"My daughter was admitted to the ..."

What I liked

My daughter was admitted to the Peanut Ward on 24/4/2010 for surgery to her little finger after trapping it in a door. The staff on Peanut Ward were very friendly and reassuring (a very special bunch!), the surgeon and the anesthetist came round to explain what would happen and everything was explained to my daughter in a way she could understand (she's 6).

What could be improved

Due to there being so many trauma patients that day, my daughter did not go into theater until 16:30 (we'd been there since 7am), so it was a very long wait for her with no food and nothing to drink. I did not want to eat or drink in front of her, so I waited until she'd gone into theater before trying to get a cup of tea and something to eat. The Spitfire Restaurant and Hurricane Cafe were both closed, the food vending machine and the tea/coffee machine were both out of order and the cash machine was off-line! I had had nothing to eat or drink since a cup of tea at 4:30am before leaving for the hospital. It was a very stressful day and that didn't help!

Anything else?

My daughter got the dressing on her finger wet the very next morning and had to have it replaced at an A&E department closer to home. When I saw her finger I could not believe what the surgeons had managed to do - it was fantastic! I could honestly not believe it was the same finger I'd seen the day before. I am immensely grateful to them, and would definitely recommend them. It was well worth the drive, the time we waited, and not being able to get a cup of tea!