Complaint Review: BROOKWOOD Hospital

Thank you to the writer who wrote such a supportive letter based on my horrible experience at BROOKWOOD Hospital. I am glad that you said had I been a female I never would have had such a problem-- I have found, especially in regard to urological matters, that there definitely is a double standard of care for males verses females in regard to same gender care. I have now had 6 transurethral  operations and ONLY at BROOKWOOD was my same gender care request ignored--even though I had had it confirmed in advance and wrote out my request for the nurse on duty to see. After my horrible experience at Brookwood I refused to go there again and went to St Vincent's where I had the best hospital experience EVER.  In addition to my being physically violated against my will, while my operation at Brookwood was going on a female employee came in the operating room to "visit" with nurse Estelle Murdock in plain sight of my exposed body (I was conscious) It appeared the conversation had NOTHING to do with me at all.  So TWICE I was violated..... George Terrell Jr.

Lance, you're not an attorney, are you? You accuse the original poster of slandering the nurse he mentions in his post. Slander refers only to spoken comments about a person; libel refers to written comments about a person. In this instance I'm sure you meant the latter but erroneously used the former. Before you accuse someone of a tortious act you should at least make sure you know the definition of the act, right?

And a whiner? Really? I doubt if you'd been in this patient's situation you'd use that word so easily. Imagine if you'd made a special request based solely on a preference - vegan meals perhaps - that wasn't medically necessary and the hospital didn't honor it. Would you have gotten up and walked out? Would you have brought your own nurse or chef? Doubtful at best. How would you feel if this had been your parent? I doubt you'd be so quickly dismissive - or at least I hope you wouldn't call your mom or dad a whiner. And as for your assertion that they didn't have a male nurse qualified to perform the catheterization - please!! Any OR nurse had better be able to catheterize a patient male or female or s/he will quickly be out of a job.

The hospital experience can be embarrassing and even dehumanizing and we all indeed must go through it at one time or another. It is not asking too much of a hospital or its staff to respect our wishes as regards our care. And besides, if Brookwood would honor such a request from a female patient - and you can be assured they would! - they are legally obligated to provide the same consideration to all patients as to do otherwise could open them up to complaints of gender-based discrimination.

The former employee who posted about Brookwood's uncaring management and staff was spot on in her/his comments. Its reputation for callous staff, long waits, and higher than average rates of secondary infections (MRSA and the like) is legendary in Birmingham. I live less than a mile from the hospital but except in truly life-threatening situations wouldn't send an enemy there for care, let alone a family member or other loved one. It is an awful hospital that survives by virtue of its location in an affluent area and an ignorant, ill-informed, and scarily under concerned patient base.

I appreciated hearing your information as a former employee of Brookwood. Yes, of course a MALE nurse could have been summoned to the O R  to prep me for my operation. That I told the offending nurse (ESTELLE MURDOCK) I wanted a male should have been enough, especially since I had made my wishes known to the hopital in advance. On the day I was "violated" I was so shocked by what happened to me I did not know what to do to stop it. It will NEVER happen to me again nor will I EVER go to BROOKWOOD HOSPITAL again either.

I am a professional nurse and have practiced at this hospital in the past. Fortunately, I do not anymore because this particular hospital does not care about anything other than money and the patient, or customers suffer because of it. In regards to the report posted, a male nurse could have easily been summoned to assist you sir, however  this hospital or most of the staff that I encountered in my 5 years there are not inclined to achieve satisfaction from their customers.

I understand that you are upset with the particular nurse that you mentioned, but it I am sure it wasn't her fault entirely. The poor patient care that this hospital provides is generated from the top of the organizations ladder. For example, this hospital is owned by tenet healthcare. Tenet has been in trouble for fraudulently charging Medicare for years and has accumulated over one billion dollars in fines as a result.

With this being said, I will close with an analogy: purchasing the services of this hospital is a lot like buying a vehicle from a known crooked car salesman in the respect that if it's your only option then I guess a person has to do what they have to do but I nor anyone dear to me will ever be a patron at brookwood and I don't think anyone should be unless in the case that they may otherwise die.

You could have refused to have a female do your catheter. You went ahead and allowed it anyway, and then filed a complaint afterwards.

The mere fact that you had previously notified them of your sex-preference in treatment was simply a notification. A nurse is a nurse and they legally can't discriminate when it comes to employment. You got a nurse...you wanted a male. You allowed a female.

If you were that concerned, you could have brought your own private duty nurse on your own pay.

As far as "the horror that happened to" you at Brockwood, you've maligned and slandered the nurse that "allowed" you to have your procedure that day. She could have said forget it and walked out. I would have.

You're a whiner.

What hospital would allow someone in the operating room that wasn't either a medical professional or the patient themselves? It's an obvious liability.

As for the gender issue, did you ever think that they didn't have a male nurse available or qualified to prepare you for surgery? I'm sure that they didn't intentionally choose a female nurse just to mess with you. At the same time, you're complaining that you were "PHYSICALLY VIOLATED". It makes it seem like you are trying to file rape charges. Why don't you call the police? Get over it, crybaby. Surgeries in general are embarrassing, yet we all have to go through them.