West Suffolk Hospital

Really impressed by the paediatric A&E. The set-up was brilliant for children and we didn't have to wait long to be seen either. Doctors and nurses were great with our son putting him completely at ease.

Its a stretched maternity service and there was a lack of midwives especially postnatally. We had slow responses to getting help on the postnatal ward and I found gaining access to the ward difficult when I arrived to be with my wife. Because no one answers the door you just end up waiting outside. We also spent over £100 on carparking during our stay, which is a huge amount.

I was suffering chest pains and to avoid ambulance delays my wife drove me to A&E. I described symptoms to a triage nurse at the front desk, and was sent to wait with a hundred other people in the waiting area. Two hours later further triage led to a blood test and ECG, and I was told that I was having a heart attack. At length I was blue-lighted to Papworth where a stent was fitted and care was excellent. Doctors at WestSuffolk, ambulance staff and medics at Papworth all queried why I was made to wait so long before receiving care after arrival at the hospital. This could easily have compounded my condition. There was some suggestion that it was a mistake for my wife to drive me there, that had I arrived by ambulance I would have been treated more rapidly. But how long would I have waited for an ambulance? The key problem was really poor triage at the front desk. There was one area of efficiency at West Suffolk - they sent a customer feedback form promptly after 24 hours!

The stoma nurses I see at the hospital are very good, supportive and caring. Overall I'm very happy with the care I've had from them in the last 2 years since my operation and care on the ward was great too.

Cardiology team have fully explained what is happening and staff have answered my questions truthfully. All very nice, an excellent experience.

My scan was done yesterday and that was brought forward due to me experiencing more problems and the staff are lovely.

Care has been very good, and appointments have been flexible with scans arranged quickly.

Worked well, our visit was arranged by our GP and the care and treatment was amazing and we were even given a sandwich at lunch.

Very little paediatric physio support offered. My child has been seen once every 6 months and they just quickly try to show me what exercises I should do in the meantime rather than actually doing any physio with them. We've also had to wait nearly 8 months to be seen by a paediatrician. It's all very limited in the support provided and when you're waiting so long for appointments it's a long time in a child's life when things are changing and problems are occurring.

I often receive duplicate letters and correspondence from the hospital. Be it letters, calls and online notifications which must all take time to do. Even though I've requested the online communication I'm still sent letters and with the cost of postage is silly when it's not needed.