"Full of praise for the care I received"

I was admitted to Ayr hospital in July 2015 for ankle fusion surgery. I had been on the waiting list since April 2015, and when I received an appointment for a pre-op assessment in July I was told that no admission date was yet available, but that the assessment remained valid for three months.

My cynical mind wondered whether NHS Ayrshire & Arran were treating the pre-op as commencement of treatment, to fulfil the 12 week target. However, admission and surgery took place in July, for which I was grateful, as the pain had become much worse.

I was in Station 11, and I wanted to let you know that I am full of praise for the care and treatment I received there - from the Consultant, the Anaesthetist, nursing staff (day and night) and from auxiliary staff, caterers etc. The care and compassion from everyone was superb. For all the talk about a five day week NHS, my Consultant was operating all day on the Thursday, visited me the following day, and again on the Sunday morning. I already knew he was dedicated, but this was more than expected.

Thanks to everyone, and I have now been discharged with an appointment for the outpatient clinic to have the plaster changed and stitches removed. Best of all, I have had little pain from the surgery.

My only other comment relates to the Board of NHS Ayrshire & Arran. It was reported recently that their end of year financial results achieved an underspend of £0. 3 million, for which they congratulated their management. When they knew that they had achieved this, would it not have been more helpful if they had allocated this windfall to the hard pressed front line services and still achieved a break-even position for the Scottish Government?