HAVING watched the Scotland’s Superhospital documentary on BBC Scotland (November 2) and having read so many letters on the hospital in question in The Herald, I would like to add our experience. My husband has been admitted twice in the last secen weeks by ambulance through our wonderful GP to the Immediate Assessment Unit (IAU). On the first occasion we waited nearly 30 hours for a bed in a ward and on the second 21 hours.

I have no complaint whatsoever with the wonderful staff but there are very serious endemic issues – at one point on our arrival at the IAU last week the unit was like a third world war zone. Trollies were backed up everywhere. The unit has 28 beds; that night there were 50 patients waiting, many in extreme pain. When the winter really hits I shudder to think how the hospital will cope.

My husband having been an "inmate" for 21 days in total I can attest to how awful the whole experience is.

Kay Cameron,

2/1 10 Castlebank Drive, Partick, Glasgow.

TO counter negative criticism, I should like to present an extremely positive personal experience of being a patient in the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. At the start of July I had same-day major surgery and during the next two days was treated both in high dependency and in a ward. At all stages I felt very secure in the quality of treatment from surgeons, doctors, nursing and house staff. The single room arrangement was very satisfactory. Staff obviously had a routine of checking patients every ten minutes or so. Since then I have attended multiple follow-up clinics, which were extremely professionally managed by receptionists, specialist nurses and doctors.

I do not drive but transport to the hospital is excellent, with good rail and bus links and frequent buses delivering right to the main entrance, where there is a team of staff to help with enquiries. Inside there is an impressive team of volunteers helping patents and visitors with questions and directions.

I would encourage people in the west of Scotland to be very wary of negativity, which is more likely to get media coverage than success stories. Whilst there should never be complacency, it is important to give credit to the positive contribution that the hospital and its staff will make to the health of the community. There is much to be proud of and we should celebrate this.

Sandra McCallum,

101 South Beach, Troon.