"Queen Elizabeth Hospital Emergency Department"

I've had many dealings with this hospital and not all of them good. I had surgery early 2012 and after a few weeks of being at home and getting my dressings changed the nurse noticed that the wound was getting deeper and so I decided to go to my GP to get it changed, the GP's nurse pulled the packing out and all this fluid started pouring out. They went through so many gauze packets and they appeared really concerned. So I went to the emergency department and explained why I was there, I still had to wait a while but I when I finally got in they had an intern doctor check up on me, and well I know enough to know exactly what the fluid was that was coming out of my surgical wound. It was dried blood but still having an intern emergency doctor tell me that he needs to go and get a senior doctor because sometimes in the surgery he’d had they can stuff it up and puncture the bowel and that the stuff coming out of a wound was faeces, was not comforting. The senior doctor confirmed it was de-oxygenated blood (dead blood, real dark red in colour) but couldn't work out why it was coming out.... Turns out an internal stitch had broken.... my body had to heal itself, gradually it healed over and stopped leaking.

I've also been rushed there for having extremely low blood sugar, to which the emergency responders gave me glucose solution to remedy it. So when I arrived at the QEH ED the staff there were told this, and took my blood but because I had a high sugar level due to the solution but they wrote in my charts that I had had a hyperglycaemic episode, I think that is utterly stupid especially since these staff were told by the people who brought me in and by me countless times.

This hospital always seems to have a full emergency department. I've seen beds everywhere from people being brought in, in ambulances and not being seen to at all. And when I get into the ER to be seen there appears to be heaps of free beds and space, so I think it may be a staff issue.

Also I believe I was bullied into my surgery by the general surgeons there, don't sign the form unless you are 100% sure.

I will give praise to one young male surgeon I saw late 2011. I was in agony and my GP sent me straight to the QEH, I was greeted by a very nice general surgeon who made me feel like I mattered, my pain mattered and that he would fix me up.

When I was in the surgical waiting area on the gurney he came to see me (in my experience usually they do not) and assured me he would look after me. He was there when the anaesthetist was trying to get my pain under control before putting me under, to which he then again said to me don't worry I've got you. Such good people skills, and to someone like me, who is frightened of surgery, he seemed to care and made me feel that he was more than qualified to help and for a surgeon he was the nicest one I've ever met at the QEH. Do not lose this surgeon QEH as I believe he is one of a kind! The memory of his kindness and his personality made that surgery one of the most comforting ones.

Surgeons take note! In my opinion and experience just a smile, a joke and some kind words can make a patients day.