"Whole experience was thoroughly professional"

I’d had a painful foot for some time and the symptoms were eventually traced to a Morton’s Neuroma. So it was that I finished up at the Holme Valley Memorial Hospital where there is a specialist podiatry unit. My treatment was first rate: I never felt hurried, consultation time was generous and the information provided was excellent – the printed patient notes in particular are brilliant.

I needed to have surgery, which in this unit is a routine operation conducted under local anaesthetic. There followed a fortnight in which I was instructed to rest with a foot up, wearing a shoe and the compression stockings provided. I used the painkillers supplied only for two days – the operation must have been well done, since there is little discomfort and no swelling. It would be unfair not to mention in particular Matthew, who did the initial consultations and also the operation, and Pam, always reassuring, who was present at the operation and post-op meetings. Both were brilliant.

The whole experience was thoroughly professional, with caring and knowledgeable staff, good time-keeping and the provision of information that that told me what to expect and how to behave. The reception staff too need a mention: they were welcoming and efficient, and presided over an attractive waiting area with plenty of reading matter that went beyond the usual women’s magazines.

The hospital itself is attractively situated, and parking is free. The only problem is that at some times of day spaces are hard to find, and then you’d need to use the main road.