"Inpatient derwent suite"

Well I have worked all my life in our fantastic nhs so you would expect me to have a positive view of my first experience as an end user . Having a hip replacement is no small undertaking . The whole unit ran like a Swiss timepiece. I walked to the theatre after showering and gowning up . The next thing I knew was I was I back on the ward all done and dusted . I had little in the way of pain and no nausea or indeed sleepiness after the anaesthetic . During my post op recovery I got to see for myself how attentive and chatty all the lovely staff were . It's nice when you get to gradually know them better as each dressing is changed or the next meal or medicine round comes through. .Whenever I pulled the chord for attention someone came to help straight away . I was asked frequently if I would like a hot drink . The physio were really good with me encouraging me to get up and on day 2 . I met several of the surgical team who were happy to answer questions . When I went home I had really clear paperwork about exercises and a hotline to ring - which I did on day 6 , I had a few questions which the sister listened very carefully to before responding with her own questions so I could tell she was thinking it all through and reassuring me .. My discharge package also included spare dressings for the nurse ( so there in no faff about getting the correct size ) injections to reduce thrombus risk,pain relief ,support socks and a stitch remover . So what about improvements ? Well that's hard I did have a funny sink that made an odd gurgling noise when toilet was flushed at the other end of the hospital ? - who knows . Anyway that became a source of amusement . My only other complaint would be that I no longer have an excuse for being grumpy ! The nhs is seldom out of the news and I have only taken a very personal and brief snapshot , but the picture I have is clear and is of a dedicated team of professionals delivering a first class service at the Derwent. Thanks to you all and keep on helping all those people who go through your unit day in day out . John