"Excellent care, but improvements could..."

What I liked

I attended F3 day surgery. All the staff were friendly and kept me well informed about the likely time that I would be taken to theatre and what would happen over the day. Post-operatively they were very caring and attentive, especially as I took up a lot of their time as the anaesthetic made me very nauseous. Theatre staff really put me at my ease & took my mind off my nerves. All the doctors I met were interested in my views on my treatment and happy to listen to my concerns.

What could be improved

The bay I was taken to pre-operatively was mixed - I am female and was in a bay with three male pre-operative patients. I appreciate it was only a short stay, but I found it unpleasant, especially as the curtains around my bed did not fully closed - not nice when you have to strip completely to change into a hospital gown, and you are aware that the gentleman opposite was able to see in. I also wanted some privacy once I had changed into the gown as these are somewhat revealing, so left the curtains around the bed - these kept being opened by staff although I wanted them kept closed. I was also unhappy that all of the toilets on the ward were labelled as male toilets, and I was told to use any of them - the one I used had urine on the seat.

A minor point - I was phoned the day before my operation to be told my admission time had been put back. However, when I was seen by the consultant on the day, he said that there was no reason for this, and had I attended at the time I had originally been told, I could have been operated on in the morning and got home sooner.

Anything else?

Overall I was very happy with the care I received, however the fact I was in a mixed-sex bay, and particularly the shared bathrooms, made the stay less pleasant than it could have been.