"Women's Health Unit"

Today I attended the Gynaecology Unit for a colposcopy.

I will start with the negatives....

the parking, or lack of.

It was pretty horrendous.

I think maybe patients who expect to drive into a free space in seconds should be warned to set out early...

It's more like The Willows at Christmas.

It's actually much worse than that - I'd recommend leaving half an hour just to find a space alone (as things are - I think they're rebuilding some of the car parks).

By the time I'd parked up (grabbing the only free space in 10 square miles, apparently), I then had to try to find where I was going.

For someone as navigationally thwarted as me, this proved to be somewhat of a challenge.

Sign posting could do with some work.

So to the plus points...

When I did ask someone for directions, it turned out I was asking a nurse.

And they went above and beyond making sure that I got there.

They walked me there themself (I believe, going out of their way by some distance).

By the time I turned up to my appointment, I was 30 minutes late.

I should have set out earlier.

I expected my consultant to be a little tetchy.

They were absolutely fantastic and made me feel at ease very quickly (no small accomplishment).

A+ for the staff, every last one of them.

From the porters in the lifts, the nurses, the specialists - all of them were lovely, and went out of their way to make a very frightened person feel better.

If I have any criticism, it's just that the layout is slightly confusing, and parking is very, very short - but this is a very big hospital (I had no idea).

Overall, I think they provide a fantastic service.