"A focus on efficiency and ever-improving..."

Friends recommended the Horder Centre to me and I am thoroughly indebted.

Over a number of years my condition deteriorated severely but once I'd asked my GP to refer me to an orthopaedic surgeon at the Horder (she had not before heard of it as it is not in our area) the system kicked in. From the first appointment with my surgeon in mid January till now, mid-August, I have been examined by all the relevant specialists involved in the procedures, had their recommendations explained, been assessed and advised on preparation pre-operatively, and for what to expect post-op, and had both my hips replaced (one in April, the second three weeks ago).

I had 3 nights in a pleasant single room with en suite for the first op and 2 for the second, and was fed imaginatively and well!

Much care was taken over pain control. Naturally I'm not yet bounding up the stairs but to judge by the recovery achieved in three months in the first hip I will be very pleased with the final result.

As I've seen for myself, much thought is given by all departments at the Horder into achieving the best outcome for patients in general, their written advice is an excellent handbook for what to expect and what one can do at each stage of the process to contribute to one's own success, but additionally they take trouble to tailor their care to the individual they see before them. Moreover, they are not static in their thinking, I have seen that they regularly update their procedures on the evidence of what is working best.

The environment is calming and pleasant and the many-layered staffing is across the board re-assuring and professional - from the volunteers to the surgeon, the administration to the nursing or from the anaesthetist to the physios, indeed all the specialisms that care for patients and run a hospital, were in my experience outstanding. The importance of team work is recognised and exercised in practice at the Horder. If the cost to the NHS of such excellence is within the range charged by general hospitals the Horder specialist model should be replicated as widely as possible.