"Spinal Fusion L4/5"

I am 33 years old and have been plagued with back problems, severe sciatica, numbness and weakness in my leg and foot, since an accident when I was 18. I have previously had discectomy and laminectomy surgery at the same location.

Even though this hospital is not in my locality I was able to be referred here through the NHS choose and book system and I am so pleased that this was available.

I was very nervous about spinal fusion but the surgeon was very calm and clear about my options. I had the surgery in February and have been surprised at how good things have felt since day 1. I was expecting a lot of post surgical pain, and whilst it wasn't absent, it was certainly much less than I expected! It is now just over 100 days since my operation and I am still incredibly pleased with my progress, movement and most of all eliminating my chronic nerve pain. I now no longer take any of the 30+ tablets a day I needed to function prior to the surgery.

My stay was 2 nights, I was in a single bed room (I believe all the rooms are private, single bed rooms) there were 3 patients including myself operated on on that day and there were at least 2 nurses on the ward at all times and so the care level was outstanding.

After surgery it is advised to get up and walking as soon as possible, I was prepared for this (i.e. this was not a surprise) and the nurses were very patient and great at teaching you how to move without twisting or bending (I actually asked for a demo before I had surgery as I was worried about moving wrong afterwards ... I needn't have worried though the nurses were very efficient, patient and helpful). As before mentioned there were just two other patients and the nurses so it was a very quiet ward. This was excellent for me as every 2 hours I needed to get up and walk, as I could walk without any aid I could do this freely around the corridors without worrying about any hustle and bustle.

The food was amazing, not a reason to choose the hospital but, honestly, great menu choices for all dietary requirements!

There is no Wifi on the ward, again don't let this sway you for or against the hospital, but good to know so you can download things in advance.

Plenty of parking for visitors etc. there are no visitor restrictions (unlike the NHS with set visiting hours), if you want restrictions on times, you are asked about this prior to being admitted.

If you have got this far in my review you are probably considering this hospital perhaps along with some others. I recommend having a look at the latest CQC reports (can be found on cqc.org.uk) I was pleasantly surprised how good the hospital report was especially compared to the hospitals in my local area! I would absolutely recommend this hospital to anyone with spinal issues :)