"I could not have been put more at ease."

Having suffered from severe pain in my coccyx I was referred by my GP to ward 11 at King's Mill for a minor operation the same day (22/01). This was an incredibly scary time for me as I had not before had an operation, general anaesthetic or a hospital stay and was to face all of these things at once without much warning. My family are all based over 2 hours away in London and although my Dad did eventually manage to meet me before my op I was in a bit of a state when I arrived and thought I'd have to be alone.

Despite this, as soon as a bed was made available for me I felt completely at ease. There was one student nurse I would like to thank in particular, who was looking after us in the ward until the early evening. Although she had only been there four days, she did absolutely everything she could to make me feel comfortable. She made every effort to build rapport with all four of us guys in the beds, each very different characters (23-70), in hospital for very different reasons, but all touched by her kindness. About 20 minutes after I got to my bed I had an initial examination which left a small stain on the bed sheet. The nurse could not change it quick enough. She made me laugh or smile at every opportunity which I definitely needed as I my op was looming.

I did have quite a wait until my operation as there weren't any male post op beds but much to my relief, in the early hours of the morning I was wheeled down to the holding bay to meet another team of incredibly empathetic staff for the procedure. It seemed as if they had been waiting for just as long as me to carry out the operation and it was simply a case of bed space rather than anyone being unwilling to do the op. The surgeons and anaesthatists were so funny, calm and kind that I felt like I missed out on a lot when they put me under for my op.

All the staff, especially those who looked after me on Ward 11 and the team who carried out my op were a credit to your hospital, the University of Nottingham and to the NHS. I have a funny relationship with hospitals due to past experience but I feel like now my memory of hospitals will be much more positive. If all hospitals could work with the same levels of empathy and respect, I think a lot of perceptions could be changed. Thank you all.