The Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital (NNUH) carries out outpatient appointments, day procedures and inpatient admissions. Patients are predominantly from Norfolk and north Suffolk, although some patients are referred from further afield especially to access specialist services.
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1999 responses from the local community
Generally amazing
5
Submitted by collected by Healthwatch Norfolk staff18th October 2024
It's generally amazing what they do here, it's incredible, the whole lot. The set-up here is really good and the support from the staff is great, they update you all the time. There's not really anything to improve on as it's way beyond what you could think is possible anyway. It's a stressful time and you can fixate on little things when sometimes they can be a bit vague and perhaps don't notice all the things about your baby as you're always here. Like I was told she hadn't been sick but I could see sick on her clothes. I don't want to be nitpicky, I know I'm just looking for everything to be perfect because I want them home. There was a day when my partner and I took the temperatures all day as nobody came to do it, but then the book was filled in with temperatures which we didn't write in there. It was a one-off though and other than that it's been 99.99% brilliant. The support has been incredible. I've ran in here in tears at 2am and all sorts of times and they've welcomed me in and looked after me.
Submitted by collected by Healthwatch Norfolk staff18th October 2024
It's been good here. It's the first time I've seen my baby and they've explained everything very well with what they've been doing. They've been good to her.
Submitted by collected by Healthwatch Norfolk staff18th October 2024
It's been brilliant, it's nice. The unit is a difficult place to be but the staff are really friendly and the doctors patiently explain everything. They're very supportive and I know what's going on. The nursing staffing levels could be better, sometimes they're struggling with 2 or 3 babies so more staff would be better. Also you sometimes have to wait a long time to sterilise things and it would be better if there was more than one room for this. The staffing levels would be a 4 but the level of care makes it a 5.
Submitted by collected by Healthwatch Norfolk staff18th October 2024
It's been very good - good care. The nurses are friendly with the parent as well, you feel like they care about our babies. They have really good teamwork, they make sure everyone is looked after. They tell me everything that's going on with my baby like how they were at nighttime and the feeds.
Submitted by collected by Healthwatch Norfolk staff18th October 2024
Overall it's been a positive experience. The care itself for our little baby has been incredible, faultless. All staff from the nurses to the cleaners greet you with smiley faces. However the communication from the doctors hasn't been clear. We've asked questions about the future for our baby and been told quite horrific things but then another specialist told us that's incorrect as it's actually unknown yet. It's obviously a traumatic time and that's not always acknowledged in how things are communicated by the doctors. There's a lack of empathy. The doctors seemed fixated on their original diagnosis when they see our baby for 5 minutes at a time. We're here all the time and see all the small changes but we haven't been listened to. It took 13 weeks for them to listen to us and when they did, our baby improved. It shouldn't have taken for me to have a breakdown and cry to be taken seriously. Now they've started to accept there might be something else going on. The nurses do advocate for us. We'd be lost without Kate and the whole family liaison team. They're integral to our baby's care, we can't thank them enough.
Submitted by collected by Healthwatch Norfolk staff18th October 2024
I couldn't have got through any of this without these guys, they've been amazing. They couldn't do more if they tried. They've all been really, really lovely and they make the right decisions. They not only care for my baby, they care for me, my partner and my other child too. We've been here 9 or 10 days and they've taught us everything. I couldn't think of one thing they could improve on. I feel like I can go to them about anything, there's no silly questions.
Submitted by collected by Healthwatch Norfolk staff11th October 2024
I phoned at 11pm for an ambulance as my husband was extremely ill with stroke symptoms, I told them he'd had strokes before. He was vomiting and I couldn't move him from the floor. The ambulance arrived at 6am and took him to A&E. The doctor there said he had a virus despite knowing my husband's history, which I knew was wrong. They tried to discharge him at 2pm. When I got there he was still being violently sick and couldn't walk. They made him try with a stick and then a frame but he kept collapsing. In the end the physio disagreed with the doctor and they performed a scan which showed that he had had a stroke. So it had been 27hrs since I called an ambulance and 8hrs after he arrived in A&E before he had a scan. He was then moved to a ward but was on a bed in a corridor. Nobody cleaned him up and he was covered in vomit. I have to say the stroke rehab team were brilliant afterwards, they came out to see him for six weeks.
Submitted by collected by Healthwatch Norfolk staff11th October 2024
My husband has had three strokes which resulted in the loss of one eye. His remaining eye now has glaucoma so he saw an emergency optician and has been referred to Medicare for an operation. They've said they need the hospital's notes before they can do it and we've been waiting six weeks. He has an appointment on Monday for the stroke clinic which we waited 11 months for, however they told me yesterday it's been cancelled. This is upsetting and appalling. The frontline service is good but the admin is appalling.
Submitted by collected by Healthwatch Norfolk staff11th October 2024
I was told a lump was benign and should be left alone. Three months later after insisting I wanted it removed due to its location I was told again it was benign. I saw a gynae consultant and told her I felt tired and unwell who replied "well you will be tired you've got cancer". I'd had no idea until that moment, I was in shock. She didn't explain anything just put me in a side room on my own with no drink or anything and told me to wait for a surgeon. No surgeon appeared after 90 minutes so I left as I was upset and wanted to see my husband. This was 9 weeks after I'd had the lump removed which I found out wasn't even tested for 10 days. When that gynae appointment was booked I told them I was going on holiday and they said it would be fine to leave it until I got back. If I'd have known I'd got cancer I'd have cancelled my holiday so I could be seen quicker. I've had 5 operations since April. I told them I'm allergic to opiates. The first op was a success but I was given an opioid painkiller afterwards which put me into a coma for 20 hours. My friends and family thought I was going to die. They don't listen! The nurses are rushed off their feet, it's not their fault. It's frustrating with the lack of communication between departments and that they don't listen to me. The hospital couldn't even tell me my blood type! I asked 5 consultants and even though I've had all these operations and I have blood cancer, nobody could see from my records. The haematoligist found it in the end. My blood levels are critical now and when I said that to the haematologist they asked me if anything significant had happened to affect them - he had no idea I'd had operations to remove tumours! Even my gynae exams are done without care. It hurts and I'm told "well it's going to hurt". I recently had skin cancer removed under my eye, which I've had previous skin cancers removed, and asked if they could remove a patch on my nose while I was there. I was told it wasn't possible as eyes and noses are different departments and I'd have to go back to my GP for a referral. I've done that and now have to wait 45 weeks! I'd been told I should be very quick getting any skin cancers removed as it can trigger rapid growth in other areas but now I've got to wait.
Submitted by collected by Healthwatch Norfolk staff10th October 2024
My son went to A&E as he thought he broke something. He was put from one department to another which took hours, if he'd gone straight to x-ray it would have saved loads of time. He was in about six hours in the end. Each time he went to a new bit he was back of the queue.