colchesterhospital.nhs.uk Reviews 

Woke Saturday 25th July with symptoms of UTI, and very swollen feet ankles and legs. I had visited Clacton !A& E who said they couldn't help, I should go to Colchester A& E. Arriving just after 10am it didn't seem that busy..
Finally at 4 30pm I was show into a room for consultation. 2 weeks before I had been admitted with a Pulmonary embolism, and had been told any pain in legs , chest or headache to go straight to A&E. I explained all this to the consultant.
She spent a few minutes pressing my legs, said not thrombosis, there is nothing she can do, go home, and see your GP Monday morning. Turned out had UTI, and cellulitis.
My GP couldn't believe how I had been treated

So i was admitted to Colchester Genaral Hospital in East Thorpe Ward when i can give them 100% Standard Care Absoluty Fantastic i was there from 5th July to 15th July Well done everybody nothing was too much trouble at all just Stunning in 2026

I was rushed to A & E on Saturday night after a fall .
The practitioner was Sam . In my 82 years, this was the most successful treatment and kindness I’ve ever received . My ailments are very widespread and Sam took care of me by explaining how these things are all related. Parkinson’s being the latest and arthritis probably the most important.
Sam treated all the bleeding and gave me the best treatment and for the pain and discomfort I was having !!
Please convey my very sincere gratitude and support from him !!!
Wilhelm Kock
14/07/1944

My son recently went into vascular for op ,in elective care unit,from the time we walked in till we left not only my son but we also were looked after excellently, vascular consultant Ms Vriens and her whole team was very caring and could not do enough for him ,and the ward staff were very concerned for us all, so grateful to them for their care,could not fault this hospital , many thanks Mr &Mrs Seward and son.

I was sent to the Cardiac Unit were I received exceptional care and attention from a great team

I would give Hadleigh ward in the new orthopaedic centre even more stars if that was possible. I had my hip replacement on 4 June, and came out three days later. The staff are all so friendly, helpful and supportive and the physios are based on the ward - so you start physio as soon as you are out of the anaesthetic. There is also a call from a nurse following discharge and a 24 hour number in case of any issues.

While the staff are perfect - they really were - the company the hospital hires to clean the place should be sacked. The floor was filthy, there are stains there in my bathroom that were not washed away during my stay. Given this is a brand new building, outsourcing the cleaning was not a good idea because they do not do the job they are paid to do. Such a shame! They let the hospital and their fantastic staff down.

I spent 3 days on Nayland ward, the nurses were lovely and the lady who runs the ward Lorraine is a wonderful person who makes sure your stay is comfortable ❤️ can't fault her nor the staff 10/10 all the way

I was admitted to CGH this weekend 9th May with chest pains.The treatment I received was absolutely excellent, seen to in the first area the moved into a bed in SDEC,the treatment in there first class, Maria was the nurse in charge,she didn't stop working, I was given a breakfast pack, very adequate and very nice. All in all Excellent care. Thankyou CGH.

I found staff in ED reception exceptionally helpful today Judith and Yvonne thankyou so much your doing a great job.

Any hopsital that tell you medicine is a guessing game and refuse to do any tests on a child with a face thats swollen up like a football needs aa serious investigation.

Have a serious attitude problem and dont like people who are equally educated and have more common sense than them challenging their opinion.

I strongly suggest that the paediatricians are retrained or better yet sacked. You dont "guess" with a very poorly child.

Conditions in this hopsital are frightfully disgraceful. Feels like you are in a 3rd world country. people in bed and on the floor to the sides of corridors. At the same time you've got doctors and nurses walking around having a laugh and a joke.

This place is an absolute pit for disease. in the childrens area the toys clearly never get cleaned... scum all over them and my little boys hands were almost black from touching the floor.

SHAME ON YOU.

I had my left hip replaced in March and my right one 8 days ago. From the receptionist to my consultant, everyone was brilliant. Professional, caring , nothing was too much trouble . Both operations went perfectly. I was admitted for a few days about 6 years ago and it was the same.

I recently had to go to Colchester hospital ED department with chest pain and generally feeling very unwell, from the moment I walked into the entrance I felt as if I was a nuisance!!
I was left waiting to have my Blood pressure checked and an ECG!!
I was eventually told I had to go to the SDEC department, I wasn’t asked if I would be ok walking there on my own, considering I might be on the verge of a stroke or heart attack, this I feel was totally unacceptable and unprofessional and to top it all off I wasn’t even given a wrist band!! So if I had of passed out or in an emergency where I was unable to communicate, this would have delayed treatment!!!!!
The SDEC unit is a chaotic, totally unorganised area, people just sitting about waiting hours to be called in.
An MCA was walking around taking people’s observations, mine wasn’t done once!!
When I eventually saw a doctor, I had bloods taken, and sent for an X-ray, again I was not asked if I would be ok going on my own!!
4 hours later apparently my bloods were normal, I don’t know if they were because I never sat back down with a doctor to review them and the same goes for my X-ray??
I thought blood results and tests were supposed to be shown on the new My Chart that people can download to see all the care they have had??
I had a rubbish experience from the moment I walked in to the moment I left!!
So Colchester it was lucky for you that I wasn’t on the verge of a Heart Attack.
Terrible, dirty place.

This is about the ADMIN STAFF, in particular the "SECRETARIES/TELEHONISTS" in hospital departments and not about medical staff who are trying to do their best for the patients.
Today I tried to call the eye clinic theatre admissions unit three times at different times of the day to try to change the appointment. Each time a recorded message said you are placed in a queue, then after several minutes the messages tells one to call back as they are unable to answer the phone. How many times does one call back, and is it any wonder that people miss appointments because it is just too frustrating to get through to someone on the phone. Even the staff at the switchboard are not able to get through to the departmental telephonists. In the past I have resorted to call PALS in order to speak to a different departmental admin person on the phone. This is not an isolalated incident, nor is it unique to the eye clinic. In many other departments the phone rarely gets answered.
I have seen staff just walk by the ringing phone ignoring it, have seen telephonists/receptionists surfing the net, or busy just sitting doing nothing.
It is about time consideration was given to privatising the whole of the administration services, with payment being made by results. No private organisation can afford to tell customers to "call back" or ignore a caller or their voicemail messages which rarely gets returned.
Admin staff are letting down medical staff.

On Arrival at the Hospital, I was not sure how to find where I needed to go , Straight away a extremely helpful member of staff walked with me to where I needed to be, I was booked in for knee replacement Surgery, Absolutely every member of staff from reception to the amazing medical team ,Anethitis crew and The Brilliant Mr woods my surgeon ,My after care on the Hadleigh ward , you are all amazing and a credit to your hospital and the NHS, Thankyou so much

Attended minor A&E with foreign body in ear....very nice young guy got it out in 3 minutes...no pain or complications later. Overall a good place and the staff in general are lovely.

I really must commend the radiotherapy department at Colchester Hospital. It's a breath of fresh air to be at a unit that is full to overflowing with the most wonderful amazing staff. Not a single long face, full of smiles, friendly welcomes, and the most exemplary and compassionate care. The unit itself is lovely, and the entire cancer patient experience just cannot be improved on. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

What is the secret as to the outstanding service from our Doctors surgery in Ardleigh and Colchester Hospital University trust, run by East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust.

We hear such horrific tales of people waiting 2 -3 weeks to see
a doctor and months for hospital appointments.
Our Doctors open 6 days a week and run their own pharmacy so in an emergency they can dispense as soon as you come out of your Doctors appointment. They usually ask for 2 days notice for repeat prescriptions but will deal with them at short notice if an emergency .

If you need to see them quickly you can come in mid morning and they will fit you in or they will phone you between their appointments to see of they can help. I frequently receive follow up phone calls after appointments to see of I am OK.

As for the Colchester and Ipswich hospitals under the local trust they rarely cancel or defer appointments, you are nearly almost seen on time or with delays of only a few minutes. They always try to accommodate you if you can only attend on certain days or times.

On a recent stay at Colchester as an I patient for an operation on my enlarged prostrate due to complications with irregular heart beat and blood pressure I was kept on recovery for over 5 hours ,monitored on a one to one by a nurse who did not leave my side unless someone ese took over. he took my blood samples and blood pressure every hour and I was on a drip and oxygen .

Due to these complications I was kept in for 5 days ,mostly in a room by myself ,I was amazed at the level of care I was given and the quality of food. 3 Meals a day with lunch and dinner being 3 courses, soup, main and dessert with fresh fruit juice at least 4 choices of mains or sandwiches if you wanted something lighter,tea, coffee or cold drinks were provided after breakfast. mid morning, mid afternoon and early evening with a choice of biscuits or cake.

It was like a 3 star Hotel.
I assume they suffer from the same funding cuts as other areas so why do they perform so well when others fail. ?