthroscopic, I think I have 3 or 4 entry points, but I think they're pretty small. Of an age where I don't care about scars, but imagine for younger people who care that the scarring will be minimal.
I have a review appointment set up for 2 weeks after the op.
There is some research happening in Manchester using artificial material instead of hamstrings and it would be interesting to know how that goes as I think it would reduce pain significantly, I think I'd be pretty much pain free except for the hamstrings.
Mr Howells also repaired the meniscus with a couple of stitches and tidied if up. Don't really know too much about that.
Overall, very happy so far, just need to understand what the physio should be to ensure speedy recovery. Apparently should be able to play badminton again in a year.

Mr Kelly, the knee specialist. Excellent doctor and highly professional. 🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩

I think 1 Star is too generous.

My father went there for a inguinal hernia surgey, he has developed a swelling in the testicles larger than a football, after he called the hospital to ask for help they turned him away and told him to go to his local A%E.

He went to the A$E and a team of surgeons said that the surgey was botched and that he needs another surgey. We are considering legal action and already talked to Irwin Mitchell

I arrived at the Alexandra Cheadle at 12.30pm on 10th January 2022 for a hysteroscopy and polypectomy. I was promptly shown to my room and my observations and some paper work were carried out. Shortly after that my consultaant came in to see me and said I was first on the list and would be have the procedures done about half one.

As Omicron was prevelent I had the window slightly open and sat in my coat. No one told me to get changed so I sat there waiting.

I didn't really see anyone until a theatre nurse came for me at around half three and told me hurriedly that I had 5 minutes to get ready and walk to theatre. I asked her why all the delays and she said “it's not your fault, it was the paperwork that wasn't ready“?? It must have been after 4pm that I had the procedure done . I was messaging my family so have a record of timeline

Once back in my room I was given a coffee and then nothing. No jug of water. No observations, no food. Nothing.

I waited until 9 minutes past 7pm and messaged my husband to collect me. As I was waiting a nurse popped in and I said I was going home as I was appalled by the lack of care. The nurse informed me that I should have had 4 lots of observations before I went home and seemed shocked I'd had none and no offer of water or food. I could have died in that room and they wouldnt have known. Its terrifying, especially as they have the excuse of Covid for not letting patients have someone with them to support them. I feel so sorry for the elderly and vulnerable as this situation could prove fatal for them.

The treatment endured at this hospital was worse than any NHS treatment I've ever had and I paid for it! No-one kept me informed of what was going on or even spoke to me other than necessary questions.

It was totally unprofessional with staff that clearly don't care about their patients. I asked if they were short staffed due to Covid and the nurse said no they were fully staffed. They did have an emergency that night but it doesn't need a nurse to just check on and update a patient and provide food and water. There were other staff available who could do this. I work in a face to face profession and all people want is to be kept informed and treated fairly and it should come naturally to the medical profession but yet is sadly lacking in many doctors and nurses especially at this hospital.

I told the nurse I was going to complain and suddenly there was a sister involved who apologised and said she could not defend it and that someone would call me - this never happened. No surprises there!

Additionally on my discharge note it said "refused food" how can I refuse something that wasn't offered? They only offered food when I was leaving and I said it will be quicker for me to eat at home now which was true. They also said that I discharged myself against advice which also wasn't true. I went home as I felt unsafe and felt I would be safer with my family- also true. I'm in touch with the data commissioner about this as it's false data.

No one walked me to the elevator or ensured that I got to the car OK. I hadn't eaten for nearly 24hrs, had a small coffee and no other liquids after aneasthtic. I didn't feel well at all.

I work for the lnsurer so I can feed this back and hopefully protect others as they do keep a rating for providers.

In summary do not go to this hospital or provider unless absolutely necessary and if it is then insist you have someone with you.

I can only review the Winterbourne Hospital.
Mr Smith Knee consultant I would never trust.
He lied to me so I would accept Cortisone injections in both knees.
Mr Smith failed to mention that Cortisone injections would compromise my immune system this was in the middle of the pandemic.
Mr Smith failed to mention accepting cortisone injections would block me having knee replacement for 6 months.
The knee braces Mr Smith prescribed took 4 months to reach me.
Mr Smith promised me I would not be referred back to my GP until I was happy.
When the cortisone injections and knee braces did not work I approached the Winterbourne Hospital Dorchester again wanting my left knee replaced.
I was informed I had been referred back to my GP.

My 76yr old mother was discharged yesterday at 11.45am from Kings Park Stirling after a right total hip replacement on Monday. 1 hour drive home ( after the struggle to get her in the car, with help from the lovely Anne -Marie who is amazing may I add) by 2.30 pm it was evident this was a very unsafe discharge. My mother had very very little physio, she has 15stairs in her home to get to the toilet. She couldn’t get up stairs, to the toilet, to bed, nothing. Her pain was not controlled what so ever, she was in agony and crying. She had been sick the night before and the morning of discharge however she was deemed safe to go home?? The discharge letter was awful stating she was ‘fully mobile” district nurse came out and was appalled she had been sent home. Totally unsafe. Gp had her admitted to ninewells orthopaedics less then 10 hrs after her discharge where in the space of 24hrs her pain is controlled and she has spent a total of an hour and half with physios in one day!! However she will be in till at least Tuesday or Wednesday to get her to where she needs to be and basically give her the care and physio input Kings park did not!! The nursing staff on the ward are also shocked she was deemed safe for home and questioning who actually signed off her discharge! I will be writing a formal complaint to BMI! And expect at the very least the Physio aspect of this refunded! To pay over £14k( of which my mother loaned may I add) to be turfed out of hospital in pain and non mobile at 76 is simply appalling. I never actually saw my mum walking she was in bed when I visited and wheeled out to the front door! Had I, I certainly would have not allowed her home! Oh I did call Kings Park yesterday to voice my concerns whilst she was stuck on the stairs and after 40mins of going in circles I finally got an answer to be told a nurse would call me back. A physio called me back, totally unhelpful and said she wasn’t sure what I wanted her do?? Seriously 🤷🏼‍♀️ Formal complaint to BMI incoming once I have calmed down! £14k?? Disgusting!

I would give no stars if possible .Tried to make an appointment for over 30 minutes,they do not answer ,they are not interested,couldn’t care less .And this is when you want to pay .Unbelievable

BMI Winterbourne Hospital Dorchester, now issue £100 private parking tickets to patients. Apparently there's a system you have to enter your registration into at reception to avoid this. Would be helpful if the reception staff informed you that this needed to be done.

Looks like I'll be going elsewhere for my patient needs.

Private medicine isn't cheap without having this slapped on top as well.

Very poor.

Update in response to BMI's reply:

1. It's not a parking fine, it's a parking charge. You don't even know how you extort money from your patients.

2. 'Sorry that I "felt" there was a lack of communication'. To clarify, that's not an apology.

3. 'You would like to look into it to continue to improve your service for the future.' In other words you couldn't give a fcuk and aren't going to do anything about this particular charge.

Didn't handle that very will did you Katy?

Winterbourne hospital's latest review by the Care Quality Commission is that it, 'Requires Improvement'. (The only hospital in Dorset that requires improvement.)
Your money, your choice!

So I had never been in hospital ever not even born in hospital. So to say I was worried is an understatement. I can not explain how wonderful BMI Lincoln are from pre assessment to the operation and after care. I'm a natural joker and had an epidural and from start to finish we had a laugh. The care I received was amazing nurses consultants reception and porter all were well humoured and put me at ease. Val. And Martin brilliant

Three weeks ago I had hip replacement surgery at BMI Kings Park Hospital in Stirling. The operation seems to have been a success, however, other than a treatment nurse inspecting my wound there has been no follow up support - and in particular no follow up physiotherapy. Despite me mentioning this to the treatment nurse and then leaving a message for the physiotherapists there has not been any contact from them.

At 3 weeks since my op I now require the next level of physio to continue my recovery. I was given a couple of sheets of basic exercise on discharge from hospital but these are now easy and I need some more demanding exercises in a programme for recovery. In the absence of any support from BMI I have had to resort to using a different physiotherapist who is developing my longer term recovery exercise programme.

No one seems willing or able to tell me how much physiotherapist support was included in the package cost of over £12,000 which I paid in full prior to my operation. I have no confidence that any useful physiotherapy will be forthcoming from BMI so I’m trying to get a refund of that portion of my package price to offset the additional cost of physiotherapy that I am incurring.

The BMI documentation states you will receive a courtesy call from the hospital 48 hours after discharge. I'm still waiting. Trying to contact BMI is a constant loop of automated call systems which very rarely get you to a human being and if it does they usually buck pass to another unhelpful member of staff.

In terms of the time in Kings Park Hospital I'd say that it was worse than any NHS experience I have had. Kings Park Hospital is basic and characterless. The staff are ok, the food is terrible and the facilities pretty poor. Physiotherapy took place in my room and a corridor where there was insufficient headroom for me to use the practice stairs without banging my head.

I'm happy with my surgeon and with the fact that I'm not stuck in an NHS queue of who knows how long but the rest is pretty poor value for money.

UPDATE - After posting the review above I have received a small refund from BMI for the physiotherapy component of my hip replacement package which at least covers some of the alternative arrangements I have had to put in place. That doesn't really change the concerns I have expressed in the review which Kings Park Hospital is hopefully addressing.

UPDATE NUMBER 2
Despite having received a refund of the physio component of my hip replacement package today I received a letter from BMI Kings Park offering me my first physio post op appointment with them on 21 March 2022. This highlights two significant concerns for this bunch of incompetents:
1: They obviously do not communicate internally as the Physio Dept clearly does not know that I have had a refund and am doing my own thing; and more importantly
2: They think that it is ok to have your first post discharge physio session 10 weeks after the hip replacement operation!!! This week thanks to the physio I have arranged for myself I climbed my first hill post op. If I was waiting for those morons I'd still be hobbling around on crutches!! Beggars belief how they are still in business. DO NOT USE BMI or CIRCLE (obviously the name change is to put you off the scent) UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES THEY ARE RUBBISH

In August 2020 my girlfriend was told by the consultant at the BMI Hospital in Bury St Edmunds that she could have the operation to remove painful metalwork in November 2020
Nearly now February 2022 and she still hasn't had it, or has even been given a reason why it hasn't happened. Despite endless phone calls, emails to her consultant and use of the BMI complaints procedure, she has just been fobbed off and the service has been very sub standard.
Whilst the actual hospital may or may not be very good, she hasn't had the opportunity to use it despite having had the authority from her health insurance back in August 2020.
Needless to say, this has been very upsetting for her and having witnessed the distress she has had trying to get it sorted, I would be very reluctant to use this hospital by choice.