Early hours one morning my mother had a stroke.
She was rushed to hospital as she slipped into unconsciousness.
The doctors informed the 6 family members that my mother was, to all intents and purposes, brain dead.

Apparently, it was only the machines keeping hr alive, she could not hear see or speak and her stem cell was dead. The consultant at the Northern General Hospital in Newcastle told us that the kindest thing would be to withhold all treatment and my mother would pass away in 24 to 36 hours, we agreed given that information.

Two days later, my mother showed signs of high temperature and red cheeks, the nurse said she had developed a chest infection. Later that day, my sister stood next to my mothers bed and said "I love you Mum".
My mother lifted her left arm and with her finger tips, tapped on her chest in the area of her heart.

I immediately called for the Consultant to attend, I explained to him what had just happened and he said it was impossible, yet there were three witnesses. I asked that he treat my mothers chest infection, he replied "You're mother does not have a chest infection."

I then told him that if he did not start to treat my Mother, I would call the newspapers to come and see what was going on.
The consultant then informed me that the two members of the family present were not enough to change the treatment prescribed, he said he would need the majority of the family members to agree to the treatment.

We struggled at that time to get the family members together from all corners of the Uk to agree the treatment, but we managed.
I lodged a complaint with the health service and was told that I would have to prove that a different doctor would have treated my mother in a different way.

7 months later, a nurse in a nursing home who should have known better decided to feed my mother whilst she was lying in bed, due to a problem with her throat, fluid got onto my mothers lungs and she died of Pneumonia.

Poor standards of care? you should all be aware that it is an unwritten and un talked about rule that if an elderly person is seriously ill, or seriously enough to cost the hospital a fortune, then the doctors will let that person die.

This is not fantasy, it happens day in and day out in every hospital in the country.
My advice is this, no matter how experienced you are told a doctor is, never ever put your trust in them.
Question every action they take, check every drug and treatment they give and always always ask for a second opinion in matters of life and death.
I saw the standards of how poor they were when my Friend was in the Hospital, and the food was uneatable, so we took her meals in for her.We had to make her bed for her as it was not made all the time she was in there.If you spoke to the Nurses they just shrugged everything off and were not interested.The Lady in the next bed was unable to feed herself, but was not helped at all. and so her food was left untouched unless one of her Relatives came in.When asked why all this was happening we were told it was not in their job description….. well that is a first isnt it ? I just wonder what their role is now.. ?
Yes.When I was giving birth there were insufficient staff available to help me.I am severely anaemic and also suffer from kidney problems so I was supposed to have a higher level of care.I had also already lost one of the twins I was carrying and was supposed to have been monitored regularly.I was left in labour for nearly 38 hours and without seeming melodramatic I nearly bled to death.I was also supposed to get blood transfusions for several days after but twice they left the blood packs on the side rendering them useless.
The stress of it all was Immense and caused me problems in bonding with my baby
Yes - 5 years ago I found a lump in one of my breasts - went to the GP who put in an urgent referral to the breast care unit at my local hospital. She knew it was cancer, I knew it was cancer - just had this feeling. I had to complain in the end to the PCT because I was being fobbed off in respect of appointment times, scans, biopsies, etc. But that is another story.

I had to undergo a mascetomy, went into my local hospital and was told that I would wake up in the breast care ward with nurses who were specially trained to deal with breast cancer. Had the operation and came round in a general surgical ward for elderly people. I was in there for 5 days - the ward was filthy, the food terrible (yes I do mean terrible - one day ordered a bowl of soup - came in a tin bowl (bit like a dog's bowl) cold with a half inch layer of grease on the top - couldn't eat it.

I had drains inserted into my side from the op because they had removed the lymph nodes as well as the breast. The dressings were not changed regularly. One day my husband noticed blood pouring down my side - he rang for the nurse and asked for my dressings to be changed. She told him that I would have to wait as she was about to go on her break. He said no and wanted it changed immediately - she did so with bad grace! She ripped (yes I do mean ripped) the dressings off and I nearly went through the roof because it hurt so much (these drain tubes were held in place by stitches). I started to cry - and I guess it was like a floodgate of pain, hearbreak and terror opening up and a reaction to being told I had cancer and would have to loose a breast, I was only 43 at the time with an eleven year old daughter. I could not stop crying and shaking - hubby asked if somebody could come and help me (he was really worried - he had never seen me like that before) and was told that there was no-one available. I cried for hours, couldn't stop and eventually fell asleep with my hubby at my side. Next day, my Macmillan Nurse came to see me and I told her what had happened - she was furious and took it further.

God - when I look back on it I really don't know how I survived that week. Thankfully I did and am still here. Don't get me wrong there are some wonderful people working in the NHS but there are also some truly awful ones who should not be there at all!!
absolutely,but i see the half baked standards in everything today probably because the use of computers are mainly play and not used to ex celll,ETC:
any how the last few years i have been in and as a result of busting my hump all my life which has resulted in some pretty debilitating results.my latest adventure was chest pain,lungs and arm numbness. i went into the e.r. and where the people where very ho hum i was asked by some kid or must have been pre-triage if my toes were tingling and told him no and he walked away then in about 30 min. a alleged triage nurse attempt to take my vital and placed the cuff over my forearm and attempted with a dumb look on her face to being getting reading ,then i find that she could not read as the process continued and she was a born in the usa girl.i have a history with that hosp fo about twenty years and all the info was right in front of her face but was to difficult to interpret i was getting very anxious now after 15 min of blunders im put back in to the waiting room then im taken into the treatment area another 45 min of redundant idiocy and the monitor went into alert 3o time and flashed equip failure.i am know admitted and a nurse comes running in with a syringe and i asked what is that she blurted morphine for the pain i said No because i am in pain management she would have killed me.now they move me to a room and one nurse who states as she hand me a intro package listen i put a notebook and pencil in there you have to write down everybody name and what goes and actually flees,now a girl comes in stating she is my nurse and she was like she just took her garb from dishwashers laundry and her hair was greasy,the whole time she is going thru her spill she never washed her hands once or used gloves,several hours pass and it time for my daily meds and mention it to her it she comes pack with these little square packages and tears them open with her teeth and dumps them into her hand! ia sk what it is and she tells me 1200mg of tylenol. I CANT TAKE TYLENOL OR ANYTHING WITH IT IN. AND IT IS IN MY RECORDS.I TOLD HER I WILL CALL MY WIFE AND HAVE HER BRING MY MEDS BACK I TOOK THEM INTO THE E,R, SO THEY VERIFY MY MEDS! she got bent out of shape a nd leaves now the veins in my head are bulging about fifteen min later i unhook there garbage and get dressed at 930 pm and hobble out they try to stop and say well you cant leave with tat I>V<port and i state please remove it i hate needles now with ungloved hands the Peel the tape off and pull out the cather which was in artery and blood is squirting like a water pistol.they nervous tape a gauze padneverr applying pressure and ask me to sign a hold harmless agreement!all awhile blood is flowing down my fingertips like i was shot including all over the car and paper they wanted me to sign,precedeed out off the hospital leaving a trail of blood a blind man can follow all in excruciatinging pain and call my to come get me i am standing out side in a pool of blood and the securityity and others of the same ilk come buy just observations you see and my wife shows i end up in a high end hospital a couple days latter where all kinds of very bad stuff was found thru there tests etc,i immeadeitaley was having my records of that nite being recovered by others and what a nitemare of contridictions they are the indviduals made entries in there note and 30 hrs later sang a differnt song in writting there xray people found nothing and the other hospital found growths in my lung and on my spine.then you wonder where mersa comes from HOW MUCH MORE OF A STORY DO U need to draw a conclusion!
When I went into hospital to have my first baby, the nurses were appauling. I had to be induced, and when my labour finally started and became really quite painful, I buzzed for the nurse to ask her what type of pain relief I could have. She was annoyed at having been disturbed from doing her crossword puzzle and said the only thing she could give me was a paracetamol!

I told her "I'm having a baby. I don't have a headache!" and she just walked away. It wasn't until about an hour later when the nightshift nurses came on duty that I finally got a painkiller injection of pethadine.
oh yes…I went off…here is the story =D

My grandfather had a heart attack and was in critical care for about a week. He has about 10% of his heart working. He also has diabetes that fluctuates drastically. They were keeping a good eye on him. But then they moved him down to the normal floor (forget what it is called).
They were taking his blood sugar every hour. At the top of the hour it was at 230 or 260 not sure exactly but it was at 200 something. He started getting shakes, and sweats and asked the nurse for something tto eat, because his bloodsugar was dropping and was really low. Now he has had diabetes for years. He knows when it is getting to low. The nurse told him that she couldn't give him anything until she took his blood sugar again which was about 45-30 minutes away and he had to wait. I was so mad. He said okay, and just sat there, I agrued with him for about 10 minutes ( I was gonna go get the nurse) and his shakes and sweats were getting worse. I finally went out there and told the nurse, you need to take his blood sugar now and get him something to eat. It is dropping fast and he has the shakes and sweats. She took his blood sugar and low and behold it was 60! Way to low! Not to mention for it to drop THAT fast is a REALLY bad thing. He could have gone into shock. I told my grandmother and boy, did they not let that happen again. She then, in turn went off on the nurse.
yes i was kept in hospital for a week when i should have been sent to a hospital specializing in heart surgery and when they eventually made their mind up to send me to the heart hospital at 10 pm i was told by the surgeon who performed the triple by pass that had i not been sent when i was another 24 hrs i would have been dead
No, and when you consider the number of patients they treat, and number of staff (the NHS is the worlds third largest employer), the number of mistakes they make is VERY low.

Most complaints originate from Joe public still believing that nurses are Hand Maidens at a fingers-click away.

srracvuee: So your complaint is that you were treated in time to save your life?
Many years ago i did nurse training before deciding to move on to counselling and wider aspects of health care. I have to say that the training of nurses was much better back before the end of the eighties, In my opinion that's when the whole NHS took a serious nose dive. it was a while ago but i remember when there was some discipline in the wards you stood up when a nursing officer or matron came into the room. The matron or ward sisters took great pride in the fact that their patients would not succumb to secondary infection and believe me they ruled the ward with an iron fist and woe betide the slack nurse who dared to turn up for work with a hair out of place or forgot to wash a bedpan out, Hygiene and prevention of cross infection actually meaning something then. The cleaners where all women who worked there for years and knew how to clean a ward. Nurses actually spent more time nursing which a lot of nurses today do not realise is rather like being a handmaiden you are there to serve the patient and that includes most importantly keeping them clean, preserving their dignity and always having in mind the fight against cross infection.
I think some nurses today there attitude is truly appalling they don't realise that it's not just posing with medicines and administering drugs It's also about simple things like making sure the old man in bed 5 gets taken to the toilet in time. the NHS needs to go back to the old style matrons and strict implementation of basic hygiene rules. The few visits I have made back to Britain to visit sick relatives I have had to make complaints as I was appalled at the treatment ( lack of treatment I should say) . I cant believe a few answers here claiming to work in hospitals, patients are patients never ever a customer. Jesus Christ I really feel so sorry for anyone who has to depend on the NHS.
good question
i havent experienced in hospital but working at a care home that charged £600 a week
the old people were treated very badly , sat in their own mess all day and mocked by some of the staff

just to say some of the girls worked very hard and loved the patients dearly , not all staff were bad but a few bad ones were certainly working their
Yes, my husband's grandad was left to lie in his own mess for hours because there was no-one to clean him up. He had lost control of his body, not his mind and his humiliation was unbearable.

I don't believe the nurses didn't care, I believe they didn't have time to care.
Yes. It is happening in hospitals in Hong Kong. Some major medicine have been found contaminated due to poor manufacturing processes. Those medicine were manufactured in Hong Kong by some European companies. Perhaps, you should be careful because those medicine are supplying globally.
Yes. Some nurses treated my Mother very badly and she become scared of them. I had to make an official complaint.
No human touch or compassion . . .
Only once, my late father was left unshaven and with food soiled bed clothes.
I had a firm word with the ward sister ………. it did not occur again.
i wish you had asked for the nation the responders were from?quite a few bad experiences come from england.
yes . similar to above , although my recent care in hospital was excellent .
yes my hubby was in 2 weeks ago ..well the nurses couldn't care less they admitted him …and when he had to leave they made him wait for 7 hours for his going home tablets …..7 hours
Yes
I work in a hospital.
You are the customer, if you don't like something speak up.
Oh! Yes!
It's common now.

With this April 1st virus due to infect millions of computers(supposedly) you can go to 'f-secure.com' to test the safety of your system.If you cant go to it then you can download a patch from microsoft.com
Just so this doesnt get reported–Do you think this virus story is a joke given the date?
This could easily be serious and not just a hoax. The worm in question (mentioned in Across the sea's link) is very easily and has been around in various guises since last year. April 1st would be an ideal time to release this virus as people will just shrug it off as an April Fool's joke and ignore warnings. Below are various links about the worm.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7887577.stm
http://www.pcworld.com/article/157876/protecting_against_the_rampant_conficker_worm.html
Interesting blog from Yahoo:

"What's known so far is that on April 1, all infected computers will come under the control of a master machine located somewhere across the web, at which point anything's possible. Will the zombie machines become denial of service attack pawns, steal personal information, wipe hard drives, or simply manifest more traditional malware pop-ups and extortion-like come-ons designed to sell you phony security software? No one knows."

http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/null/128643/…
Why f-secure.com and microsoft.com?

This is a trap because you cannot get the patch directly from those .com. patches are in other web-page of both sites.

You should keep your security suite updated and will not go to both sites. Perhaps, hackers have ready for a big scale of IP hijacking on both sites. You would be hijacked to badguy.com and will download malware as patches.
There has been quite a lot of internet traffic on this issue ………..
A cynic might say that internet security software companies have conjured up this scare to boost sales.

Edit.
Have a look through this link, it may help.

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/16/20090327/ttc…
I use Gibson Research to scan mine, they are a well known and trusted company. I have never heard of your suggested site, I am not saying it is no good, but I prefer a known trusted site. Anyway thanks for the warning.
Most likely a hoax. But keep your anti-virus and firewall up to date to be safe.

I'm confused?!
9/11 was the point of no return. Wars / conflicts will be fought and won differently pitting the unconventional against an 'invisible' enemy that melts into civilian population; no play by the book, no Geneva Convention, no battle tanks squaring up against each other.

China, India, Brazil will play important roles in influencing events. Demography of Western countries will have changed notably with greater mass migration from the lesser developed countries: Latin America, Eastern Europe, Africa, Middle East, parts of Asia.

Mother Earth will bear ugly scars of humankind's insatiable appetite for materialism; compounded by natural and human-made disasters. Depleting resources make feeding a hungry and overpopulated world a nightmare. More species in the animal kingdom will be endangered, some extinct.

Moral decay in various degrees in cities everywhere; conventional authorities, traditional habits will lose ground replaced with Western pop-cultures where "instant gratification" is religiously worshiped and followed.

Designers, inventors take the place (rightly so) of the conventional CEOs we know today, number crunchers to the backroom, engineers work alongside the designer. (Find out why Sony's, LG, Samsung cellphones kick Motorola, Siemen, Alcatel; why iPods, Macs are so in demand… and you'd have an idea of the importance of designers)

Look at a snowflake against a winter sun, enjoy the laughter of children, take a shower… don't be confused.
Awesome, I was just reading a story about this.
I guess you can't really predict what's going too happen, many things many people think are going too happen don't and visa-versa. Read this article mate, it explains many faulse-predictions and stuff. =P

http://tech.uk.msn.com/features/gallery.aspx?cp-documentid=7176637&imageindex=1
Global warming will be killing us. Our population has grown too high and people are dying of famine. We have run out of oil and fresh water. Most animals will be extinct a long time ago. Nuclear bombs will have been launched by Al-Queda. The US will be long dead and gone, atacked by its enemies. India and China new superpowers.
We can't move anywhere, due to no oil. Food is running out because we can't transport it. There could have been a volcano eruption at Toba or Yellowstone which will have killed us all.
your not alone we are all confused but i will be gone by then so i really couldn't give a toss