"Overall I was very satisfied with the service..."

My first experience of the Royal Free was when I was sent from my local hospital to the plastics clinic without any notice to them. (1st floor Clinic 4) Understandably I had a wait however when I was seen the staff were professional, efficient and gave me clear explanations. After the minor procedure I was given clear instructions of what to be aware of. Thanks to their advice I identified a potential problem overnight and returned the next day.

On my arrival at the same clinic I was seen quickly with the same professionalism. A decision was made to admit me and of course there was a wait for a bed. The wait was 5 hrs which seems a long time but to the credit to the clinic nurse I was kept informed and my expectations were managed. I could see the nurse was putting themself out to get information for me with out me having to ask questions.

I was sent to Floor 7 north, a side ward with 3 other males. My reception was generally good but I realise there was some minor information I was not given. My expectation re treatment was explained which was good. I was left guessing about other things such as meal times, visiting and other services available, all minor things I would not expect busy staff to spend time explaining. The info on a card would solve the problem .

The staff in the ward were very good and even the food was was better than expected. All went well until the end when the chemist had not left my final dose of intravenous medicine. This was a shame because I had received visits from the pharmacist and we had talked it through. I suspect communications broke down, however the situation was resolved and the delay was not too long.

My experience at the Royal Free was very good, my situation was straight forward (I think) but I would have confidence in them for the more serious conditions.

Thanks to the staff.