"Great service but could be better in some areas"

I recently received surgery as an outpatient and was very impressed with the level of care that I received, the cleanliness of the ward and professionalism of the staff. During my first hour on the ward it looked like a very well oiled machine with people coming and going and I was constantly being updated on what was happening and what would happen next. My surgery was slightly delayed but communication had slowed a little at this point so I wasn't then sure what was going on, but after a few hours everything was back on track and the surgery went well.

Although the patient care was brilliant my only criticism would be the lack of information for family members. Having never been in hospital before I didn't know what to expect and my wife was disappointed to be told that she would have to leave pretty much as soon as we had arrived at Appleby Suite. It would have been helpful to include this in the supplied patient information leaflet.

My wife made a few phone calls during the day to find out how things were progressing but couldn't be given any information other than "he's still waiting" and "he's now recovering". Although patient care has to be the priority (and you do this well) it would be hugely helpful if some method could be found of keeping family members updated whilst they are sat at home worrying.

This was my first visit to a hospital and the staff were really good and I felt very looked after. Had we been made aware of visiting arrangements on Appleby beforehand and had the reception staff been able to provide a little more information on my progress then this would have been a 5 star review, but still a big thankyou to all of the staff at the hospital that looked after me that day.