University Hospital of Wales

I have had many an opportunity to visit the Heath hospital. Taking an elderly relative to out patient care and also A&E. And, I don’t know whether it is because of the bad press the NHS has received over the years relating to impersonal service, neglect of patients, mal-​practise, dare I go on, but every experience I have been part of during the course of an appointment, has been a more than favourable one.
Doctors, well, they are always rushed for time, so you forgive their sometimes curt ways, but the staff from nurses to reception are all incredibly polite, warm, kind and helpful. It is like they all have taken a Florence Nightingale pill.
I’m into ‘personality’ in a big way, because I think it is lacking in today’s harassed society, but it means everything and is a wonderful placebo.
The negative aspects to my time at the Cardiff hospital, and I think being on hospital grounds, there should be a bit of responsibility taken. Is the WHSmiths store. Every time I go in to purchase a paper, the programmed workers behind the counter refer to the WHS sales items that are blatantly stacked on the counter, so much so, that you hardly have room to place your purchases — These sales items, are always sugar coated treats. But, your intelligence and your senses are insulted completely by ‘the hussle’ to sell these sugar items, chocolate bars, candies and this is all happening in a hospital. I have pointed this irony out to the sales staff, but it has fallen on deaf and stubborn ears every time and I am brushed aside as if I have not even spoken.
With diabetes and obesity running at an all time high, the pushing of such items — ESPECIALLY ON HOSPITAL TERRAIN — is not only an insult but terribly insensitive. I guess if they could get away with shoving cigarettes under your nose, they would do that too without another thought to their surroundings.

Had to attend A&E with wound to head. Was there 5 hours. It was not that busy. Only one young Doctor and one nurse (SRN) on Casualty Friday evening 12thNovember 2010. They were understaffed – they were doing their utmost to cope. We saw more «Security» staff than medics! The Security staff were in threes back and for to their Room in A&E. BUT WHERE WERE THE NURSES & DOCTORS? from B&B Penarth.

I have only one experience of this hospital and it was far from being a fond memory. But then again, any visit to hospital is unlikely to be a fond memory and as traumatic as it was, this place kind of made up for it. I can look back now and smile at the whole experience.
I used to have a bit of a butcher for a dentist and after filling a tooth for me a few times only for the filling to fall back out and leave me in agony every time I ate anything remotely sweet, he eventually had to cap the tooth. I was very happy with my shiny new silver cap until only weeks later I started getting agonising twinges from inside the tooth again. I returned to my dentist who drilled a hole down in there and pulled a load of nerves out which I had hoped would be the end of it. No such luck. I decided enough was enough, he had filled the cap and left a rough crater there and I was still in this pain so a friend of mine advised me to get up early one morning and get myself down here to be seen.
I headed down early in the morning to get here for 8am and found that I was not alone. I was advised there would be quite a wait and they were not lying, after what seemed like an eternity I was motioned through to another waiting room where I waited not such a long time before being x-​rayed. So here I am in the waiting room after being x-​rayed, now waiting to see a consultant about the results of the x-​ray and what should happen next? A fire alarm, that’s what happened next.
Everyone had to leave the building using the appropriate fire exit, outside onto the road opposite and wait to be told we could return inside. About another 20 minutes later we allowed in again and I returned to the waiting room, still in pain. Thankfully I was seen shortly after that and the consultant advised me they could either pull the tooth or I could go back to my dentist. I went for the pull option and at that point was advised that they could not fit me in until the afternoon as the fire alarm meant they were behind schedule. So off I went back into the city for an hour.
Upon my return I hardly had to wait at all, before I knew it I was sat in a dentists seat with an extremely attractive student dentist comforting me and reassuring me she would make me feel better. Seven injections later and a pair of what looked like pliers pulling the demon tooth out I left (without a smile) considerably happier than when I got there.
The staff here must have to endure a lot of different and awkward situations like any hospital but they remain helpful and patient, much more so than some of their patients. If you are unemployed and in need of urgent dental assistance I recommend getting yourself down here

As NHS hospitals go this one is pretty good.
My cousin gave birth to her little boy here back in February and has only good things to say about it.
The maternity wards have just had a revamp meaning they are very clean indeed.
Maternity services are split into two sections, the midwife led unit (MLU)and the consultant led unit (CLU). The MLU is amazing. Each birthing room is not only sterile clean it also has its own birthing pool, double bed and a TV! All the furniture is from Ikea and there are lovely art pieces hanging from wall to wall.
The CLU is very nice to but it is a little more ‘surgical’ looking than the other one.
The midwives were all very pleseant and were on hand to offer support before, during and after my cousins birth.
Top marks UHW!

The hospital of Cardiff, I would say… I was born here…
Many people go here for operations; for tests, to be looked after for so long, if not forever, I attend this hospital regularly, but not necessarily because I am injured…
This is very often, really because I use the Sports and Social club there a lot for swimming; or for a fencing lesson once, and for a few times with mum we used the court where you can play Tennis and Badminton and we played Badminton. I’m not a fan of Tennis because of the hard balls you have to play with; I don’t like it if they hit you. I have also used the gym there also.
There is a main concourse area; where there are many, very good and useful shops there indeed. They have a; NatWest bank cash machine and a bank place to with draw or to hand money etc…, a café or two, WHSmiths, Books Plus Christian Bookshop (but they sell other items there too), a jewellery shop, The Stock shop: which sells very pretty items and ornaments, jewellery, and clothes, a Post Office, a security area, free telephone, a Boots, and a place where you can buy hot and cold food and some drinks and snacks from.
The Radio station called Radio Glamorgan; run by sixty volunteers is not far from that concourse, that is run for all of the patients of the hospital, only. You can get busses; taxis’ to and from there and you can park in the car parks there. I recommend to all who are in need of a hospital for health reasons or for some checkups, or for those visiting someone.

I’ve luckily only had to go to the Heath once and the main thing I remember was how big it is. Driving around to find a car park was like driving around a little village. Took us a while to find the accident and emergency and when we got there of course there was wait.
There was however a comfortable enough to wait and the shop in the main section is really big so we got some snacks.
Once I did get through to see someone it did feel quite rushed and I didn’t feel that they explained anything very well to me. I was soon out the door with a load of pills never to return again (I hope!).

University Hospital of Wales, or Heath Hospital, as most locals know it, is one of the largest hospitals in Wales.
Due to its emphasis upon education, the hospital is full with students in every area, from nursing to radiotherapy. But this does not mean that the standard in lacking, instead it means that there is an air of learning and team playing that might not be as evident elsewhere.
This hospital has a reputation for being understaffed, and this is probably true, as it is of most NHS hospitals these days. However, all my experiences have led me to believe that the staff really try as hard as they can, and I want to commend them for that.
A little way to go, but nearly awesome.

Definitely one of the more horrific hospitals I’ve visited. Staff are overworked and wards tend to be understaffed.
Bedside manner is severely lacking and students can often to overheard making inappropriate remarks about patients and each other.
Last time I visited, I had a student who was shaking so much while she examined me that she actually cut me!
Car park is beyond a nightmare, get the bus in instead if you can!
On a positive, their genetics department are noteworthy and while understaffed and under funded they do a damn good job in putting the welfare of the patients first!

Meinen Erlebnissen nach ein Stern.
Okay, das Universitäts-​Krankenhaus in Cardiff rettet auch Leben und leistet sehr viel Gutes: Ärzte und Schwestern leisten hier eine enorme und sehr gute Arbeit. Kinder werden hier geboren. Krebskranke werden behandelt, etc. Von aussen macht es einen recht guten und modernen Eindruck.
Ich war hier mehrmals nachts in der Notaufnahme im Jahre 2000, nachdem ich einen Unfall hatte. Ich hatte höllische Schmerzen, wußte nicht mehr ein noch aus. Mit einem Taxi ließ ich mich öfter ins Krankenhaus fahren. Da mußte ich mich irgendwie registrieren, obwohl ich es vor Schmerzen nicht aushalten konnte. Unmöglich.
Dann wartete ich drei Stunden, das eine Mal. Ich heulte wegen der Schmerzen. Ein Drogenabhängiger hatte mir sogar Drogen angeboten. Nimm das, sagte er, dann wird es besser.
Ich lehnte aber ab! Ich wurde nicht richtig untersucht, kein Röntgen, nichts. So lebte ich 2 Monate mit einem akuten Bandscheibenvorfall und dachte doch wirklich, ich hätte Prellungen oder so. Ich konnte kaum laufen, nahm Tabletten (ich passte aber selber auf mich auf). Privat hatte ich im Privatkrankenhaus BUPA für circa 600 Euro (Mein Geld ade! Musste ich ja aus eigener Tasche gleich bar zahlen) eine Kernspintomografie. Über ein Jahr später dann bekam ich im University Hospital of Wales die Kernspintomografie. Diese Aufnahmen zeigten mir dann, was ich schon wußte. Das alles hat mich Kraft und Nerven gekostet.
Die Notaufnahme empfand ich als unsauber.