Forum Topic

Waiting Times Soar at West Middlesex Hospital

This is disappointing news and worrying for both dedicated staff and our community who rely on this modern flagship. As someone who has  worked at West Middx , and in the NHS locally one appreciates the pressures of demand. The hospital is certainly not helped by factors beyond their control. Nationally Ive read that the Department of Health is handing back a NHS " underspend" !at these difficult times to the Treasury coffers of £2.2bn. Meanwhile the overall body for the NHS affecting us, NHS England say theres a 13%shortfall in efficiency savings. And the Royal College of Nursing has highlighted nursing posts cuts and recruitment to the front line- 5,000 posts lost since 2010. As treatment of Lewisham Hospital shows, being well run wont make you safe from this government, Im afraid.

Harry Clarke ● 4367d18 Comments

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2013/sep/06/zero-hours-contracts-care-workerCarers are often on zero hour contracts and only getting the minimum wage, not paid for travelling between clients who often don't have a long enough time slot allocated to them and as you will realise from the article above it is not exactly the sort of job that if you are conscientious you can walk away from. If the LA is paying then you can see how the time can we moved around between clients but if some are paying for themselves and some are LA then you have more problems.

Philippa Bond ● 4349d

Sorry Inco mats for bed and chair use.  Inco pads for personal use.Also sorry if this upsets anyone's sensibilities but there are a great number of people being discharged from hospital countrywide without proper liaison and without services and backup in place.Many of them are also not ready to be discharged physically - for instance not able to walk adequately following a period in bed. There tend to not be enough staff in hospital to help people practise this before they leave.  It is a case of pushing patients from one budget to another.I've experienced too many hospitals recently BUT I should say NOT the one mentioned at the top of this thread.There is a lot of help on the internet but many of the people who need it are unable to access it because they do not use a computer.

Philippa Bond ● 4354d

Another area where heads needing banging together.I have not seen ONE good discharge recently.Check the drugs against the drugs list.  They are often not correct.  There is often no info as to whether drugs issued in hospital should or shouldn't be continued.  It is more difficult to get an answer from hospital than the GP.Where is the liaison with the District Nurse and/or the Doctor's Surgery?In case it is still of any use here is some info:I guess you must have discovered Inco mats - both washable and throwaway by now.When we had an NHS mattress it was plastic/rubber covered and we just used a sheet and inco pads.When it was our own we used plastic cover, then terry-towelling topped plastic backed sheet with another sheet on top.  Then added inco pads when they were necessary.This website is very useful:http://www.ageukincontinence.co.uk/incontinence-shop/incontinence-bed-and-chair-protection.html

Philippa Bond ● 4354d

Keith, I think you are referring to the private clinics which seem to pop up and disappear?  The one under the M4 flyover did just that, but I think there is another in the old Coty building along from Homebase.The urgent care unit seems to address minor urgent care issues which your Dr is not open for and are not as urgent as needing casualty.  I have had an urgent tetanus shot (gardening) and antibiotics (this gardening lark is dangerous I was bitten by tics) and a bad reaction to some medicine where they checked my heart very quickly.The exit of a patient appropriately is very important (although we were told by the funding officer in Hounslow that one option on the discharge options list for a neighbour, was to bed block in the Hospice) so rehab beds instead of medical beds are vital, and questions about the cost effectiveness of individual beds would be interesting as there seem to be so many closed.

Sarah Felstead ● 4355d

The exit from hospital by a family friend is proving totally exhausting.None of the issues we discussed in a 'very grand' discharge meeting about the patients needs seems to have been addressed.We should be working to a care plan - maybe I should have a guess what that is as we don't have one.  There should have been a discharge letter, all copied to the relative who is a carer - maybe we should guess at this as well.  Did somebody say their admin is up the creek?  I can second that as an opinion.Now, maybe somebody on here has had experience of incontinence and could give me advice on 'best practice to cover a new mattress' as the NHS cannot do so.  Anyone?  I need an idea of a successful mattress cover, waterproof, with a soft top (completely unfair to put anyone directly on to plastic - would you sleep on plastic?) which can be washed at a high temperature to sterilise pooh.  It is needed today so a local stockist would be great.You would think I was asking the earth.The discharge was on the 27th August and nobody can find the request for an incontinence assessment - essential to maintain hygiene - and I have just been told they won't do it until next Wednesday.May I take part in that questionnaire about services that don't work?

Sarah Felstead ● 4355d

Is that the facility you have to pay extra for? How much is it?

Keith Iddon ● 4356d

I am very pleased with the urgent care unit too, the last time I was in quite a lot of discomfort so I was very grateful for a not too long wait.Recent hospital experience with family friend not going smoothly in areas which you would expect things to be run of the mill.This friend received an appointment letter today addressed to somebody who is not known at his address so I opened it to find details of their NHS and hospital number and an appointment for neurology.  Rang the complaints section to be answered by a lady who recognised me as I have contacted her so many times to get this or that sorted out recently!  Very nice chat about mainly common sense issues.

Sarah Felstead ● 4357d

I have to say the urgent care unit at WMUH is brilliant, I found it efficient and waiting time was very short and that was on a Saturday morning. I was in, seen, prescribed medication and home in an hour. I think that was probably an extremely lucky experience and as I was in the most extreme agony I have ever experienced I was very grateful.

Vanessa Smith ● 4357d

I went to A&E there recently after being referred by GP and told to go there straight away. Got there at 6pm, finally got to see a doctor 9 hours later at 3am. Got discharged and sent home at 5am, baby and small child both up at 5.45am! That was a fun day...Did (politely) complain about the wait to the reception staff after 4 or so hours, but I guess if they are swamped they are swamped and the NHS is under extreme pressure. After 8 hours wait I kicked up a bit of a fuss as had then been told I'd have to wait for a doctor after 6am, so got to see one earlier, but only after getting a bit cross and frustrated. It wasn't a great experience - but I hadn't been to A&E for 20 years so didn't really know what to expect anyway!

Laura Wood ● 4357d

Shame on you Phil Andrews.......

Sarah Felstead ● 4360d

If you want to be attended to in prompt order at West Mid either take a screaming child along with you or walk in clutching your heart and making "Arrrrgh" noises.  Both have worked for me.

Phil Andrews ● 4360d

I agree - with your view, the admin at WMUH is chaotic to say the least, appointments are routinely and excessively moved, sometimes months back, some departments never, ever bother to contact you when your G.P. has made a referral. Others are good and straightforward and don't keep moving dates for appointments. Unfortunately my experience has been more of the 'Fawlty Towers' variety, yet my husband always seems to get Rolls Royce treatment - go figure!

Vanessa Smith ● 4361d

I haven't read through any detailed reports on West Mid so I can only speak for my own experience there.  It seems to me the waiting times issue is more than just cash and capacity driven; it's process management and authority/medical staff empowerment as well. My take is that your experience at West Mid varies significantly depending on the department involved. Some have truly nightmarish waits and play sophisticated accounting tricks to make the paper figures conceal weeks of additional waiting time).Other departments are fast and responsive to patient defined need. They have flexible policies and will even phone to ask if you would like to take advantage of an immediately available "no-show" slot.The question is why do some depts work to world class "best practice" standards and others to "Fawlty Towers"?

Barb Byro ● 4361d

14,000 increase in Brentford alone and that's the lower end of the estimate it could be 44,000 in less than five years.Not a single addition to the infrastucture has been factored in or stipulated.No road improvementsNo public transport improvements apart from a possible bus diversion for the 235. No extra health facilities.No extra schools.No extra open space and public amenities.Inadequate parking and bus turning facilities.With huge cuts to Ealing and Charing Cross Hospitals and the increase in population congestion. West Middlesex is going to face demand it can never cope with.West London is being dumped on. It's losing out to East London and all the problems that area has endured over the last 100 years are being shifted here.Only the very rich and the very poor will have any sort of benefit living here.Everyone on between will be gradually squeezed out.

Anthony Waller ● 4363d

What do expect the waiting times are only going to get longer with all the new flats and houses springing up in Brentford its a joke. The Hospital is getting smaller and the population in Brentford and local areas is getting bigger.

Stephen Scot ● 4365d

Do these performance statistics also detail the numbers of beds closed?  I understand that there are two whole wards closed in the building at the back of the hospital.I also understand that Hounslow does not run rehab beds, which surely must be cheaper than medical beds.  Richmond has rehab facilities at Teddington hospital but Hounslow has none.  Freeing up medical beds for other admissions must surely be a priority?

Sarah Felstead ● 4367d

Assume you are the Harry Clarke who is running for the Labour nomination in Brentford & Isleworth constituency for 2015?I was looking at your website recently.  Welcome to the forum Harry.

Phil Andrews ● 4367d

Where's the news from?Their own report:http://www.west-middlesex-hospital.nhs.uk/about-us/our-performance/current-performance/ae-clinical-quality-indicators/?assetdet62286=742And the weekly NHS A&E sitreps show that West Mid is doing well with waiting times. http://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ae-waiting-times-and-activity/weekly-ae-sitreps-2013-14/Their big issue is they have a high proportion of re-attendance, but it's not out of the ordinary for a hospital in a built up area.

Andrew Tierney ● 4367d