"Outstanding patient centred care provided at..."

I would like to publicly thank the Consultant and all the staff at the Essex CTC for the outstanding care I received before, during and after major heart surgery.

A lot is said about 'patient centred care' but to me the Essex CTC truly lives and breathes it. This is borne out by the way that all clinical and healthcare professionals involved in my care worked together as a whole team, treating me with compassion and dignity, and providing the re-assurance that my wife and i required at a very difficult time. Of particular note are: 1) the pre-assessment appointment. This dealt with all the preliminaries in one hit rather than the need for multiple visits to the hospital. Not only did I see a pre-assessment nurse (to explain what would happen and when), my consultant surgeon (who I cant thank enough for providing me with 100% confidence/reassurance that they would get me through the procedure - and then delivered on that front!), and a pharmacist (to review heart medication), i also had a blood test, ECG, echocardiogram, lung capacity tests, Doppler test on my carotid artery, and x rays. Everything was arranged smoothly as if I was on a conveyor belt - and all in one morning.

2) the fantastic care and compassion demonstrated by all nursing staff - particularly the critical care nurses on Colne Ward, and nurses on the Chelmer Ward for whom nothing was too much effort; and 3) the fantastic cardiac rehabilitation team - who have helped me regain confidence in exercising - and provided very useful talks re: diet, exercise, relaxation, managing stress, physiology etc to provide me with pointers on how to lead a healthier lifestyle.

There are probably things I have forgotten that will come back later. All I can say is that the CTC is a fantastic facility (purpose built, clean, hygienic, new etc) and it is run by fantastic health professionals.

Thank for the outstanding care, and thank you for my life.

Neil Foss