"Unsatisfactory "

I was admitted to Ridgeway for a lumbar decompression, a 90 minute back operation

The hospital called me to a pre-assessment clinic 6 days beforehand to take blood etc and review my medical history. But it transpired that one of the samples had to be done within 5 days which meant another 90 minute round trip

On admission at 0700 the first thing was to choose breakfast for the next day. Really? Who can select a meal for the next day when you’re having a general anaesthetic and a big operation?

I was first on the list and they were in a hurry to get me down to theatre. There’s a long checklist to do but it was done in one hit and very quickly.

Spinal operations are scary and I was very nervous. The anaesthetist saw this and worked to get to sleep quickly rather than make any attempt to calm me down

I had been told in pre admission that I’d be got up and moving as soon as possible. Nothing happened so at 2000 I got up for a walk to the total surprise of the staff. I saw no one else moving around in my time there.

During the overnight shift the nurse attending didn’t have a thermometer so took no temperature readings.

I slept very badly so when the surgeon turned up at 0700 I wasn’t really able to understand what he was saying.

Discharge at 1030 was a mess. The patient information sheet is a multiple choice form but none of the choices were deleted, not even what stitches were used and what to do, when. The GP discharge letter merely said “take regular analgesia” without specifying what or how much. The 3 days supply of codeine was totally inadequate both for the pain and the time I needed it so my wife had to return to the hospital (90 minutes round trip) for some stronger painkillers and for the 5 day antibiotic course which had been written up but not provided. My GP was unable to help because of the absence of information in the discharge letter.

If it isn’t written down it didn’t happen. No matter how well the staff say things you can’t rely on memory after a general anaesthetic and a bucket of painkillers. So just write it all down chapter and verse.