"Quick, helpful, human and efficient servce"

I was welcomed by the recepionist and asked the nature of my problem - a badly hurt wrist sustained in a fall the previous evening.

I was given a sheet to complete with the usual personal details.

The sheet was given to me on a clipboard so it was easy to fill out.

It was well set out, logically sequenced and enough space provided for the answers to each question.

On returning it to the receptionist I was pleasantly invited to take a seat in the waiting area.

I waited only around 15 minutes before being called by a nurse and taken with my husband into a small private consulting room where I was asked specific questions about my injured wrist, including scoring the pain in two situations.

The nurse then applied pressure to various parts of my wrist and the back of my hand which was by now swollen and bruised - I had been unable to bear even the slightest of weight on that hand or any of its fingers since getting up that morning.

The nurse treated me as a human being with feelings and intelligence throughout the examination.

The wrist required an X-ray which was available on site just a short walk away.

By explaining to me that if the form was returned to me with an 'x' in a particular box it meant I had broken my wrist, otherwise I had sprained it, I felt involved in the diagnosis; it also meant that I would know the outcome and prepare for the next stage immediately I saw the form and before I saw the nurse again. We were taken there by a pleasant and smiley student nurse who had, with my consent, attended the examination of my wrist.

The X-ray receptionist was efficient and I was quickly taken by the radiographer.

My form was returned to me, thankfully without an 'x' in the box, about 10 minutes after my X-ray.

About another 10 minutes after that I was called by the nurse who had examined me.

He explained using a chart on the wall which parts of my hand I had damaged, explained the timeframe for initial recovery and also the longer timeframe likely before full recovery and gave me a clearly worded and simply illustrated handout with recommended treatment for me to employ at home and exercises to keep my hand 'working' during the initial recovery timeframe.

His explanations were clear and factual and very easy to take in and understand.

I was particularly impressed with the treatment and exercise handout.