"high quality treatment and care"

I underwent an elective carotid endarterectomy on the 11/9/14. I was very anxious as this was the first surgery I had been subject to. I was really helped by the care taken by the surgeon weeks before to meet with me to answer any questions. This was followed by a pre-op meeting with a nurse a week before the operation. On the day of the operation I was briefed by a registrar and the anaesthetist. Whilst undergoing pre-operative local anaesthetic care was taken by the team to include me - this really helped my sense of vulnerability and maintain dignity. The process of going into the operating theatre was again made as positive as possible with all members of the team introducing themselves. Following the surgery I was admitted to the high dependency unit where the care and treatment was massively impressive - fantastic communication and constant monitoring and care throughout 24 hours - the 2 nurses who had responsibility for me throughout that time really went above and beyond good care to make myself (and my wife who visited me) feel valued and reassured. Following this I was transferred twice to different wards as my dependency reduced. Again, the staff in these wards were great. All in all, an incredible experience of the NHS at it's best - if I was to offer some constructive comments it would be in the area of communication - this was so brilliant in the acute end of the service that it was noticeable that as I moved wards there was a bit of a tendency for bits of my "story" to be lost - with, for example, assumptions being made for instance about why some medication may have been administered - but care was taken to constantly check with me and this allowed me to correct any mistakes. Just an additional point about the non-medical staff - wards are constantly swept and cleaned and staff (mainly) cheerful and engaging - this really does make a difference to patients and is much appreciated. In summary, a frightening and potentially negative experience was made manageable by staff engaging with me no matter how busy they were - a smile makes all the difference.