"Staff could not have been nicer, friendlier or more helpful"

Around 8 years ago I developed osteoarthritis in my right hip, initial consultations said I was too young and too active for a hip replacement at that time.  Since then the range of motion has decreased and the pain has increased but was generally bearable. I was still able to exercise to some extent but would often suffer for days afterwards and sleeping would be disturbed and painful.  

My most recent consultation was around November 2024 where we decided to proceed with a hip replacement. I stalled this for a few months as I had several trips and holidays planned.  My pre-assessment was very efficient.  Everyone I met that day was very friendly and helpful, and answered all the questions I had about the procedure.

I was then admitted to the National Treatment Centre in Kirkcaldy for a right total hip replacement.  Scheduled for the second operation of the day I was moved up because of a last minute cancellation.  I was thoroughly checked, questioned, double checked by each team involved in my care and treatment before being prepared for surgery.

I opted for a spinal block with some sedation, somewhat apprehensively, rather than a general anaesthetic.  The anaesthetist had a couple of attempts at finding a route through my arthritic spine which left me feeling very faint, but after a short rest I opted for a third attempt which was immediately successful.  There were multiple checks that the nerve block had worked and then I was given the sedative.

After about 10 minutes the experience was a bit vague and I suspect I slept through a lot of it, at one point I was aware of some drilling and banging, but it almost felt like it was happening to someone else. I really should stress that for anyone contemplating this, I expected this to be much worse than it really was. The surgery itself took about 1 hour 20 minutes but I really wasn’t aware of most of that time.

I was reassured that the operation had gone to plan and had been a success before being moved to recovery for about 15 minutes where I was carefully monitored.  After that I was returned to the 4 bed ward and checked frequently until the spinal anaesthetic wore off.  It took about 4 hours to wear off completely.  

The aftercare I received was fantastic and I have absolutely no complaints or suggestions for improvement.  I stayed in overnight which was great as I was well looked after and monitored, and managed a  brief trip out of bed to sit in a chair.  The night was a bit painful, but pain relief was available on request and I did manage to get some sleep.  The second half of the night was better.

The next morning I was encouraged to get washed and dressed and once again the whole team came to check on me, the physio got me up and walking with 2 crutches, went through the exercises I need to do and showed me how to do stairs safely.  I was very surprised at how easily I managed the stairs.  The occupational therapist was also great as she gave me tips on what I would be able to do and how to do it safely and be as independent as possible.

I was admitted at 7:30 am on the Tuesday and discharged at 3 pm on the Wednesday.  During that time I must have come into contact with approximately 30 staff members, every single one of them could not have been nicer, friendlier or more helpful.

I had one dose of strong painkiller just before discharge and I took another at 10 pm before going to bed, and I was amazed that I had a pain-free night!  I was a bit stiff and sore in the morning, but managed to get myself up and dressed with minimal assistance and did round one of my exercises.  So far so good…