"Superb care"

My GP sent me to the Emergency Surgical Assessment Unit at WHH in November with suspected appendicitis.

I was seen immediately by the team and bloods were taken within minutes.

I cannot fault the service I received in this unit. It was a far calmer place to be assessed than A&E and I felt more reassured as a consequence.

I believe the staff, although under pressure, were able to focus on fewer patients than they have to in A&E and I gained access to the surgical team from the outset, rather than being delayed in a general triage system as I believe is the case in A&E sometimes.

As a consequence, I believe I received swifter, safer care. I had a CT scan and they confirmed that I had acute appendicitis.

I had surgery the same day by a brilliant team (Mr Nicholas Williams' registrar & SHO, together with a wonderful team of anaesthetists).

I am in no doubt that had I been assessed in A&E, my nerves would have been terrible and the experience would have been much more stressful and difficult to overcome. However, the surgical assessment unit was the best starting point one could hope for when needing emergency surgery - it was calm, organised and clean.

I was later taken to Kings Ward to recover where the care was also good. Despite being under a significant amount of pressure due to the demands on their time, I found the Drs and nurses to be extremely competent throughout my stay. Bravo WHH!