"Nurse, catering and cleanliness at East Surrey"

I was admitted to East Surrey Hospital via A&E due to sudden onset of seizures and spent 12 long days in various wards waiting for tests and numerous doctors to decide what to do. Unfortunately for me, and everyone else unlucky enough to be stuck in hospital over Easter, we had to sit and wait for four days while the hospital ground to a halt over the Bank Holidays. I didn't even see a doctor of any kind for four days despite having up to 8 seizures in one day. It seemed to me that the backlog caused by the long weekend once normal service was resumed meant waiting, waiting and more waiting for tests and patients who could have been discharged within a couple of days being kept in for over a week taking up valuable beds. The staff were always saying that they were desperate for beds and this seemed like such a waste of resources.

I appreciate staff need, and are entitled to, a break at times like Easter and that the cost of paying them to work on Bank Holidays must be sky high but surely that doesn't compare to the cost of keeping people in beds for days longer than actually necessary?

Overall, I found the quality of the care I received to be of a good standard and I cannot praise the Nurses and HCA's enough for the work they do in such challenging conditions. I did notice that there was an unusually (in my opinion) high number of agency nurses employed on the wards I was on, especially Bletchingley, and this meant a lack of continuity of care. The nurses themselves even admitted that they didn't know where supplies were kept or the routines of that particular ward.

The ward and surrounding areas were all very clean and tidy and the domestic staff worked quickly to clear up any mess they came across.

The one big area where East Surrey lets itself down is the quality of the food. I found it very poor and is an issue that really needs addressing. I was so disgusted with several of my meals that I took photos of them and sent them to the Trust management but I have not had any response and probably never will. The cooked meals were served lukewarm, the presentation was poor and the meals were just not good quality. Is a sausage roll and baked beans really a healthy choice for an evening meal? Is a pre-packaged cheese sandwich made on dry bread really a nutritious meal for an ill person? The menu works on a one week rotation, great if you are only in for a couple of days but otherwise boring and repetitive. When you see the catering at other hospitals and the menu and choices available I think it makes the catering at East Surrey look horrendous.