"There when I really need them"

Following a serious fall-from-height injury, I visited Urgent Care at Queen Mary's and sent over to PRUH via ambulance, whereupon arrival sent straight into "Resus." From there on all the stops were pulled out with the case work-up and about 30 hours later operated upon by a specialist orthopaedic surgeon.

I was told that the operation lasted a very different 2.5 hours but that it had gone as well as it possibly could have given what was a complex fracture. Having now seen before/after X-rays and CT scans for myself, from my naive perspective, the work was intricate indeed and I think it is fair to say that the treatment was as good as any available in the world.

Most of the staff were fantastic and some went out of their way in keeping me as comfortable as possible. Being a fussy eater, I have long been scared of the day that I would have to force-feed myself with hospital food, but I'm pleased to say that the "plain" food on offer seems to have been made to offend nobody, and the quality was good, too. Only the portion sizes were insufficient (although thankfully I had takeaway delivered via Uber...)

I do have some quibbles but the main one I shall mention is that a couple of Doctors who attended to me had VERY poor bedside manner and in particular the way the "diagnosis" was broken was not acceptable. If I had not suspected the worst (and it obvious to me not to keep hopes up too high given that the X-ray was followed by a CT scan, meaning that it couldn't be minor--but would that register with many people?) and was of a less resilent mind then it would have been quite a shock.

I suspect some of the follow-up will be "up to me" if I want the best possible recovery--physio for instance--that's OK in my case as the NHS could never be a bottomless pit and I am able to research, organise, and fund whatever is needed for myself. I also shudder to think how many thousands of pounds my care would have cost out of pocket. However, potentially this could undercut the potential outcome of others.

My greatest appreciation for the nursing team in Surgical Ward 7, who worked tirelessly in attending to my needs and those of other patients.