"A centre of excellence for colorectal surgery"

I had surgery for a colovesical fistula resulting from diverticulitis and was an inpatient for 5 nights. The surgeons did an excellent job and the surgical team was extremely expert and helpful.

Other than that, well... I don't think the nursing staff offered much help and advice on admission, so I wasn't told what I should be wearing, whether I should be using my own underwear (I wore the usual undignified gown but several staff seemed surprised that I wasn't wearing underwear), what the schedule was for meals and having a wash, or what the visiting hours and rules were. I wasn't told about the importance of getting mobile after surgery or given guidance about how much exercise to take. The hospital food was quite disgusting but I appreciate they have to comply with some derisory budget. On discharge I was given no advice about wound care, catheter care (I was discharged with a catheter) or when I should be ready to drive. The "going home" leaflet was apparently out of print and therefore unavailable even though a poster on the wall said "ask for our going home leaflet". There was a very noisy demented patient in my ward but the nurses seemed unable to contain his behaviour so we got no sleep. I certainly found the nursing staff to be hard working and conscientious and helpful, but I think the entire topic of giving patients adequate information needs looking at.

There was apparatus next to each bed to enable a patient to pay for phone and tv but it appeared to be defunct and an online search revealed that the company had apparently gone bust - a pity they can't take the apparatus away or give advice to patients about what services are available from any other source. There was a free broadband service provided by Friends of the hospital but it wasn't quite powerful enough to enable me to watch BBC iPlayer. If it had been, that would have been a great benefit to patients. Still, at least I could surf the web.

If I say I was enormously impressed by St Marks, that's mainly because they cured my medical problem and did it with keyhole surgery and avoided the need for a stoma, and I don't know whether for them this was leading-edge surgery or routine surgery.

But having spoken to others I'm sure that St Marks is the best place in the UK for colorectal surgery. The NHS at its best.