"The worst 24 hours - somehow made better!!"

I recently underwent hip replacement surgery at a different hospital. Everyone's nightmare in this instance is a joint dislocation and this was what I suffered on Saturday afternoon. Everything from the time the ambulance arrived at 4pm on Saturday through to my (second) discharge from A&E on Sunday afternoon was somehow made bearable by some outstanding people. In all I underwent 3 sedations, 2 ambulance journeys and numerous X-Ray's before the joint was successfully relocated. The NHS often takes some criticism, and I did sense at times that the team were being weighed down by bureaucracy and process. However, individual and team efforts with respect to patient care were outstanding, and I could not be more fulsome in my praise for them. Everyone - paramedics, nurses, doctors, volunteer assistants, cleaning staff, radiologists, the resus ward, porters, the team from orthopaedics who carried out the last manipulation to sort the problem - thank you to you all. They were working under some pretty trying circumstances at times, with some fairly demanding patients. This was - despite my personal pain - a really positive experience.