Ipswich Hospital (Part of the East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust)

After receiving my PSA results from my doctor I was quickly referred on to the hospital which revealed that I did have cancer and that it was advanced. I spoke to a counsellor on the first day at the hospital and I can have contact with them at any point. The specialist nurses are very knowledgeable and a great support. There's a team of three and they always come back to you. I have regular blood tests and the results are very quick. The organisation of chemo does feel understaffed and at times there appears to be a lack of coordination but the staff are professional and have lovely personalities. Sometimes the bigger picture is missed but its a minor issue. I do wish that PSA tests could be available to men earlier or if they have don't have symptoms as was the case with me.

My daily doses keep going up but my overall prescription remains the same which means by the end of the month I now run out and have had to reduce the dose to get through the rest of the month. I've also had trouble getting the insulin at times.

Once I'd seen my doctor I was seen by the hospital with in a week. All the care I received was brilliant and the support from the Macmillan team was great.

I was refered from the surgery at Saxmundham, I saw the breast care nurse, I have to say from start to finish the cancer care given to me has been excellent. Macmillan support has been excellent.

I was booked in to have a colonoscopy to have two pollips removed, they only took one out as they told me that they didnt have the right equipment. I am in huge pain and I have been waiting for months. I'm on pain killers which make me sleepy. I have a good relationship with my GP. I keep being told there is a 6 week wait but they keep telling me the same thing, how long?

I cannot praise this unit enough. From entering the door to leaving ,I was super impressed with each and every staff on duty that morning .

The difficulty when you are on a cancer pathway is that there can be different departments involved and the communication between them can be poor as they work in isolation. It is so fragmented that each department then needed the full story to be repeated to them. You also fall through the gaps unless you are both confident and competent to advocate for your own health. It would be beneficial to have one person as your contact for all issues as once you are discharged by oncology there is no one to pick up the reins and in our experience ongoing check ups were missed by the hospital and only carried out once we chased. When on a trial it was lovely to have a specialist nurse and that provided the warmth and confidence, knowing there was someone to call to discuss any issues but once that wasn't an option it all fell a way.

Staff varied, at one time there was an incredible nurse who was warm and approachable and would spend as much time as was needed talking things through and then the staff member changed and the whole attitude that came across was that they were incredibly busy and not that interested, resulting in a change in the way you as a patient and family engage with them. Staff need to be careful when explaining treatment plans and options to manage expectations. Clarity is so important, in our experience we were led to believe doing a treatment was almost the last step but during the process it failed which we were unaware could even happen and then staff were unable to explain what the next options were leaving us devastated.

When we raised the issue with the Consultant, they had assumed by saying one thing about levels being high meant we understood that it might not work. You attend a clinic appointment knowing you won't be in there long but it does appear that the Consultant already knows what they are going to be saying to you and what medication they are going to give you however, the scripts and then medication take time to arrange and then collect, which when you are really not feeling well is very draining.

I have glaucoma and I used to be seen and examined every 6 months but now its every 18 months, I dont feel that this is good, I have to chase them and I am concerned that I will have to chace them every time. Also when I call the eye clinic to chase this appointment I find the person on the phone takes an abrupt tone with me which is not fair or right, I am given an appointment but I am made to feel a difficulty to the call handler.

I cannot speak hghly enough about the care I received having a need for breast cancer care, professional and compassionate.

I was an inpatient in December following a spinal procedure and was really looked after. I was made to feel really important, took the time to go over things with me and they went over and above. After having the procedure I was told I would come back in 6 weeks for a check up but something has gone wrong. When I called to say that I was concerned they have reacted really quickly and I've been seen today, they've been brilliant.