I have heard that the Conquest hospital in Hastings is still in Special Measures even though it has improved overall, and also about the crisis in Accident and Emergency (A&E) units.
In one case, allegedly, a sick little boy was put with his mother in an assessment cubicle. The mother complained that she had to make the boy comfortable on two chairs as there was no bed in the cubicle, and I can understand that this was worrying especially as she thought he had meningitis.
A spokesman for East Sussex NHS Trust responded that the boy was assessed on entry, monitored by the nursing team, and his temperature dealt with. It did take three hours to see a doctor who assessed him. It turned out not to be meningitis and eventually he was allowed home.
I do not belittle the occasion and have sympathy with the problem patients experience in A&E. But many people blame the staff on the ground (the nurses and the doctors) when they have to wait. However, I feel we should not rail against the staff – they are doing the best they can under sometimes very difficult circumstances.
We should complain instead to the government which says more money is going into the NHS, but of course we are all living longer and needing more care. There is a shortage of nurses, discussed in Parliament, which has meant that managers have had to employ agency nurses who are more expensive. In my mind, it needs a long term strategy and investment in training more nurses and better joined up working in the health service.
I have heard several positive stories of people being treated at the Conquest, but very often these do not get told. I had to get an x-ray on my ankle last week expecting it to take ages. I was seen within 15 minutes, told I had to see the surgeon as the bone was fractured, and the nurses were wonderful trying to get my x-ray checked then and there, as it would have been difficult for me to come back to the hospital.
They booked me in and wheeled me to the right department where I waited perhaps 30 minutes, saw the surgeon, was given an inelegant walking boot, and off I went, all within an hour. Of course I may have been lucky, but I have been in the Conquest for a major operation before and it was also a positive experience – and others have told me the same.
The staff do an amazing job with so many people coming into their care, so let’s lobby the government and not damn the staff.
The Friends of the Conquest Hospital work very hard and are planning a number of high-profile events to raise money. Currently this is for an MRI scanner.
The first one will be a concert in the Hastings Centre on the Ridge, across the road from the Conquest. It will be this Saturday, February 4, starting at 7:30pm and feature well-known local jazz pianist Mike Hatchard, bass guitarist Chris Barrett and Hugh Alexander on drums playing some familiar classical pieces – but a little jazzed up!
If you would like any further information please visit conquestlof.org.uk
Editor’s note: I would echo Heidi Foster’s view of the positives about the Conquest. On a recent outpatient visit I had to wait no more than five minutes for preliminary BP and ECG checks by a nurse after which it was about 10 or 12 minutes before I saw the consultant’s registrar, who took time and trouble with me.
I doubt if a consultation at a private clinic would have been much quicker, or the care I received any better. I appreciate that peak times in A&E are always going to be a different experience with the staff under far greater pressure, but, overall, and despite known funding difficulties, we are well-served and very fortunate with our NHS in general and the Conquest in particular.
Photo: library image
Image Credits: J. Minter .
I would echo the positive comments about the Conquest: short waits when signed in for appointments; efficient, competent and caring staff; enhanced facilities for waiting and refreshments . . . . Particularly praiseworthy are the fresh flowers and the artwork (with captions and accompanying information) lining the corridors and the music which create an atmosphere superior to any other hospitals we have had experience of (e.g. Royal Sussex in Brighton, Addenbrooks in Cambridge). This must mean an especially active group of volunteers who deserve much credit alongside the medical staff.
Five years ago my late husband had a middle-of-the-night emergency while visiting Rye. The staff at the Mermaid got us in touch with a doctor who arranged transit to the Conquest. We got amazing care. We were there for five hours, saw the same doctor several times, were checked on by nurses repeatedly, and left with supplies to get us through the rest of our visit. I doubt our care at home would have been as good.