"General Surgery and Short Stay Surgical Unit"

Having had some very bad experiences with GP services and other areas of the NHS in recent years, its a pleasure to be able to report a great experience.

I had surgery on 01/08 at the surgical short stay unit. The first success came when the booking staff managed to find me a cancellation appointment (two in fact but I couldn't make the first due to commitments) that fell within the very best time of year for me due to my business. It would've cost me twice the amount to miss work later in the year and the staff seemed to really appreciate that.

When I arrived it was clear there were two patients with the same middle and last names that day and I was one of them. Everyone went to great lengths to ensure they had the right person for the right treatment, with every individual checking thoroughly every action.

My waiting time was brief and when I first met the surgeon he was extremely efficient to an impressive extent, explaining and checking every detail, asking for my input and consent at every opportunity. This is the first time in years I've felt listened to or considered in an NHS environment.

He explained that he may have to attend an emergency if it arose and that was the case. He came to advise the reality of the situation and although I was incredibly stressed of the implications to myself, I of course understood. Even in this moment where I knew I wasn't important relatively, I felt he had understood how it would affect me and as the emergency was able to be handled in a few hours, I was still squeezed in at the end of the day.

I was very anxious and struggle with mental health problems, but the anaesthetist didn't judge how that is self managed, listened to my experience of surgery before and the issues I'd had, putting me at relative ease and being a very calm presence.

I woke up in recovery not feeling half as bad as I had on a previous visit and the nurses were particularly attentive and felt sufficient in numbers to meet everyone's needs. I had a bit of a bad turn stress/pain wise and a nurse (name redacted) managed my pain meds and sat and spoke with me for a while, helping me get to the very calmest place I could.

I ended up staying overnight and due to my reaction to opioids, was awake the whole time. I really appreciated the level of care and attention from the night staff, providing food and remembering what drinks were helping, managing pain, allowing the freedom to move around to be comfortable, efficiently and without the judgement I've had from staff in the past.

The surgery team, recovery and night staff were really friendly, efficient, diligent and kind - so often I've felt NHS staff are cold, hurried and more about asserting authority than providing care. I couldn't state how different this was and how important it has been, both on the day and in recovery, for this experience to have gone so well.

The level of detailed information given and consent sought reinforces the great personal care provided. Thank you!