"My father-in-law, 86, visited London last week..."

My father-in-law, 86, visited London last week from New Jersey, USA. At 11pm one evening he experienced a minor stroke, something he had had twice before. I called St. Mary's my nearest A&E and then said to go straight to Charing Cross because it has a specialist stroke unit. We arrived around 11.30pm. We waited less than 20 minutes to be seen by a nurse, a further 30 minutes for the first doctor and then another 30 for the first set of tests. The consultant registrar was called around 3.00am and my father in-law was admitted by 4.00am. He was not happy but they found him a single room and promised even though it was Sunday to try and get the tests he needed the following day. As it was it took until Monday morning. Although he was very upset to be hospitalised on his holiday he was also very impressed, as were I and my husband, with both the level of care and the kindness and competence of the staff. Eventually after his final test and a consultation with the lead doctor he was released. When he had a similar attack in the US he was hospitalised for three days and ended up with a bill for $53,000 which his Medicare insurance paid for, less a deductible. This time he paid about £800 which he might be able to claim back on insurance when he returns to the US. We were very impressed with the hospital and although we might have wanted the tests to be done more quickly, our overall impression of the level of care was extremely good. Thank you NHS.