Team work
I entered the PAH 2 week wait pathway following an abdominal scan which revealed a very large abdominal mass, following some terrifying assumptions made by my GP practice about the mass being cancer, (which it wasn't and I am now no longer with the GP!), I saw a Gynae Consultant at PAH who was quick to reassure me whilst giving an honest opinion, they were incredibly kind and took the time to explain things fully to me. I had an MRI scan the next day and again the department were very quick, kind and efficient.
I then saw Mr Ghazi who is the Lead Consultant and who would be operating on me. Again, he was absolutely smashing, kind and confident. I was booked in for surgery a couple of weeks later to have removal of the mass and Total Abdominal Hysterectomy. I found the pre-assessment unit very efficient and was seen relatively quickly, again the nursing staff took the time to fully explain what would happen on admission.
Theatre / recovery staff and anaesthetist on the day were brilliant, they completely understood how scary having an op can be (it was my first). I was transferred to Melvin Ward and I can't praise these nurses enough, they were exceptional, so very busy but always gave full attention were attentive, they had a great rapport with all of the patients in my bay and were really encouraging and reassuring. I saw enhanced recovery nurses several times a day who just popped in to check that everything was OK and saw the surgical and Consultant post op. I was discharged on post op day 2 and given contact details of the enhanced recovery nurse who advised me to call her if I had any questions or concerns.
I mention the word kind a lot because, as simple as the word is, the process of going through a diagnosis, tests, plan and recovery were absolutely terrifying for me and being greeted with kindness kept me calm and focused.
The surgeon didn't need to do a hysterectomy in the end and I don't have cancer which I am incredibly thankful for and know how very fortunate I am.
My experience with this hospital has been really positive and I found all of the staff to be competent, instilling confidence and really upholding the values of the NHS.
Appointments
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