University Hospital, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine — Local services in Kyoto

I normally do not write reviews, but I feel compelled to warn potential patients due to my experiences. While some have received proper treatment, I would argue that the quality of care here is hit or miss.

For context, I have lived in Japan for 22 years, have advanced proficiency in Japanese, and work in a Japanese-speaking environment. Thanks to a dermatologist at this hospital, I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's disease, which has helped me understand my symptoms and improve my health. Despite this, I will never return to this hospital due to the persistently poor service and lack of respect for patients.

My experience with the gastroenterologist was particularly troubling. He admitted he was unable to examine my entire intestine due to his lack of expertise and confessed that he was unfamiliar with the condition I inquired about only after he examined my intestine. I happened to wake up during the procedure and overheard the doctor discussing inflammation he found but later dismissed as not urgent until it worsened, at which point they would prescribe medication.

The thyroid specialist contradicted my Hashimoto's diagnosis, only to agree with it when I suggested a pre-Hashimoto’s condition. That I need to prompt a doctor to get a diagnosis is distressing. Also, suddenly I started to get extremely sick (headaches, nausea, extreme exhaustion) every time I eat anything with wheat and I was told, "Then just stop eating wheat. if everyone stopped eating wheat everyone would feel better."

The most recent incident involved a my surgery getting cancelled on May 16th, due to lack of proper coordination among the nursing staff, who, while compassionate, were mostly not trained by doctors adequately in communicating surgery procedures. This is after planning since October and the surgery being cancelled one time in January because I got sick. I was admitted into the hospital the morning prior spent one night in hospital, and was refused surgery because the nurse miscommunicated surgery preparation. I had to pay for hospital admission despite they did nothing but waste my time. Their procedures for me to rent a towel, involving the filling out of two forms, were more meticulous than checking the surgery procedures. Despite acknowledging the need for better communication (the doctor specifically said「改善が必要」and one nurse saying they will improve their communication, they refused to take responsibility. I had to rearrange my life for this surgery, including organizing support to look after my seven-year-old daughter and taking time off work.

In preparation for this surgery I had to pay for an extra blood test and take up 5 hours of time to do this because the doctor forgot that I needed to have my thyroid checked.

The accounting and information desks are unreliable, with staff often reluctant to assist me, admitting to me when I would query about their strange behavior that they feared I couldn't speak Japanese despite me addressing them in fluent Japanese. One time a person at accounting seemed to panic and went out of the way to ask another staffer to come help me before even trying to talk to me, and then expressed overly extreme relief that I could speak Japanese. I even faced difficulties with the information desk, which tried to turn me away by claiming I wasn't registered at the hospital, despite my ten-year history there, due to a clerical error.

Appointments consistently require excessive waiting times, often up to five hours. Even on the day my surgery was canceled, I was made to wait five hours before I could start the process of leaving the hospital.

I strongly advise against seeking treatment at this hospital. The level of care and respect for patients is alarmingly inadequate. I have heard similar stories fromJapanese and non-Japanese people alike. A nurse described the nurse turnover rate as extremely high due to the horrible conditions saying they become "robots" overburdened by unnecessary and repetitive bureaucratic tasks to the point there is no time to take care of...

To any American that needs medical help in a dire situation, don’t be afraid to come here even though the reviews are bad. After eating oysters from Nishiki market I had the worst food poisoning of my life and had to be taken here by ambulance in the middle of the night. The ambulance team was gentle and quick to get me on the move, and they didn’t care I didn’t know Japanese. The hospital was kind of gross and looked seriously worn down in the emergency room but the ER staff took good care of me. They gave me an IV drip to restore my fluids and let me rest while occasionally still throwing up. There was a nice nurse that spoke English and helped be my interpreter too which was helpful. I wish I knew her name to give commendations. I don’t have health insurance or travelers insurance but they only charged me a few hundred American dollars which consideration an ambulance ride and an ER visit it’s much cheaper than the USA - if you’re curious about how much a visit will be: ask. Be careful in the markets and get yourself care if...

So frustrated

Went here 2 days in a row, got a high fever the first day combined with allergy, they gave me an iv drip and also checked the blood sample, ended up with "we couldnt determine what caused this allergic reaction" and then recommend me to stop taking the prescribed antibiotics i got from the clinic i went before.

The day after, i stopped consuming the antibiotics but the allergy came back even worse, so i had to call the ambulance again and they had to bring me here again. This time the hospital insisted that i ate a shrimp that would trigger my allergic reaction, which of course, i did not, why would i.

They gave me the same iv again, at first it got better, but by the end, all my face are covered in rashes before they kicked me out because they dont know what else they can do, and suggested i schedule an appointment with another hospital by myself. I asked them what to do about my worsened rashes and they replied "just let your body cool down first", while...