"3 day stay for hysterectomy 5 star treatment"

I had a hysterectomy at the Paget in December 2013 and I cannot speak higher of this hospital. The preparation for my operation was very thorough, I had to go for. Pre-op session a few weeks before where 2 nurses went through the procedure with a class of around 15 other women. We were given a booklet to keep and they told us what to expect, how to deal with pain, how to move and get in and out of bed, when to expect to go home/ be active/ go back to work. We then were able to ask questions. ( I have a friend who had this op privately who didn't get any of this information and subsequently damaged her inner stitches due to sitting up the wrong way) They also explained how to do the pelvic floor exercises and stressed how important they are! My surgeon was efficient, practical and kind. I had been seeing her for the past 2 years because of my problems and I had every confidence in her. The ward I was on for 3 days was excellently run. Everyone from the tea ladies, cleaners and ward nurses were so kind and friendly. The ward was thoroughly cleaned everyday. The food was very nice and there was a good choice. On the day of the operation I was given lots of information and the anesthetist and porter did everything to make sure I was comfortable and not scared. The ward nurses were lovely. They all knew what the patients were in for and I never once felt nervous that they may be misinformed (unlike the other large Norfolk hospital where the nurses are snotty, don't know their patients and only speak basic English). There were 6 women on the ward, all in for similar procedure. It was good to be able to compare notes with them. Visiting time was good and again, the ward staff were courteous and friendly to the visitors. There was a trainee doctor who came to the ward to take blood tests who was lovely. She even told 2 of us what blood groups we were when we asked (mine was totally different to what I thought) Going back to the very useful booklet we were given: we had to keep a daily record of various things like pain, activity, food and drink intake, progress etc. When I got to day 3 I was able to leave and was sent off with a bag of meds including hypodermic needles to inject myself for anti thrombosis. The nurse showed me how to do this properly. You could look at the hospital building and compare it unfavourably to new build hospitals but it's all about the staff who work there who do a fantastic job.