"Mixed - excellent nursing, v poor..."

What I liked

The nursing staff on the ward, in outpatients and in pre-op were fantastic - caring, efficient and extremely professional. The ward was beautiful - extremely clean and comfortable.

The anaesthetist was polite and caring and provided me with the information I really wanted.

The radiographers were friendly and helpful.

What could be improved

1. Neither the consultant surgeon nor any of their team introduced themselves, and in general had extremely poor communication skills, to the point of rudeness.

2. Very long waits in the fracture clinic - 4+ hours on uncomfortable seating in severe pain. Could first appointments, i.e. before any treatment, be prioritised?

3. Better planning - I was made to come into the hospital on 3 consecutive days, whilst in severe pain and finding it extremely difficult to travel and find childcare for young children, for a) a fracture clinic which didn't include the specialist I needed to see, even though my case had been discussed at the consultants' meeting 2 days earlier; and, b) a CT scan which could have been done on the same day as x-rays and didn't require a separate trip.

4. Pain relief (gas & air, analgaesics or local anaesthetic as appropriate) provided in A&E, out-patients, x-ray and CT scan when there are either long waits, painful manipulation or stitches/staples being removed.

Anything else?

I would never willingly return to Lewisham orthopaedics unless I felt reassured that significant improvement had been made.