"Nursing and ward staff were excellent,..."

What I liked

I went in for an ear operation (stapedectomy) in January 2011. Whilst I cannot fault the nursing staff and those on the ward itself, I have found the appointments side of things and after-care to be chaotic. My operation failed and as a result I have tinnutus and dizziness. The dizziness has lessened considerably over time but the tinnutus is deafening and very frustrating. My biggest disappointment has been in the lack of duty of care on the part of the consultant. Throughout the process (from decision to operate to leaving the hospital post operation) which has spanned at least 8 months, I have not met him once. The information that the operation had failed was passed on to me by his registrar using the technical term (dislodged footplate) which meant nothing to me. I was in hospital overnight and expected at the very least a visit from the consultant the day of my discharge. I hope to see him in a follow up appointment to get a clear explanation of what went wrong during the operation. Needless to say, if a revision is an option, there is little chance I will go back to him.

What could be improved

Consultants/doctors using plain english to speak to patients and explain procedures, options and complications rather than medical terminology which only they understand. After-care from surgeons - visiting patients after an operation should be a standard procedure.AppointmentsFollow upCommunicationConsiderateDuty of careNoise levelsPatient careConsultantsNursing staffDoctorsSurgeons