The good and bad of the Royal Oldham

A NEW online service which allows patients to rate and compare hospitals prompted more than 30 responses about the Royal Oldham Hospital within hours of its launch.

The move, announced yesterday by Health Secretary Andy Burnham, gives people the opportunity to give details of their experiences, both good and bad, for other people to read.

Prospective patients will be able to check on issues such as cleanliness, car parking and waiting times, and also check mortality rates and the prevalence of superbugs such as MRSA and clostridium difficile.

The facility, on www.nhs.co.uk, works in a similar way to internet comparison websites, helping patients compare hospitals so they can make an informed choice.

They will be able to look at a general scorecard, which compares different hospitals, or look in more detail at specific treatments and procedures within those hospitals.

The Royal Oldham Hospital has already attracted mixed reports.

A total of 18 from the 35 people who made comments yesterday morning said they would recommend the hospital to a friend, but 17 said they would not.

Many comments gave glowing reports of both the hospital’s accident and emergency department and the children’s ward, although there were some criticisms.

Some described staff as wonderful, kind, caring, understanding or compassionate, and said nothing was too much trouble for staff who treated them with respect.

One patient said they could find no fault after a six-month hospital stay, while others described services as third world, or organised chaos, said treatment was deplorable and staff were said to be dismissive, arrogant, “ignorant, uncaring or disrespectful.

One patient said they had excellent treatment on the haematology ward, but on transfer to a surgical ward it was quite the opposite.

Issues raised covered cleanliness, were people complained of mouldy blinds, stains on carpets and accumulated dust in wards.

One person said a week of visiting made them go private, while another, who trained at the Royal Oldham Hospital said she had always been proud to be a nurse, but her experience as a visitor had made her ashamed to say she was trained there.

Hospital bosses are being encouraged to give feedback on the comments, and a number did have a response from hospital managers.