"Wonderful!"

What I liked

Three weeks ago, on 25th Jan, I was unfortunate enough to fall off my bike on a patch of diesel & break my femur.

My partner took me to A&E at RHCH. All the A&E staff were very kind, pleasant & efficient, & were especially quick to help when I fainted in the examination room!

I was quickly moved up to Bartlett Ward. Again, everyone was extremely professional & helpful. By 13:00, I was being prepped for surgery. I’ve had some pretty torrid times in hospital surgical in the past, but this was absolutely fantastic. Rather than having a general, the operation was done by epidural. Being aware of what is going on really is so much better. The operating theatre staff were chatty & welcoming. I spent the operation marvelling at what was happening, chatting most of the time to the anaesthetist, who was really excellent & most reassuring. The consultant was brilliant, really confidence inspiring.

I came back on to the ward feeling much better than I’d anticipated. There was plenty of pain relief available & nothing was too much trouble for the excellent nursing staff.

After a reasonable night, and then bed rest on the Wednesday (even hospital food is better than I remember), the physiotherapists had me up & about by 08:00 on the Thursday. Fantastic – it was clear these guys were there because they care about patients, rather than just doing a job! I was allowed to go home on Thursday afternoon. By the following Monday 31st, I was back in work.

All in all, this has been a great experience. All the medical, nursing & ancillary staff are a credit, from the Consultant Surgeon down to the happy young lad on the portering staff who wheeled me down to get picked up to go home. Thank you again!

What could be improved

Totally happy!