"A successful stay in a very busy ward"

What I liked

I was very impressed by the speed at which I was admitted following the diagnosis of appendicitis at my local GP's surgery.

I found the nursing staff very helpful and kind although they were clearly overworked. I certainly would have lost my patience at all the demands of the job but I saw no evidence of this. Indeed,when one patient complained about the food and the tea on several occasions,the nurses reacted with incredible patience. I would have been tempted to tell this ungrateful lady to get it herself!

The young registrar who initially saw me asked me many questions, and was very nice to the kids. I liked the way in which he gently asked the kids to leave the room whilst he asked me any sensitive questions.

The Consultant had a wonderful bedside manner,putting me at ease and answering all of my concerns without ever giving me the sense that I was taking up his time.it was nice to be given choices rather than being told what was going to happen. I appreciated his sense of humour. I also liked the way he spoke to his junior doctors and trainee medics. I never felt any sense of him talking down to them which would have embarrassed me. On the contrary,he seemed generally interested in discussing my case with them and their opinions of the way forward.

My only disappointment was having to move wards during my stay due to having to make my initial ward a male one. This meant that the camaraderie I had formed with the other patients was lost. I was put on a ward of seniors which I found a bit uncomfortable, but thoroughly understood the reasons.

I would recommend the hospital for patient care, but would say that the staff are incredibly busy and hard working so you have to be patient if there are things you need- these things will get done but it takes time.