"Professional care, good communication and a..."

What I liked

Following an accident my grandmother was admitted to Medway following a fall. She eventually had an operation to fix her broken hip. Having visited her several times on Arethusa ward I was very impressed with this hospital. Having only recently moved to medway from London we did not know what to expect and had not previously visited the hospital.

The hospital were very prompt in letting me know they were admitting my grandmother (as I am her named next of kin)

The operation she received went without fault and the consultant we were dealing with was very understanding having been collared by myself on their ward round.

The ward staff were warm and friendly, the cleaning staff were efficient and the service overall I had found very good. As my mother has dementia I was initially concerned about the level of treatment she would receive on an orthopaedic ward, but they were very skilled when it came to understanding her dementia.

She received prompt and efficient services from the physiotherapy team and their assistants who helped to get her back on her feet and understood the limitations of her dementia. There were no problems with the issuing of equipment, the follow up care was arranged swiftly and the communication between the physiotherapy team and myself was consistent and informative.

The doctors were a constant presence on the ward, were always willing to answer any questions and seemed genuinely concerned with my mothers continuing care. They explained everything to me in easily understandable language and were not put off by my constant interrogation (I tend to worry too much!)

When she was ready to go home i was informed promptly and all the relevant medicines and documents were ready.

Overall I would recommend medway hospital to anyone. Having only ended up there as the result of my grandmother's unfortunate accident , I am pleased to say I have discovered a reliable and friendly service.

What could be improved

My grandmother has always been a fussy eater and the hospital food was always hot and on time, but not to her tastes.

Sometimes it took a while for my grandmother's buzzer to be answered, but I put this down to short staff, which I understand.