"Positive thanks to the thorough &..."

What I liked

The thoroughness of the staff - I felt listened to at all times, they made plenty of notes and double/triple-checked everything. The Surgical Assessment Unit was extremely clean and tidy, and I was admitted into my own room - the privacy was much appreciated. I also felt respected at all times.

What could be improved

There were substantial waits at times - I was asked to provide a urine sample, which was then left sitting in my room for over an hour until my partner went to find someone to come collect it, and I had to ask staff several times to find out what was happening re. whether I would be admitted overnight or could go home. Each time I spoke to someone I was told they'd go check and come back to tell me, and then I'd end up waiting over an hour before I saw somebody else - all in all, I was in the SAU for 7 hours and most of that was just waiting to find out what was happening.

Anything else?

I was referred to the Surgical Assessment Unit from my GP around lunchtime after experiencing severe abdominal pain. They suspected it might be appendicitis so I was checked thoroughly by several members of staff - healthcare assistants, nurses, medical students under supervision, the ward doctor, the registrar and a surgical consultant. They also performed all manner of tests, taking blood & urine samples and sending me for a scan to determine what the issue was. I can honestly say I've not been prodded by that many people before - I counted no less than 8 different staff members who examined me, and I had to repeat most of what I said several times, but I could actually see they were referring to my notes as well and just wanted to make extra sure they had noted everything down correctly, so although it seemed a bit of a pain at times having to repeat myself I was also reassured that they were giving me their utmost attention and being very thorough. It's just unfortunate my body is so terrible at giving up blood so it took several attempts to get enough, some painful due to the only location they could successfully get blood from me being the back of the hand and inside of the wrist - but the staff members taking the blood were very sympathetic and tried to minimise the discomfort as much as possible. Even though they found no cause for my pain, I was still reassured due to the amount of tests they did and the ward doctor spent time making sure I was ok and checking whether I had any concerns before I was discharged - thanks to all concerned, I really did appreciate the time you spent with me.