"I have been a patient in the gastro..."

What I liked

I have been a patient in the gastro clinic at the Royal Free since 2001, notionally under the care of a consultant, but practically seeing one of the two excellent gastro specialist nurses every six months (or more often if my condition becomes acute).

Both of these nurses are fantastically professional and caring and always available with advice and a kind word. I am extremely grateful for this consistently high standard of care, where they explain all the details of treatment and respond quickly and efficiently when I need help. I recently had an acute flare up and my calls were answered promptly (they always either answer or call back speedily, generally within a few hours) and I had an appointment soon afterwards where the consultant was brought in to advise on treatment.

I had a colonoscopy which was also carried out very professionally and I especially liked being taken into a private room after I came around for a nurse to explain the results of the procedure to me.

I would like to register my strong gratitude and praise for the gastro team at the Royal Free and while it's never pleasant to have a chronic condition which requires me to see them regularly, they make living with the condition a good deal more pleasant, especially as they cater to my emotional needs of reassurance and clear explanations as well as providing excellent medical care.

What could be improved

Waiting times at the gastro clinic can be long sometimes, especially as there is some sort of appointments system which permits multiple bookings for the same person at the same time! This has been improving over the past year.