"I almost enjoyed my colonoscopy, thanks to the..."

What I liked

I attended the Royal London for a colonoscopy on Easter Saturday. From the fabulous service when I received the phone call to schedule my appointment to the caring staff on the day (particularly the receptionist, who is an absolute treasure), I could not fault my visit. At no stage did I feel like a task to be done; I felt like a human being who was important to the people examining and caring for me. I was so taken aback by the world-class service that I emailed the hospital to say thank you, and got a very timely reply suggesting I may also want to post my comments here.

I also liked that the department organised a different bowel preparation for me, at my request, and with no bother.

All in all, a fantastic patient focused service, delivered by very empathetic and caring staff.

What could be improved

The hospital should reconsider its standard bowel prep regime, currently based on Picolax (which is nothing short of evil). I asked to use Moviprep, which the hospital agreed to, and can report that the consultant was perfectly satisfied with the results. As the person who had to prepare, I can confirm that Moviprep is very much easier on the system than Picolax. I found it much less traumatic. Please, please reconsider the bowel prep used routinely. It is by far the worst part of a colonoscopy and while nothing makes bowel prep a pleasant experience, it can be made less awful.

Anything else?

The new hospital is fantastic.