Heard really bad reviews about Highgate?

Hey everyone,

What are your experiences of Highgate Hospital? I’ve heard a lot of bad reviews about them and how it’s very unprofessional and unclean as a hospital. Is this true or just people being silly?

I had a pretty bad experience today at MYA with a phlebotomist who didn’t have a clue what she was doing (including dropping part of the materials used for my blood test on the floor, then using it on the end of the tube that’s connected to the needle that goes into my vein) and am starting to get doubts about the overall medical professionalism of putting my health in their hand

Did you report this to your pc honey,because Im am sure she would want to hear about something like that,this may just be a one off,I have not seen other threads like this,lets hope so,hope you are ok.xxx

I was at highgate 2 weeks ago and it was absolutely spotless. The people were lovely, very friendly and professional. No complaints from me x

I will def tell her tomorrow if she’s there! It just seemed a bit strange, the lady had very limited english, couldn’t get any blood from my arm veins so went into my hand and kept it there for over 4 minutes as she said the blood wasn’t coming out very well (in the hand its not too pleasant!) to which i started to feel very queezy, I told her i was going to be sick many times but she seemed a bit oblivious so i ended up throwing up on the floor with the needle still sat in my hand! It probably wasn’t her fault as it can sometimes be hard to get blood from me as I have bad circulation, but I’ve never had an experience like that before and told I need to go back monday as not enough blood was collected!

It’s probably not a reflection on MYA as whole, but im rather bemused that they’d use someone so unprofessional x

Belle that’s good news!x

xtina85,please make sure you tell your pc lovely,you dont need another experience like that honey,its enough to put anyone off,chat to some of the girls on here honey,just to reassure yourself,xxxx

That’s terrible! I have to say though I had the opposite experience of Highgate, I was all ready to leave my flat and move in! I’ve never felt so pampered and cared for. It was also absolutely spotless when I was there and I am a major OCD freak xxx

I thought highgate was spotless too the staff were on the ball and i was treated like royalty didn’t wana come home haha xxx

I agree the highgate was great very clean and my room was great, staff when I first arrived seemed rushed but after my op was a different nurse and she was fab I didn’t want to leave xx

That sounds a lot better than what I had been told about staff there and cleanliness! I just thought I’d check as I have a pretty low immune system so wanted to double check! I guess everyones opinions will vary, someone said a plummer walked into her room to fix the taps straight after her Op and the banging was not what she needed post Op Lol! This was years ago though so it’s probably changed!

Highgate was lovely, really clean and the nurses fantastic. I too had terrible experience with the nurse at MYA who took my blood. I can only described her as an absolute clusterf*#k. I told her that I dont like having blood taken and would need to lie down. She couldn’t find a vein (never had problem before) so she took it from a different vein on my arm. She yanked the needle everytime she changed the bottle and when she’d finished and took needle out I passed out and had a seizure. When I came round she told me what had happened then said. “you can go when you’re ready” and off I went!! I was so worried I had to call NHS direct and then my own dr. Whole experience was horrific. My arm was bruised for 2 weeks!!

Then I get a letter saying that the blood I had taken had been “insufficient” and I would have to have it done again. I cried and panicked and very nearly called the whole lot off. In the end I went to the local surgery and a very kind nurse took my blood. I didn’t feel a thing! No fainting, no seizure and not even a mark on my arm.

Hi lara!

Was this at the MYA at Upper Winppole by any chance?!

It wasn’t the nurse who did mine (wish it had been!) It was the phebotomis upstairs. Sounds like you had an even worse experience than me! (I’ve also never fainted or thrown up from a blood test as I’m so used to them!) What a nightmaire.

When you say a nurse took your blood locally instead do you mean an nhs nurse or a MYA nurse nearer to you?

I’m quite annoyed that I have to go back monday to do it again as I don’t live in London and costs me quite a bit everytime to travel there.

Did everything run smoothly for you after this? Hope it did!x

I went to mya holborn a few weeks ago, didnt have blood test taken but had my bp, height, weight, temp etc and i had a proper nurse who was lovely. xx

This is another thing I find very strange-why do MYA not take blood tests of all patients, surely its a medical risk to operate on someone who they haven’t tested for various things?

I had ba n mini lift at highgate on tuesday n everything about it was faultless. Not sayin no ones ever had a bad experience there but some ppl r more prone to avin a moan than others! X

I have been waiting for my app to be sorted out for this for weeks, how soon before your op did you get your appointment? My PC is at Upper Wimpole St now, I think I’d rather get my mum to take my blood as she’s a nurse and then take it in for them. The thought of having it in my hand would be awful, as it is I’m petrified about the needle going in my habd for the anaesthetic!

i havent heard one bad thing about Highgate hospital nsor far, only that there very clean and all the nurses are friendly, im really looking forward to going there!

Hi all! Does everyone have to have a blood test before their op? I havent been told I need one but my mum had her BA at highgate and she had her blood taken? Very confused! x

I had my pre op today in Manchester and had my blood taken and the nurse-Jan- was lovely and efficient and answered all my questions. x

Xtina85 – no it was Bristol but the nurse who did my blood was a stand in from the Cardiff clinic. It was awful. The nurse that eventually took my bloods was from local NHS surgery. She was so fantastic. I could of hugged her! I had been so frightened and worked myself up thinking that every blood test in the future was going to be a trauma.

My actual surgery was fine and the nurse at Bristol faultless.

i had my pre op but i was told didnt need bloods taken because all my medical history was good and i was a very healthy person lol in other words everything they asked me was i answered no which was the truth anyway xx

Hi everyone,

I would just like to clarify a few things as I am aware I might have confused some people and caused alarm which was not my intention. I would like to state that the incident with the blood taking was with a company called Quest which is upstairs from MYA at the Upper Windpole office (sorry I’m not sure how this street is spelt lol). They are a seperate company to MYA, but MYA used them for my blood test.

I was not saying that Quest do not know what they are doing, as I’m sure everyone else there is fine. I said that this particular woman I had did not know what she was doing, and I do stand by this regardless if she is suppose to be very experienced, she did not act experienced in my case. However, she may be fine with other patients (just my opinion).

I was told that the cap she dropped on the floor has a cover, but I know myself as I was watching her that she did not take any cover off before it was connected straight to the tube that was connected to the needle that went into my arm. It is not the needle that was dropped but the cap which was attached to the other end of the tube that is connected to the bottle where the blood is collected. Either way, I still think if this is dropped on the floor that it should not then be used regardless if there is a cover on it or not as it will still be connected to something that is going into an open vein. Maybe this is not a cause for concern as I am not a doctor, but it concerned me at the time which is why I seeked advice on this forum.

There was no one else in the room at this point apart from me, the phlebologist and my mum who was sitting outside the room but could see in, and she also saw the cap being dropped and then used immedietly.

I also think that if someone is repeatedly telling you they feel unwell that you shouldn’t just stand there doing nothing, yes she had the needle in my hand so couldn’t move herself, but my mum was also in the room by this time and repeatedly asked her where there was a dustbin or something to give me, to which this lady said nothing. She later said she buzzed for someone else to come, to which another collegue did appear but by this time it was too late. I have many blood tests taken for a health condition, so I am very used to having them done and so I am not blaming her for not being able to find a vein as this is normal (I have bad circulation), but it had never escalated to this point before, and I had never had a needle in my hand vein for this long before, or been sick from it.

Just to clarify this was NOT a MYA nurse but a phlebologist from a different company. As I stated earlier in this thread, I wish it had been the MYA nurse I had seen earlier that day. And that I’m sure others working for Quest are perfectly fine. Perhaps I just had bad luck with this particular lady. I in noway think this is a reflection on MYA’s surgeons etc as this was nothing to do with them, I think they are brilliant and so are the people who work for MYA they have all been very helpful. I was just concerned that they would say this lady is so experienced, as if this is the case then she must have delt with veins that are hard to find before, must have known that you do not use materials you drop on the floor on patients (cover or not), and that if someone says they feel ill after being proded for a long long time that you need to react and communicate. Again, this is just my opinion and I may be wrong.

This is all just my opinion and I don’t want to scare anyone from having blood tests done as they are important for a Pre Op. I just wanted to know if anyone else had experienced this, and was concerned about safety which is why I initially asked on this forum.

N.B- my question about Highgate was also just a question to reasure myself, as I had heard some strange feedback and wanted to confirm that it was not true. From everyone’s comments I can see that Highgate does not have any issues. And again, these were just my own concerns.

I still have every faith in Mr Gonschior (who is excellent) and the MYA nurses and management who are very professional and have gone out of their way to be helful, and I still plan to go ahead and have my procedure done with MYA.

Right, just wanted to clarify all that x

xtina85 i was to at highgate the same day as Belle and was sooo impressed!! don’t be concerned honestly x the staff are soooooooo great! the hospital is clean and if you stay there your stay will be made as comfortable as it can x

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