"I liked the friendly staff, not ..."

What I liked

I liked the friendly staff, not just the nurses and doctors but the folks who came round with the tea/food trolley and the cleaners as well.

I was in a private room (in ward L4) which was kept impeccably clean. I liked the food, it was tasty and there were usually 2 or three things to chose from. The consultant was brilliant, I had been so worried but he was so patient and kind and explained everything about my condition and subsequent treatment

What could be improved

I felt that communication could have been better, I was seen by several different doctors as to begin with it was a bit of a mystery what the problem was. Every time a different one came in they asked me the same questions as all the others. It would have been nice if they had compared notes at some point and also it would have been beneficial to me if they had given me some idea what was wrong. It wasn’t until the consultant arrived that everything kind of fell into place and the exact nature of my problem was explained to me. There was a lot of waiting for various people to call, I felt almost like I was taking up valuable bed space, I understand people are busy but I felt as though I was being fobbed off with false information. Also on the day I was due to leave I was dressed and ready to go when somebody came in and stated that the porter was here to take me for an MRI scan, they had changed the date and not told me! (it should have been about 3 weeks after) Then when I was taken back to the ward I was told I could not go home ‘in case they found anything’ I’m no expert but I’m assuming that if one attends such a scan by appointment one is not expected to stay in the hospital to wait for the results. As it was I did not stay, they were happy to send me home as long as I signed a disclaimer, a good compromise.

Anything else?

Overall I was impressed with the hospital, apart from the communication issues and the very last moments my stay was as comfortable and pleasant as it could have been and though of course none of us like being in hospital I would not hesitate to recommend their excellent facilities to anyone should they need them, well done.