"High Speed Hip Replacement"

I arrived at the treatment centre at 6.30 one morning during March and left after 48 hours with a new hip joint and a bag of painkillers. Although I appreciate the skill of the surgeons and the theatre teams I feel that the aftercare by the nursing and healthcare staff was very lacking in helping me to cope with the trauma of the pain resulting from the operation. Some of the night staff in particular were not readily available to supply ice packs and painkillers and seemed disinterested in helping patients.

Being wheeled out to our car by my husband with the bag of painkillers was just the start of even more trauma for me. I was not given any advice on pain management by nursing staff or by the only junior doctor. Nor was I told what discomfort to expect during the various stages of the healing of the leg, before the removal of the TED white support stockings or after removal the stockings when the blood is flowing through the various joints and muscles of the leg.

I had my follow up review with a physiotherapist. They considered that my wound was healing well and I had good movement of the leg. To relieve my discomfort they suggested that I use heat at the soft tissue trigger points and have my husband massage my legs. No suggestion was made of being referred for physiotherapy sessions.

Having been recommended Barlborough Treatment Centre and after reading all the 5 star reviews I was expecting much better treatment, particularly aftercare. I now feel I would have received a much better service at my local hospital, with better nursing staff and more junior doctors to support the consultant surgeons and, possibly, an NHS referral for physiotherapy.

Having just started a private physiotherapy course and, hearing of bad experiences of friends, I have realised that comprehensive rehabilitation physiotherapy should be a critical part of aftercare following any orthopaedic treatment. This is not offered through Barlborough nor by many NHS hospitals.