"I cannot recommend this hospital highly enough"

I had a left total hip replacement at Orpington Hospital Mid October 2015. Hip school before it got me well prepared. My pre operative assessment was quick, on time and easy.

I had my operation under spinal anaesthetic with no sedation, which was my choice, and was amazed at how easy this was. i hate the noise of a dentists drill and was concerned that I might change my mind at the last minute, but the anaesthetist and spinal were straightforward and I was given a small amount of a drug which left me completely unconcerned, but awake. I was able to go up to the ward very quickly afterwards. On the ward the nurses, day and night were equally good as each other and I was very well looked after. The specialist physiotherapy and occupational therapy team who visited the next day and the information booklets i received made recovery relatively easy and I felt safe at all times and was able to leave on the second day after my operation.

I went to stay with a relative rather than to home from the hospital and the temporary GP did not get me set up on their system quite quickly enough so there was a problem in that the district nurses would not have visited when they should have done , had I not chased them and I think that it would be useful if the hospital could have a system allowing them to register patients with a GP in this situation, though I suppose it is not that common. However of all the people I contacted about the situation, the ward clerk at Orpington, was the most helpful person and the only one who phoned me back to let me know what was happening.

This has been a life changing event for me, and I will always be very grateful to the staff in the hospital and the excellent organisation of the service, which I am sure saves costs to the NHS as well as delivering the best possible service for patients.