"They have finally got it right"

Anything else?

I first attended The Walton Centre in 2009 on the advice of Medtronic. I had a drug pump implanted while I was in Canada and when I returned to England I required my pump to be.refilled. I was living in Bolton and so The Walton Centre was the place to be. My first experience consisted of a week long stay during which my pump was drained and refilled with Morphine and as I had been on hydro-morph one I had to stay in hospital until the right equivalent dose of morphine was found and I was stabilised. Wow! We're my eyes, ears and mouth opened wide. I was treated as a human being by caring and concerned nurses who went out of their way to make me comfortable, by nurses who explained the procedures in a very clear and concise manner and listened carefully to my questions and answered them promptly. The cleaning staff were extremely polite , with a ready smile and cheery "hello" performed their work efficiently, very mindful of my well being. The medical staff were confident and, once again, treated me as a human being, not a number. They took time with me an answered all I wanted to know. It was thus that my long association with the Walton Centre began. I have to return to the hospital approximately every three months for more refills but these visits consist of a brief visit to the pump refill clinic which takes about 30 minutes. I have come to know and respect these nurse practitioners very well. We share stories of our lives without becoming too familiar. We laugh and joke but professionalism remains first and foremost and these nurses are the best. My second stay at the hospital occurred when I had a blocked catheter that had to be replaced. Everything went extremely well. Very efficient and after three days I went home. Unfortunately I had to return with the ambulance red lights on. I suffered an overdose of morphine and contracted pneumonia. Three weeks later I was allowed home with everything corrected and several new friends made. The overdose was a complete oversight which which was so very easy to miss and I place no blame on any person of the staff. I, again was treated excellently by all staff of the hospital although I was somewhat dismayed by the quality of the food. I really enjoy,my food but I found that the quality had gone down since it had been contracted out. Finally, in October of 2013, I had to have my pump replaced as the battery had run down. Admitted on a Thursday, operated on Friday and home on Tuesday. I stayed on the brand new Chavasse ward. The standards, in my mind, have improved considerably although I had felt they could not have improved much more than they already were. All the staff, clerical, cleaning, medical and especially the nursing staff are to be commended for the excellent manner in which they perform their duties under the strenuous load of working while construction and modernisation is continuing. The best hospital I am proud to say I have attended.