"Watford Hospital gives an excellent..."

What I liked

The staff did their utmost to save my father's seriously infected foot. His diabetes and poor circulation resulted in an amputation and a prosthetic limb. They saved his life and gave him a new lease of life afterwards. He was 74 and is 75 today 15th Feb 2011.

What could be improved

The general communication was and still is not good enough. The healthcare itself is not affected though.

Anything else?

My recommendation would be to train all staff on the use of telephones and general verbal communication skills

My father is in Watford Hospital now after having an emergency hernia operation last friday. When we tried to find out which ward he was in it took 6 calls over two hours to locate him. We were worried that something was wrong, of course it wasn't, he was fine, but the stress we experienced was unnecessary.

It might be a good thing if you appoint a position of "Patient Support" to field all calls from friends or relatives who need to get in contact or find out the whereabouts of their friends/relatives.

I would rate the healthcare at 9.5 out of 10Bone surgeryDiabetesHerniaInfectionsCommunicationEmergencyOpening hoursTelephone