"Very good and thorough medical staff"

I am actually very (surprisingly) pleased with the services I have received at St Mary's in London.

I've had many years of abdominal pains and back problems ignored and dismissed by my GP. He made a sudden U-turn lately and I was given an appointment at St Mary's in London although my actual hospital is Chelsea & Westminster. It took me five months of waiting time for my initial appointment. Since my condition is painful and uncomfortable but not an emergency the long waiting time was not a problem to me. After all, I've been waiting for over five years to see a specialist in the first place and had almost given up.

I got an appointment at the Main Outpatients ward. My initial appointment was quite delayed but since I was not in a hurry it was not the end of the world. The ward is a bit tired so I didn't have the best first impression. I prayed the dead fish in the waiting room fish tank was not an indication of things to come...

The doctor I got to see was very thorough and made a sincere effort to try and understand my symptoms - and I am very grateful for that after being ignored for so many years. I just want to find out what is wrong with me and to get rid of it. They arranged a whole array of tests for me from "liters" of blood tests, CT scan, endoscopy and fibroscan. They have shown that my complaints have been justified. All departments I have dealt with have been very thorough and good. The endoscopy team had to put up with unwarranted and rather silly concerns on my part and did all their best to make me feel comfortable. The only time I had a bit of a complaint was about a male nurse after endoscopy, who I did not find to be particularly good at his job; very sloppy, disorganized, could not read the results on the test page when I asked him, etc. Other from that all departments have been great and the staff seem to work very good together. No one seems cranky and frustrated.

Another thing I really love about St Mary's is that I get a report of all my results right away in hand. At Chelsea & Westminster Hospital I get nothing... I have to wait for the GP's opinion. All results from Chelsea & Westminster Hospital are kept from me which I find annoying and I have to ask for a print-out at the GP's which I am charged for per page.

I have to admit that I think St Mary's in Praed Street in London is a much better quality hospital than Chelsea & Westminster as far as care goes. The facilities may not be as posh, new and fancy as at Chelsea & Westminster Hospital but St Mary's has a better quality medical staff and with better staff performance, in my experience.