"Appendectomy"

I was discharged from Kingfisher Ward yesterday after being admitted to SAU on Wednesday amateur on. Overall, my personal experience of the NHS as a whole has been great, from first speaking to NHS Direct, seeing the GP and then treatment at Medway Maritime Hospital. All in all, the process took under 48 hours from the first phone call to being discharged which is amazing. Yes there were problems, lack of beds on the actual ward so my first night was in the busy SAU, but the nursing staff were great and kept me looked after. I was amazed in fact at how many nurses were working bearing in mind what you read on the news, they were all working extremely hard though. I moved on to Kingfusher Ward following my op. Overall, my experience was positive. The only criticism I would have would be around communication and being told different things from different staff, e.g. The consultant surgeon told me my op would be in the morning at 1000, maybe a bit before. 10 mins later, the anaesthetist told me probably early afternoon (which turned out to be correct). I totally understand that patients with more serious conditions should take priority over others but could things have changed that much in such a short period of time I wonder. After the op, the following day one of the surgeons came and spoke to me about my discharge and told me I would be free to leave after lunch after some more observation. To my surprise, a nurse with a wheelchair turned up at around 1045 to take me to ADL to be discharged and seemed surprised that no one had told me. I personally didn't mind at all as I felt I was ready to leave as feel much happier at home, but again this came down to poor communication. My experience was positive and better communication is all that I would improve. I'd like to say a big thanks to all the staff who looked after me (especially the nurses on SAU and Kingfisher Ward) who made my short stay in hospital more enjoyable. The aneathesia team in the pre op room were very friendly and kept me relaxed before my op. In terms of other changes to make the work of staff easier, having automatic doors available for the staff transferring patients by wheelchair or bed would be so helpful to them. I hope others who attend have the same good experience as I did. Thank you.