"My hip replacement operation"

I was in a lot of pain pre operation, but the consultant had no qualms about recommending me for going ahead with the operation. All the pre op planning went well and I was able to practice with the aids and get the furniture set up for coming home in advance. The operation was delayed from Feb to May, but in the end this was beneficial as I was not prevented by "The Beast from the East" from doing recovery walks. I found the pain from the operation itself manageable and a lot less than I was told to expect by most people. The nursing staff were very good and caring and I want to praise Edgar and Rani on Ward D2 Stepping Hill especially.

The food was better than expected, and I had a visit from one of the chaplaincy staff and was able to borrow a NT & Psalms for the duration of the stay.

There was one error in drug administration due to a failure to record properly, but I was able to pick this up and the nursing staff believed me when I said it had already been given (the abdomen blood thinning jab). I did have an issue with abdominal pain and one evening I had severe hiccuping but it took 4 hours to receive a simple administration of gaviscon.

Discharge was good, and post op outpatients therapy services physio were wonderful. The recovery went better than expected I felt. Overall it was a positive experience and all the staff deserve praise. One thing I did feel was that the IT seems not to be very joined up, too many records are manual and don't get scanned onto a common database for all the practitioners involved to view.