I had some friends who used to say "If you go to Queen's Hospital, don't stay overnight cause you won't ever leave if you do!" Well it's not THAT bad.
Saying that, if you live in the catchment area for this ambulance service there's really nothing you can do about where you're going.
There have been a lot of bad stories over the years in the press about Queen's not being what it should be. People going in and being in their beds in their own excrement and the standards just not being up to much. Well I'm fortunate to not have gone in as a patient for a few years (I went there back in 2012 because I broke my hand.), but had to visit my Dad in November because he had a stroke. Fortunately his speech wasn't slurred and he had no physical aliments, he did (and still does) suffer from aphasia as a result, this basically means he lost the ability to read, watch TV, listen to music, understand time and mixes some of his words up so it sounds like he's talking nonsense.
Good points:
Not many I'm afraid. The hospital is very new looking.
It has facilities for people who are visiting their friends and relatives; Costa and a few places to eat.
The receptionist and nursing staff were polite and helpful.
The aftercare was very good; the hospital arranged various nurses and behaviour therapist for him very quickly.
Bad points:
I visited a few times and didn't leave with good impressions of the place really. Firstly it smells like horrible and rotting food, puke, pee and crap; there's really no delicate way to put it! I'm assuming the staff can't really smell it, but it is prominent. Personally I think they should go back to the days of disinfecting everything, and stop underpaying the cleaning staff, surely hygiene should come first?
The place is a warren, and it's very easy to get lost, which I did the first time I visited. The ward I needed to go to wasn't plainly marked.
Although staff were helpful towards me, their attitude was completely different to the patient. One catering staff assistant asking dad a question but then completely ignoring his reply.
My dad has a limited diet that he eats and he hated the food, he said it tasted "diabolical", he ended up eating very little of the hospital food and was "told off" for not eating it. Honestly it smelt inedible to me too. Fortunately they didn't seem to care that we brought food in that my Dad could eat. (Is this a good point or a bad point?)
In my Dad's ward there were lots of old, infirm, and senile patients, at least two of whom constantly shouted during the night and day. So he had no sleep some days because of all the noise being made.
The Doctors wouldn't or couldn't tell us exactly what my dad's diagnosis was, what treatment they were going to take and when he would get certain tests and would be allowed to leave. My mum and her friend had to find a doctor/specialist and grill them intensely to get the information we needed from them.
Because of cuts with staff and funding, and the running of hospital like businesses rather than places to save people's lives. We're forced to make do with what we have. To put up with substandard hygiene. Doctors and nurses working long hours for little pay. It's basically what you get.
So if you're in the Essex/Havering area and you call an ambulance or have to go to hospital for physiotherapy, or surgery you'll definitely end up at Queen's. Not good, but it'll save your life. read more