Empyema treatment in 193 Thoracic surgery clinics in Europe

My name is Minal and I was hospitalised at UCLH from 21st October 2023 until 28th October 2023 with a nasty infection. I was put on sepsis protocol and I was eventually diagnosed with abscesses. The care and treatment I received from the time I arrived at A&E until I was discharged was exceptional. I was in such a bad state that I cannot remember all the names of the staff who looked after me, but I have to mention the nurse in A&E majors, Davinia Sabater Guijarro, as she took care of me with a lot of kindness and compassion. She was brilliant! Eventually, I was admitted to medical ward only briefly and then gynaecology ward. Nurse Reena from the medical ward was very kind, although I was only there for a very short time. Some of the nurses on gynaecology ward who looked after me were Nurse Erlou, Nurse Sidikat, Nurse Jordine, Nurse Kawser, Nurse Olu, Nurse Nishma, Nurse Bushirah, Nurse Antonio, HCA Maureen, Ward physio Bethany and many other nurses and healthcare assistants to whom I am very grateful to for the care and support they gave me whilst I was on that ward. The Gynaecology team led by Dr Naaila Aslam were fantastic and I feel that I am here and alive today because of them. My local hospital had sent me away with Trimethoprim and a wrong diagnosis just the previous day. Had I not gone to UCLH that Saturday evening, I wouldn't have made it, as my CRP was 400 and I was septic. Thank you to Dr Aslam and her team including Dr De Braud, Dr Tatiana, Dr Neha, Dr Julie, Dr Omar, Dr Hannah, Dr Alison and everyone in that team. They saved my life! When I had my procedure to drain the abscess, the nurses were so supportive including nurse Kit and nurse Emma. There were other nurses in that room too, but I don't recall all the names. All were wonderful. I would not have got through that procedure without their words of support and encouragement, in particular Nurse Kit and Nurse Emma. I hope the above mentioned staff and anyone who looked after me reads this review. I am forever grateful to them. UPDATE (5th December 2023): I spent a further two nights at UCH when the infection returned. Lots of wonderful nurses and healthcare assistants in A&E majors and same day emergency care (thank you Dr Maria Marouli and Nurse Jennifer). Another positive experience on gynae ward. Nurses Warda, Queen, Alena and Clare were all very kind, attentive and extremely competent.

There were so many patients in the A&E, i suffered with severe pain with kidney stone sym on Wednesday night 08/12/2023,staffs are well trained and doctors and nurses are very helpful. I had my CT scan and blood test results with in two hours. specially thanks to Dr. Bolloju and Dr. Galica, they are such nice doctors showed their professionalism, kindness, caring and excellent management skills.

Amazing service was feeling really unwell seen unbelievably quickly. The doctors and nurses were great very sympathetic and understanding. I attended the emergency day care Dr Johnny and dr harder also his staff were great provided a really immaculate service. The hospital is clean and well kept thank you all

Good health care

Mostly positive attitude. Good health care.

The best

Waiting times of more than 9 hours!! Cannot recommend going there if there is any other option. Absolutely understaffed. No air conditioning in the waiting room. The vending machine only takes coins, therefore big risk for dehydration. Haven’t had a worse experience in a hospital ever.

Being a tourist in Bologna and having to attend Pronto Soccorso was daunting, however my experience of the treatment I received was first class. Most of the staff spoke English at a level that I could understand what was happening regarding my treatment, from doctors to porters. I am very grateful for the medical care that was provided during a time of stress and pain.

Bizzare standarts for European Hospital, emergency waits are due 6 to 12 hours.Shortage of staff is visible and maintenance of the hospital is bad, terrible experience.Shocking

MESSAGE FROM AN ANGRY MOM. WHAT A SHAME ! TO BE RECEIVED IN THE EMERGENCY, YOU MUST HAVE AN APPOINTMENT. FOR ACUTE KNEE PAIN, WHICH MAKES WALKING VERY DIFFICULT, YOU DISMISS THE PATIENT BECAUSE HE DID NOT TAKE IBUPROFEN! NO CONSULTATION, REQUEST TO SEND A PHOTO OF THE KNEE TO CONTACT 1 HOUR LATER, FOR A DIAGNOSTIC. IT’S A JOKE !!!! AND TO LEARN THAT YOU REFUSED A PATIENT WITH AN EAR INFECTION AND THAT HE MAY HAVE TO LOSE TYMPAN (WHAT HIS DOCTOR TOLD HIM THE FOLLOWING DAY) AND THAT ANOTHER PATIENT WAS REFUSED DESPITE AN OPENING WOUND ON HIS HEAD. IF THE PATIENT WERE MIGRANTS, THEY WOULD HAVE BEEN WELCOME WITH WIDE OPEN ARMS.

Had terrible pain that went from my jaw through my ear and to my head for a few days. I decided to wait until to see if it would go away, but it didn’t. Since it was a Sunday and the pain was interfering with my day to day life, I decided to call to get some advice. I was treated really well on the phone and was told to come in later that day. Once I met the doctor, it was a different story. No interest in helping me at all, told me it’s a pity I’m in pain and haven’t been able to sleep but it’s not her problem, this isn’t an emergency. Turns out I had two infected wisdom teeth. Be wary of their advice… I was lucky my GP told me to run to the dentist. 3 surgeries later and I’m in no more pain.

Lack of experienced professionals. Appointments with a year delay. Wrong assessments and rude stuff. It’s better to go to Belgium or Germany for better treatment. They don’t take their patients serious at all

Apart from the confusing way the floors are numbered, this hospital is the best there is in the Netherlands.

I went whining in pain and they seemed annoyed by that then told me I had to had an appointment to have an emergency and gave a phone number then proceeded to talk to each other in Dutch and stopped recognizing my presence, worst hospital EVER

I’m an international student and I didn’t know how the health care here in the Netherlands works. I have a lump in my throat that makes me feel I can’t breathe. Since in my country (Italy) you can always get assistance I went to the emergency department because I was worried about my thyroid problem and I couldn’t wait until may 30th for the GP. I explained my problem and two nurses were really frustrated and rude, one of them laughed at me by saying “oh you can walk and speak, is it an emergency for you?”, another one: “are you an international student? I knew it!!! you international students always come here for EVERYTHING”. I know I was supposed to do a quick Google before going but I was really worried and they could have said those things in a different way. I give 5 stars to the third nurse that explained to me in a really polite way what to do.

Do not go here. In our experience there, they did not take our pain seriously. On top of that, they made sexist comments!! I would not recommend this place to anyone for anything.

I have visited Orthopedics department 2 times, really awesome service. Could be better, little more waiting time however currently it is really good, humble staffs and polite in nature.

Negligent in their duties, they don't follow medical guidelines. Many workers are just arogant and would want you soon out of thier way rather than trying to find the cause for your ailment. It's sad they are a university who make helathcare workers of such low quality.

The best ever experience on my delivery stay🤗💐. Even though i'm not italian speaker they still managed everything perfectly and communicated in english. Best doctors, nurses, and all other staff. Superb service. Healthy food. Happy & comfortable stay. Thank you for making my delivery experience smooth, unforgettable and perfect! Much love! 🙏❤️💐

I have to thank to doctors and nurses for saving my fiancé’s life when having acute pancreatitis. Everyone was very nice and kind, there was no problem talking in English, doctor and nurses were all very emphaticand kind. The emergency came in 30 minutes, after arriving to hospital my fiancée got help immediately. Thank you for doing your job on 100%!

One the best hospitals in Tuscany. Particularly, I’ve found the staff incredibly helpful and emphatic. Differently from other places in Italy where foreigners are often looked down and staff doesn’t even try to speak English or give simple directions, I’ve personally witnessed nurses trying their best to give clear concise communication in English to help out foreigners looking for a specific exam.

Context: Foreign patient/tourist Lack of signage for foreign patients is what exacerbated this horrible experience not knowing what is the correct entrance, the fact that you can't go any doctor and must go straight to the emergency reception for example (flat fee is also 200 EU which luckily was refunded by my travel insurance) 1 receptionist out of 7 was friendly, rest were horrible to an ill person despite being polite as possible 1 doctor in the emergency ward was pretty careless after dismissing me from the hospital (and was dismissive), not even providing a proper dressed bandage for my wound after removing a drip needle that was never used to give fluids (something usually done for pain or dehydration - I was expecting some for relief but none was given) A trainee had better bedside manners The doctors in the gyni section were absolutely fantastic, explaining everything, being friendly etc. However, nothing was found for the cause of my pain which was distressing and no pain relief was offered even. A traumatic experience for someone traveling alone. I hope this review helps someone in the future. Will never be traveling back to Cologne as the reception to tourists is 99% of the time cold as ice.

First , I can not comment on medical services , but the buildings and the arrangements, the wide variety of specialties and advanced equipment all are amazing. Well organized campus.

My wife gave birth there. This was the only good experience we had in hospitals. I want to give thumbs up for the best team in the world and especially to Frau Hannah. 🙏

The hospital oncology is careless and amateur. They mistreared and misdiagnosed a friend of mine for months with cancer. They told him he is fine, whereas he had severe abdominal pain. What kind of doctors work there? Have they not sworn to do no harm??

They just don’t have the knowledge to be doctors or nurses. Sadly, all the hospitals in Spain are like this. You can find some good specialist and surgeons, but that’s about it. Free healthcare=Poor quality.

I have been in Emergency hospitals here in Spain, was first time I got decent treatment, from receptionists, nurses and doctors was perfect the attendance. Do not give 5 stars because they did not make any treatment, because was not my reference Hospital. I think it¨s absurd, anyway was the best I have been in Spain so far.

We also experienced the worst possible care. We were there the same night, September 11, 2023, when Marcia Lorena recently posted about the inhumane treatment toward her 87 year old grandmother, who the ER refused to treat. We are witnesses to this horrible treatment/nontreatment. We also were ignored for 3 and a 1/2 hours. We believe we were ignored because we are Americans. Several wonderful German women helped us by asking in German when my husband would be seen. They helped us four times. They were appalled that no one would see us. The desk person kept telling us that we had to wait and that they did not speak English. However, they told us a female doctor spoke English and would see us soon, but never did. It was 10pm at night and no one was in the Emergency Room and they still ignored us. During the 3 and 1/2 hours, we saw lesser cases come in and get assistance, while we continued to wait. We eventually left. I can tell you this would never happen in the United States of America. In the United States, they take you and care for you, no matter what country you are from. I wish these ER hospital personnel could experience the helplessness that we felt when they ignored us, when they are sick and outside of Germany, but unfortunately, if they are traveling in the United States, they will be well taken care of. Shame on them! Also, the Hospital Northwest should receive ZERO stars, but I had to give one, to do the post.

I was in for a sleeve gastrectomy and I could not have wished for better care in the week I was there. Absolutely amazing staff!

Management needs to be improved. A lady called me to cancel my OP the day before and said I have to wait 2 months even though I did all the pre-OP exams and of course arranged my work for sick leave before 1 week of hospital stay. When I asked if I can have the surgery with the same doctor who examined me, she started to yell, HE'S NOT MY CHEF ANYMORE in German and hung up before I responded. So I had to find another hospital to have OP. I don't understand how they can throw out a patient when their own doctor strongly suggests a surgery urgently. Also, why do they have to get ANGRY at patients just by asking questions who's already suffering and feeling already miserable?

Great experience. Went there on a Sunday evening urgently for our kid. The paediatrician on site suggested that a specialist should see her. They called him and he was there just for us in less than an hour.

Exorbitant prices were charged for a single D-DIMER blood test. We were charged 120 euros for this test, whereas at a private microbiological practice in the heart of Thessaloniki, without any insurance, the cost was only 10 euros. If you need to undergo basic blood tests, it's advisable not to choose this facility, unless you have private insurance. Furthermore, the staff responsible for blood sampling seemed to lack experience, and they appeared quite inconvenienced when I requested the use of a smaller needle.

Truly grateful to this hospital, my mother has been receiving treatment there for the past year and a half. The oncology department as well as the department dealing with international patients have truly showed exemplary service. The doctors that have helped us have been beyond amazing and I would not have chosen any other hospital. The nurses have also been helpful, joyful and kind. We now do all our medical services there, and travel cross country to get there, including myself and other family members.

As a study abroad student, this hospital was great at providing me the medical assistance I needed. If you need to see a general practitioner, head to the ER and walk to the international desk. They’ll get you all the help you need. Come prepared with documentation and ID!

I highly recommend Dr Gabriel Cardenas Rivera for his exceptional surgical skills and compassionate care. My recent surgery was a success because of her expertise. I had a great experience at HM Delfos. The staff were caring and the facility was clean and safe. I wholeheartedly recommend it for medical care.

My first negative review ever, but the situation calls for it. Please, be aware that the hospital charge EUR 450 for a visit - this is NOT something they will tell you in advance. They charge a deposit and when you ask them how much the visitation costs, they will not give you a straight answer. Naturally, as a private hospital the cost will be higher, however, with this one, there is 0 transparency. The doctor spent 1 minute looking at my symptoms with 0 examination (not even checking my temperature), and my case was re-directed to a public hospital, and then took EUR 450. I would be very careful before wasting time and money here.

If you call them and are lucky enough that your call gets picked up, and you ask the receptionist (in german) if she speaks english, she would in a very harsh tone say "NO" and slam the phone. I think she shouldn't be working in any field where communicating with humans is required let alone humans in distress at a place like a hospital/clinic. Pathetic!

Everyone waits in ER and i was happy to do so. The attending ER doctor was amazing anf really listened despite the chaos. I was admitted to Station 5A and the nurses were lovely. The rest fo teh doctors need to grow empathy and a heart. The hygiene of the Station was filthy and blood from my Roommate was not cleaned up for several days. The Orthodox Jewish female doctor gave me a heavy antidepressant that was touted a "to help me sleep", was totally uninterested and with an air of contempt and later that evening as were the rest of the doctors there, the male nurse tried to steal my phone charging cable thinking i was unconscious from the medicine, that thankfully i vomited. To the red headed trainee nurse, thankyou for looking after me and believing me, your hunch was correct. I have since been diagnosed from a real hospital with Post Vak (Uniklinik Marburg) who laughed at the arrogance and poor attitude in the Asklepios Artztbrief. Everything that was "unaufällig" turned out to be pleural effusions, neurological damage and a blood clot that SHOULD of been discovered easily by Asklepios. SHAME ON YOU.

I was extremely sick with high fever and attendees at the help desk was so rude and even deny to let the doctor see me. Pathetic people with no humanity!!!

Unfortunately, the attitudes of almost all the staff during a recent outpatient trip to emergency were extremely regrettable. I was initially refused any painkiller for hours, despite having a broken bone. I was made to wait 7 hours, more than all the other people who had come in, not all of whom were acute cases. And I was not given a medical report on leaving, which meant I had to make a separate trip back to the hospital to insist on receiving it. I attempted to politely follow this up through normal channels but the response was excessively defensive and factually incorrect. No apology, no points acknowledged. Very disappointing indeed. All I can say is that 80-90% of the staff there were unpleasant, seemed to hate their jobs and made a difficult situation for me and others like me far worse.

Supportive, very friendly staff and fast help. Large site/area needs time to orientate and find your way. Treatment was top and newest available.

Non-professionals, there is no good communication with the patient! If you have a serious problem, it s better to look for another hospital! It takes a very long time for them to respond, and when they do, they are never clear. It seems like they want to get rid of you or respond in a way that makes you give up and look for other doctors or hospitals. Be clearer that you are medical professionals! For station mund und kiefer.

Came with toothpain on sunday,didnt wait too long cca 2 hours, doctor and nurse were very kind,spoke English,helped me with pain,so im happy i came there,just parking is pretty expensive.

The emergency department is just a disaster. Organisational chaos. As a result- hours in a waiting line.

I really hope Google will someday let me give negative score to this place. I had to wait 2 months for an appointment, only to come here and sit in the waiting room for 1.5 hours (and the appointment is for a 2 minute consultation). The level of inefficiency and incompetence is just astonishing

I have been to this hospital twice, and both times I got disappointed. First time I needed a paper from the doctor that I was sick. She wrote incorrect information on the paper, and I only noticed it when I was home. My documents were not accepted by my uni as a result. Then, today I went to the Blutbank to donate my blood. I have a rare blood type, and I already had experience donating. I am also completely healthy and have enough muscle mass to donate without any conscequences for my own health. First, when they took a small sample of my blood from the ear, they put a plaster straight onto my hair. It was very hard to get it out of my hair later, and, mind you, very hurtful. Then, I had a talk with a very incompetent doctor/nurse. I speak english better than german, and at one point I asked her if she spoke any english. By the way, I do speak german, I just understand english better. So, I was told: "We speak german here, if you cant speak our language then there will be no donation." Excuse me?? I didn't know that the people I wanted to donate to have such a LUXURY to only have blood from people speaking fluent german. You would refuse half a liter of healthy blood on such a basis? So, in the end I did not donate, I got told to "come tomorrow". Honestly I don't think I will come here ever again. In less than 30 minutes all my will to help people got destroyed. I will make sure to avoid this hospital at all costs, and you should too.

Very long waiting times and you get send from one place to another. Some of the places have no real waiting areas. Once I did get seen the nurse was very friendly and helpul though.

Most racist doorkeeper ever :(

I was transferred back to the emergency department where I waited for hours in excruciating pain to be seen by J. Straub and Dr. med T. Mederer for less than 5 minutes each completely ignoring my recent scans and the notes from the referring hospital. One of these supposed medical professionals told me they have a program that could help me but that I couldn’t be treated any further because I only spoke English. They administered Iv pain medicine that made me feel worse and pushed me into the waiting area until my family could pick me up. I am requesting a formal response from the hospital administration and the head of Neurochirurgie Prof. Dr. N. O. Schmidt. I will also file a complaint against the hospital through Tricare.

US military here. I would definitely not recommend this hospital. Poor communication, rude staff (case management). Make sure they can 100% confirm your appointment on the first day of your visit (at least on your pre-op appointment)! Make sure your surgery is not "selective", otherwise they would schedule you and let you know 24 hours prior that your surgery was rescheduled for in another 6 weeks (almost like on aspace-available basis). This happened to me. If you are an active duty military member feel free to reach out to me. Unless you wanna be your commander's favorite and put in and cancel your convalescent leave as if you're a civilian... Also talk to your local Tricare office about this hospital.

I was extremely honoured to have been at Regensburg University Hospital. They outmost trained professional students and their highly educated doctors. Their program is unmatched and superb. Simply the best!

Two weeks ago I got a fixed appointment to see a specialist. When I showed up on time for the appointment, we were told that no doctor would be there today and the appointment would not take place! I was kept there for 4 hours with unsuitable staff and in the end I was just given a piece of paper with a different phone number so that I can try to arrange a next appointment. I was present with my mother in a wheelchair, who is chronically ill and in severe pain. The emergency room didn't help us either! Thank you, I hope you stay healthy!!

I had vomited 4 times, was in sever pain and fever. I went to the emergency for some assistance at 6am in the morning, the doctor and the receptionist refused to take me in and instead said you won’t die if you dont eat for another 2 days. Extremely rude and racist behavior. Never EVER anybody with a person of color should go there. Don’t deserve even 1 star.

Extremely rude attitude even at the reception. Then we visited the eye clinic and there the "head" of the department was arrogant, rude, mean and disturbingly angry. I would not recommend EVER! We were waiting for an examination of a child, but it never happened.

Extremely inflexible and unhelpful.

👌🏽👌🏽👌🏽

If I could give a no star I would. The worst experience me and my family had in this hospital. My dad was put into the ICU-intensive care unit. U would think each patient is in good hands Once handed over to any hospital but I wouldn’t say in this case. We waited for hours and hours until someone finally came back to tell us even what was going on..it was a mess and a poor communication even for a German citizenship like me. Unclear what he even had after so many hours waiting in the waiting area. Once my dad was “stabilized” we were able to enter. 2 nurses were attending him laughing and joking about some ridiculous joke they were talking to each other. (Keep in mind my dad was on the machine with pipes unconscious) and we as a family stood there in shock! A doctor in charge came along fiddling with the oxygen machine since it kept making noises. He just casually went oh get another cable from the Keller or any fake Chinese one will do. Well it hadn’t to do with any cables in the end. IT WAS BECAUSE IT WASN'T EVEN CONNECTED TO ANYTHING!! Starting with this and throughout the night readers can guess how it ended up with my dad! To the lady nurse who was a visitor that day from the neighboring hospital we thank you for giving us the time you gave us explaining us that dad had good chances of survival and giving us hope that our dad will come home again.

I want to give Zero star. There is not a single thing good in this hospital. I broke my foot (multiple hairline fractures) on 17 July. I went to the emergency department (Notfall) and waited almost 6-7 hours (there were hardly 5-6 patients). The doctor did only the XRAY and said no bone is broken. Please take Ibuprofen and sent me back home with an appointment to see me again after 5 days. On Monday i went again, the pain was unbearable. I told the doctor and they did CT scan (waiting time was again 4-5 hours). She told me later that my bones are broken and they put Gips on my foot. After every two weeks, i came for a basic check-up with an appointment but still had to wait 4-6 hours. Today, 04 Sept, i had an appointment at 11:00. I came on-time and still waiting (it’s been more than 4Hrs+). Is this how a developed country’s hospital should be? Why they are unable to manage a small amount of patients? There are hardly 20 patients. I’m really irritated, disappointed and angry on the public health care system of Germany. Better to get treated from a developing nation, where doctors are more competent and you get better service and treatment.

The worker here are so lovely and caring…despite I don’t understand German but I was loved

I made an appointment on Friday at 11:15 . I come to the appointment and they say they don't have it. They send me to the emergency room instead, where i wait for 3 hours. You sit there, without any clarity, afraid to going to the toilet so not to miss your precious turn, getting hungry and anxious, watching all your day plans crashing apart. Story #2: I've made an appointment, at "Notaufnahme", the doc told me "make it early", so I scheduled for 8:30. I spend 130eur on taxi to reach the Klinik from Clausthal (the only way to reach at this time). They have a complete haos (bad weather, understandable). Aftet 6h of waiting, it turned out that THEY LOST MY FILE. (and I asked about my file at the 6h of waiting and received then a rude "you have to wait", instead of them checking if my file was present). In total, my waiting time: 8;30-20:30, that is 12 (TWELVE) hours. From the nurses/admin I received no apologies nor kind words nor anything of this kind. The doctor was the only person who got into situation, and applied good "comm skills", kudos to him. So it happened twice: first, they lost my appointment and told me they didn't have it. (story #1). Second, they lost my documents (story #2). Story#3: that is a normal interaction: had an apntmt at Notaufnahme at 8:45, waited 1h, got invited, then doc said "surgeon is busy wait for more 30min, go have a tee if you want", came back after 30min, got "serviced". Thanks to the doc for clarity ("go have tee for 30min"). That is a positive interaction: only 1h30min waiting in total, everything was clear. Added one ⭐ (now one, prev 0zero). On the negative side: turned out my Monday visit with 12h waiting was absolutely useless. Story#4: so they gave me a receipt for physiotherapy, but put the WRONG name on it. I ve an appointments with the physio, waited for three weeks, attended 3 sessions, and the physio now cancelled all the other appointments bcs of the wrong name on that receipt that they gave me. Now I need to get another physio prescription from UniKlinik, then wait another three weeks (?) for new appointments with physio. And all this while doctors are urging me "you really need therapy, or you have big troubles with your joint". Lesson: always check the documents they give you, they make mistakes.