"The helpfulness of the staff I ..."

What I liked

The helpfulness of the staff I spoke with on the phone when arranging my appointment for day surgery.

The anaesthetic staff where very reassuring and calming.

The post op staff in the recovery room were excellent and helped me through a very painful hour.

I received a call the day after the operation to check I was OK and if I had any questions.

The fact that I didn't have to stay overnight.

What could be improved

Too much unclear and conflicting literature sent before I was admitted.

The literature states no visitors at the bedside - My husband came into the day surgery ward to at 7.30am after paying for a few hours parking he was told to leave immediately and to call back at 12. I was not taken to surgery until 12, other patients were able to wait with their partners prior to their surgery.

He then had to call several times very worried as he was given conflicting information on my progress.

There is a FREE drop off and pick up point for this ward which was not advised in the literature or advised by the nurses when they called to say I was ready to be collected.

The literature explains that wedding bands will be taped, I wasn't given this option, instead, I had to hide my jewelry with my belongings and sign to say that the hospital was not liable for lost personal effects.

I could hear the staff speaking about how cold it was in the ward yet none of them asked if the patients were warm enough and wanted a blanket, we had to ask.

Prior to the operation there was little staff contact, eye contact or reassuring smiles, something that would have really helped to calm the worried patient especially with a 5 hour wait and no visitor.

The staff spent a lot of their time chatting by the nurses station, I learnt what they didn't like about their jobs and who was going through disciplinery for bullying!

When I was discharged I was informed to remove my dressings the following day, the call I received the next morning advised I should keep them on for 3-5 days.

Anything else?

The main reason I would recommend this day centre is for the fact that you don't stay overnight. However, this may be the reason the staff lack empathy with the patients as they don't see the point in building rapport with someone they wont meet again.