"I loved the cleanliness - it made ..."

What I liked:

I loved the cleanliness - it made me feel really confident about having my operation. I wondered all round the hospital and didn't see a grubby corner anywhere - I spend a lot of time in hospitals and this is really unusual!

I saw a surgeon whom I hadn't met before because there was a listed cancellation at very short notice and I accepted a change of surgeon to get the surgery done quickly, but he knew all about my case. I was able to ask all the questions I wanted and the medical staff answered them all.

My operation didn't hurt at any stage and I've healed up beautifully. The pain is much better and I'm walking better now. I wouldn't want to have orthopaedic surgery anywhere else now.

What could be improved? The ward was very cold, the windows were badly fitting and the heating wasn't good enough. I know this was temporary due to a boiler failure.

There were large numbers of nurses on the ward, many more than one usually sees in NHS hospitals, but they did seem badly informed about their duties and the schedule for surgery and made little effort to organise care for patients, some of whom were bed bound. Mostly, they sat around the nurses' desk chatting together. I would have been anxious if I'd needed much help or attention, but I was able to manage my own care with help from my husband.