"What an utterly lovely bunch!"

We have recently been supporting an elderly relative through The Royal surrey in Guildford (good nursing care but v poor communication) and brain surgery at St Georges in Tooting (yeuch!) so feel able to give a bit of a comparison. On our way back from visiting said elderly relative, my 14 yr daughter old phoned us from home to complain of 'stomach pain' . We took her through A and E, urgent care centre then childrens A and E. The symptoms were a bit vague, so we were thoroughly investigated and discussed, with a member of the surgery team coming down to examine her further. She was kept in overnight in the children's ward, seen again by the surgeon in the morning and operated on at lunch time. The frightening prospect of having to consent to allow the surgeon to treat whatever he found was sensitively handled. Thankfully my daughter was returning with laparoscopy scars, a missing appendix and some really good photos of her innards for facebook. The ward was spotless, we were seen promptly and cared for with genuine warmth by everyone. The doctors were charming to a frightened teenager, one took a blood sample explained that he had fainted when he had a blood test! Every request was quickly dealt with, no waiting hours for pain meds here. The nursing staff, teacher, even the lady bringing the meals were wonderful, nothing too much trouble. Our nurse on the children's ward was a particular member of staff, what a sweetie, couldn't have asked for better.