Well I never would have thought my first one star Yelp review would be for a hospital, but I was compelled to make sure my family's experience of this place over the past four nights was documented somewhere.
Though I'm writing this review from the POV of a visitor, I can also add in the experience of being a patient at The Royal Oldham as my Dad was admitted for knee surgery after a bad fall.
For the record there are some lovely, warm and caring staff who work here. However there are some disinterested, egotistical and downright rude employees who have little right to be trusted to look after our loved ones.
Firstly, the car parks are a joke, if you're lucky enough to find a parking spot and avoid being hit by cars coming from what seemed like every direction, bring a bag of pound coins with you as each visit will cost you two quid (oh, you get your first half hour free, the great use that is). Once you find the entrance - just look out for the cloud of cigarette smoke from the visitors and patients (!) puffing away outside - walk down the 'Green Mile' to the tiny, antiquated lifts with no floor signs on the walls outside so first time visitors have no clue which floor they're on. It was opened in 1989 and doesn't look to have been updated since.
The loss of other A&E departments in Greater Manchester has seemingly had a massive impact on the quality of patient care, lines of communication and efficiency here. Trying to treat many more people than it was originally designed to accommodate. Dad told us of numerous patients in his ward having their scheduled surgeries postponed over and over again (a typical occurence according to one nurse). There was a lack of explanation as to what the procedure was that my Dad was going to undergo, of the necessary aftercare and physio needs.
Patients would ask for water or press their 'red buttons' and nurses would have no sense of urgency in responding. Sometimes there were no nurses on the ward at all. At night, they kept ward lights switched on and didn't seem to care about keeping their voices down whilst patients tried to sleep.
I could go on, but I'm finding myself getting angry again at what my Dad experienced there when he was at his most vulnerable. "I really wish I could have gone private, son". Says it all really.
Tip: There is a shop along the entrance corridor where you can buy snacks, newspapers etc., in case you forget to bring something. There's a free cash machine there too. You'll need one. read more