The former Stirling Royal Hospital has been undergoing some changes recently…read more Most significant is obviously the removal of the old A + E, and the transformation of the old maternity ward into a minor injuries unit. However some of the departments remained behind, one of which I have to use fairly infrequently is Audiology. Going from a stand alone department with all of their rooms and services available to them. They were given a corridor space to work in while the remainder of the department was renovated. Now the whole building has been serviced and the audiology team are once again within their own department. Which has among other things been freshly decorated and spruced up. It did need it I have to say and while the changes are not particularly different from how it was before they have the department and indeed the whole building looking great. The building seems to be slowly but surely becoming more and more of the grand building it once was. Which thankfully reflects the service provided by the staff at this still great facility. Sure the NHS isn't perfect, but it is a shining example of what can be done, when individuals come together and provide for each other as well as for themselves.

Dr Stephen Feltblower!!!! If I can give any advice to anyone please stay away from this doctor (or…read morebutcher as I call him) went in with stabbing feeling in groin. I hadn't slept for 3 nights because of the pain, my testicle was swollen and raised. This doctor made it very clear that I was an inconvenience to his day, he man handed my testicle whilst I squirmed around the bed in pain, he told me there was nothing wrong with me and sent me out the door with antibiotics (which made no difference to my symptoms). I made an emergency appointment with my gp the following morning to be told that my testicle had swelt to a size larger than it was the previous week. My gp was so concerned she made an emergency appointment to get an ultrasound done on my testicles. I'm now 3 months down the line and still struggling with daily life. I made a complaint to nhs forth valley regarding this and the doctor in question has lied through his teeth in his response. We're meant to be able to feel safe and trust these people and after this I have no faith in the system in place. Its embarrassing enough to have to get your penis and testicles out for complete strangers but when your made to feel the way this doctor made me feel, when I should be able to trust him is absolutely shocking.

My boyfriend had sudden back pain which was severe. He could hardly walk or talk from the pain…read more Owing to the severity, we called a taxi to the Larbert Accident and Emergency. As we waited, there was a general atmosphere of being dissatisfied by the long wait time and lack of communication from staff whilst patients waited. My boyfriend had gone to the toilet when his name was called. I explained, but the staff member insisted on calling another patient's name immediately after. Annoyingly, it was a matter of seconds till my boyfriend returned. It wasn't long till my boyfriend's name was called again. We felt lucky because we had waited a relatively short time. However, he was in for minutes; the doctor had refused to look at him because it was back pain and they do not consider this an emergency. Surely, this is not a case of black and white, and there are cases when back pain is, one: severe, and two: a symptom of something more serious underlying. We'd paid £18 in taxi fares, and were sent away to the Stirling Minor Injury Unit for an appointment later that evening. We walked a mile to Larbert train station as we couldn't afford another taxi regardless of how much pain my boyfriend was in. To add to the confusion there's a sign in the Minor Injury Unit which states that they do NOT treat back pain. The doctor there assessed my boyfriend's ears, stomach and back after apologising; she assumed that they would have already done this all quickly at Larbert. This wasn't the case. - My boyfriend was only told there was nothing he could do for them. I think there definitely needs to be clearer guidelines as to which unit is appropriate for your circumstances. At the moment, the information currently available has the risk of getting you in a right pickle. And I can't think of much worse than being in a pickle when you're feeling poorly.

I visited Orchard house in Feb this year. I would not advice anyone to go to this clinic but…read moreinstead visit Stirling Royal where the staff are respectful. I was treated disgracefully at Orchard house. I would never in a million years go back. The staff are rude and arrogant. I was so distraught I complained to the health board. Which as expected got nowhere. As apparently it is acceptable for doctors/nurses to be rude to patients. However the NHS is regularly complaining about the way it's staff is treated. It's a 2 way street. Also it is apparently acceptable for the staff to bold face lie when being investigated. They are a disgrace to the NHS and I feel terribly sorry for anyone who has to encounter them in the future. Thank goodness there are still decent NHS professionals out there we can see instead.