Dear Editor,
I and my family built a small house 23 years ago in the Eastern Algarve. As my wife and I are retired, we have holidays there that add up to five months a year.
Now I am afraid as I have found Faro hospital a nightmare. The first visit was when my wife had a fall and ended up with a number of wounds. She was not attended to for 14 hours despite a four-hour wristband.
April of this year I fell a metre onto hard ground and could not move. The police were called by a Portuguese resident as the ambulance service could not locate the area which is clearly shown on the maps.
I spent nine hours on a metal trolley with no padding at Faro Hospital before I was roughly x-rayed. Despite me being immobile, I was told my hip was not fractured and ordered to walk out. Friends came and dragged me away.
The following week it was obvious the severe disability and pain was not just bruising. At Hospital Particular, fractures clearly showed on the x-rays and I have a new hip joint at a cost of over €10,000.
At Faro Hospital, the staff are run off their feet and do not have time to spare, so patients are handled as though they are unable to feel pain. Many cried out for help and none came.
It is a fact in business that every disgruntled customer tells 20 others.
Brian Watts,
England
