"Hospital Review"

After a very fruitful consultation, I booked major surgery, a month in advance, at the CC. I felt optimistic after being in some pain for quite a long time. This is the trap of the CC - the first time you go there, you will find it impressive, and I must commend whoever installed their wood panelling. They have an eye for design. But that's as far as my praise for CC goes.

The reality is that the staff across departments have no concerns for their patients, nor even the initiative to talk to each other. And this will affect your health detrimentally.

I never received notification of my surgery date from the hospital by post or by phone call. I had to call them to confirm it was indeed taking place. Then, my surgery was cancelled the day before I was meant to go in, late in the afternoon and at extremely short notice. The reason it was cancelled was because an administrator failed to process my paperwork in time. There was no other reason provided - they weren't skilled enough to move some paper from the end of their desk, and yet these are the wardens of your health.

The surgery was to remove an infection on the base of my spine, which only got worse and escalated in the time after my surgery was cancelled. I was forced to have a second round of very strong antibiotics because of the CC's incompetence. The hospital could not confirm when surgery would next be available for several days, and it was at this point that they clearly started screening my calls. The pre-admissions team were not returning my messages. I never once got to talk to a member of the pre -admissions team, despite helpful and well -meaning receptionists giving me their number and assuring me that the team were in their office and could advise best. There are clearly a number of people who work in this building who have no commitment to patients, do not value honesty, and who are affecting the health of others detrimentally due to their flagrant disregard for others and wholesale incompetence. Avoid this place and go somewhere else - it will make you more ill than you were when you first arrived.

The only procedure I would now consider having at the CC is a serving of gross negligence or fraud to the hospital manager, by my legal team.