"Our son was cheerfully welcomed onto the..."

What I liked

Our son was cheerfully welcomed onto the Paul Wood Ward by the team of nurses and shown to his bed.The bay was exceptionally clean and all areas of the outer ward tidy.On the day of the operation our son was treated with great respect by the staff on Paul Wood,the surgeon and his team prior to going to theatre and I have nothing but admiration for the staff .

We next saw our son on AICU.Again the staff were amazing,not just with regard to our son but with my husband and I.To us this was an experience we had never had before and to be honest I really don't want to repeat too often.The nursing staff were informative and willing to spare us the time and explain the situation and why they were following certain procedures.I feel that the level of care was second to none.Our son was next moved to the HD Ward and again the same

profession care continued and I have no complaints.

On the third day our son was once again moved back to Paul Wood Ward.The staff were again welcoming,very attentive and the ward spotlessly clean. Every meal served to our son was appealing, varied and adequate in size.The catering staff were very polite.

What could be improved

One observation we did make was with regard to the medication our son was sent home with. We were told he would require a particular drug by one person and it appeared that he would require this medication on the discharge sheet.He was also sent home with a supply of the medication.We were however told by another member of staff before leaving that he wouldn't be needing this medication after all.Who do we believe? It was difficult to clarify the situation and our GP is still trying to sort it out at the moment some three weeks later.

Although our son didn't need a replacement valve in the end, one was allocated to him just incase.However, on arrival at theatre for the operation we were informed that the allocated valve had already been used and that another hadn't been ordered in time.We feel that stocks should be checked as this lead us to become anxious.One was located and in the hospital for the operation to continue a few hours later.

Anything else?

I would like to add that all staff from the surgeon to the nursing staff,porters,cleaners and catering staff were polite at all times.We felt that everything was done to help us through what for us was a very difficult time .There is a lot that other hospitals could learn from the staff at Royal Brompton.The hospital wards were exceptionally clean and put some other hospitals to shame.The food served downstairs to family in the dining room were varied,delicious and very good value.