"Everything! I was impressed with ..."

What I liked

Everything!

I was impressed with the efficiency of the orthopaedic clinic where I first met the Registrar and Professor who dealt with my case. I did not have to wait long to be seen, but the consultation itself was unhurried, so that I felt able to ask anything I needed to know.

I put my name down for a cancellation and was given a date for my hip re-surfacing operation within three weeks of my pre-admission assessment. This assessment was extremely thorough, and all staff took trouble to ensure I understood everything.

Before the operation I received useful and clear information about and was particularly impressed with the support of the OT, who arranged for the delivery and fitting of a stair rail in my house, as well as the other necessary equipment.

I received a call from the hospital the day before my operation with useful information, including what to bring with me.

The ward staff were efficient as well as friendly and encouraging. They seemed to enjoy working together and this made for a very pleasant atmosphere. When we needed anything, our bells were answered without undue delay and staff were attentive and sensitive in whatever they needed to do. We had a dedicated cleaner who came every day and the ward was spotless throughout.

As I had a cold, I had the operation under epidural, which I found to be much more pleasant than a general anesthetic, and would postitively opt for it another time.

I even liked the food - trying dishes from all the sections of the extensive menu.

I also appreciated the encouragement to get dressed and move around as normally as possible.

the time and date of my discharge was arranged entirely to my convenience. I had excellent follow up from the OT, who always rang back promptly, even during the holiday period over Christmas and New Year. She arranged a post op care package for me through Ealing Social Services, which worked well.

Altogether, I felt the experience I had was as good as I could possibly wish for

What could be improved

I would just mention a problem with my post op check up, which was due to rather special circumstances, in the hope you can find a way to avoid the same thing happening again.

The appointment was for 2nd Feb, the day of the snow when there were no buses. I telephoned a number of different people in the hospital, but no-one could tell me whether the clinic would take place or not. When I tried to re-book, the first available appointment was not until 18th May! I therefore decided to walk to the hospital, which took me an hour each way. As it happened, the clinic did go ahead and I was seen promptly, but I would have been pretty fed up to have walked all that way and not be seen.

Anything else?

I spent a long time writing my comments, then went to 'Terms and Conditions' via the link below only to find, when I wanted to come back into this screen and 'accept' that everything had disappeared. I hope you'll fix that soon. It's the only bit of bad experience I've had with this whole process!