"General surgery appointment with a kind and holistic surgeon"

At the end of May I attended the Queen Margaret Hospital, Dunfermline to see Mr Koffeman, having been referred by my GP as I was suffering from stomach problems.

I was taken in within a few minutes, as Mr Koffeman was reading my notes. This was obvious, when he referred to my medical background. This young man was charming, shaking hands and addressing my husband and myself, as equals, not with the usual patronising attitude of surgeons. He took time to ask questions, listening carefully to my answers and actually asking my opinions on my health.

When examining my stomach, he noticed, and remarked on, the swelling in my feet and legs. This was extremely refreshing, as he is the first surgeon to examine me holistically, not merely looking at his "bit". I have been told before when I mentioned knee problems to an orthopaedic surgeon, only to be told it was not his areas of expertise.

He looked carefully at my huge list of medications and made suggestions of which could be causing my symptoms, he also made suggestions about the dosage of my heart medication. He made very sympathetic, caring advice on my suitability for surgery, reassuring me that this was not urgent or even necessary.

I felt uplifted and confident in taking his advice and reassured that this was at least one aspect of my complex medical background that was in excellent, skilful, knowledgeable hands.

I cannot praise his bedside manner, his calm demeanour and holistic approach to medicine highly enough. If only more of our doctors had his refreshingly caring attitude!