"Alexander King wrist surgery"

Hello. I have some suggestions for improving patient experience following a recent visit.

Firstly though, I would like to say that I was extremely happy with my visit initially. The staff were very informative & put me at ease with a combination of professionalism, thoroughness & humour. They worked swiftly wherever possible & I was seen, operated on & home well before I anticipated being back. In short I felt in very good hands for the entirety of my time at the Princess Royal Day Surgery.

I have three issues to raise. The first is a minor one, & is possibly only an issue for the squeamish like me. I was not warned about how physical the operation would be. By this I refer to the the sudden jerks & pushes that occurred. For a squeamish individual like myself, it is difficult to stay calm & ignore the fact that part of you has been cut open & people are handling your 'insides'. The first few intense manipulations scared the hell out of me as I simply didn't expect them.

The next issue is also minor, but important. After the op I noticed an unpleasant smell but dismissed it. I was in the recovery ward so I thought it was just chemicals etc or smells from the operation that had stayed with me. It wasn't till I got home I discovered my fingers were still covered in blood & a combination of what I assume was tissue, fat cells & bone fragments. This has dried & was now peeling off. Obviously the best position for my arm following the surgery was as high as possible in a sling. This meant my fingers were right up near my nose & the smell made me feel incredibly sick. It was very difficult to clean them as the sling was well secured (a good thing, I know) & the block was wearing off.

Which brings me to the most important issue. Pain. I have never in my life been in pain like I experienced from three pm that Wednesday. Absolute agony. The tablets I had been given did nothing. I kept waiting for them to help but no relief came. I was gasping with pain for hours on end, knowing that taking too many would damage my liver. I managed to sleep for two blocks of about forty minutes that night with the aid of sleeping pills. My wife woke to find me still pacing in agony & I begged her to take me to A&E. Luckily she is sensible & made some calls which led us to find out a GP visit was the best bet. Even with the speed my doctor was able to see me it took four doses & about another six hours for morphine to bring my pain to somewhere manageable.

I know everyone experiences pain levels differently and I'm certainly not suggesting you hand out fistfuls of vicodin. But what are basically strong headache tablets wouldn't be enough for most people following surgery.

I sincerely hope you consider these issues. The first two would certainly improve patient experience during a visit. And no one should have to deal with that much pain following a visit.

I would stress, a very positive experience initially & for the most part. Massive thanks to the team on that day.