"The staff worked tirelessly to help you..."

What I liked

I got into Stoke Mandeville at 3am on Sunday morning and had a 10 minute wait, whilst they open the Surgery Admissions up for me. The SHO came and saw me immediately and then called the registrar, who saw me by 4.30am. They then got me into a ward, on a drip with pain relief, so I could catch a little bit of rest before the consultant's rounds. They were with me by 7.30am and after a thorough examination, made the decision to operate on me that day, although there was an emergency paed case, so it would be late in the day.

In the meantime, the staff were exceptional. They knew that I couldn't drink, so they provided me with a mouthwash and constantly made sure I was comfortable. Most importantly, they were very friendly, cheerful and were on the side of the patients. They chased theatre up for me and were prompt to update me with any changes that might be happening. As I was not expecting to be admitted, they found me a toothbrush and toothpaste and a couple of magazines to read until someone could come in with a bag for me.

I was in one of the newly refurbished wards, which was very clean and efficient.

What could be improved

My nearest hospital is Wycombe, which no longer has an A & E department, so when I went in there in extreme pain at 10pm on Saturday evening, I had to wait 3 hours to be assessed, before having to go to 40 minutes drive to Stoke Mandeville to even get a diagnosis. Surely there has to be a better procedure than this?AdmissionsSurgeryCheerfulDrinksEmergencyReading MaterialsConsultantsCleanlinessDiagnosisOpening hoursProfessionalism