"Caring and Professional"

I was admitted to Cheltenham General Hospital in December 2013 for a total knee replacement. As a 71 year old and this was my first admission to any hospital for any procedure I was very apprehensive. I was very impressed by the way the anesthetist and her staff put me at my ease and explained the procedure and then put me under. When I came to I was assured that all had gone well and was transferred to Alstone ward. I found my four day stay on the ward to be all that I could have wanted. Although the staff on the ward were obviously busy they responded to bell calls rapidly an always with good humour. The food served on the ward was adequate and appetising. The physiotherapy staff were professional in encouraging exercising of my new knee but very caring to my concerns. If I could make any suggestions for improvement it would be that after leaving hospital, I did feel a bit left out on a limb and had concerns as to whether my recovery was proceeding entirely normally. I was able to phone the ward and did receive positive reassurance. It might be worthwhile considering some form of aftercare visit maybe a week after discharge from hospital. The procedure has been a success and I am now able to walk normally without a stick and without pain. Thank you so much to everyone at Cheltenham General Hospital. Having had such a good experience at Cheltenham General it saddens me that the NHS is currently receiving such bad press through, I am sure, only a few bad institutions. Mike Hitchcock