"Colonoscopy and bowel operation"

My experience of the colonoscopy and CT scan following this was very good, very efficient and friendly, caring staff.

My bowel operation 3 weeks later went ahead as planned, Pre assessment test went to plan, no waiting around, good feedback about the next step - again very caring and professional in their approach.

Admittance to hospital went smoothly, nothing was too much bother for the nursing staff. The surgeon was very informative and passed on the outcome of the tests in a sensitive and transparent manner.

The anaesthetist spent along time explaining the process and was open to answering my questions in a calm and easy to understand non-jargon way.

The care I received after my operation was excellent.

First 3 days I spent in ICU then transferred briefly to Falcon ward (male ward but I was in a side ward given I am female) then transferred to Kingfisher Ward.

The staff and care assistants were brilliant, again nothing was too much and there was (nearly) always a smile or kind word; some staff were intuitive to my needs, I had to ask others explicitly for simple assistance.

My recovery was slower than expected; I was in hospital for 15 days in total and was discharged only when I had fully recovered.

At times the nursing staff had differing thoughts on my care from the doctors and this did cause some minor confusion, but the ward sister always found time to talk to my family about my progress and the next step (as far as she knew).

Overall my experience of St Peters is good in some areas and very good in others.

If I ever had to have another major operation I would not be concerned about my care if it was at St Peters again.