"Reassured in a friendly and professional..."

What I liked

I was admitted as a trauma patient, and as such I had no choices to make as I was carefully assessed as to my needs: a heart operation straight away and a pelvis operation 3 days later. I spent a short time in Intensive Care and then over 2 weeks in Shaugh Ward, as an orthopaedic patient.

I have nothing but praise for the process, quality of surgery, level of care, ancilliary services and indeed the interconnectedness of the passage of an individual through a seemingly huge working environment. On the ward, I received intermittant visits from a doctor and the level of care shown by the nursing staff was fantastic: helpful, supportive and endlessly cheery, day and night. I particularly liked the way that the night shift handed over to the day shift with a verbal summary in front of the relevant patient's bed, which was as open as it needed to be and hence allowed for any input from the patient. Medicines were handed out in a very professional way and the team leader judged when he/she felt I could be taken off such supports as oxygen. The nursing care was given willingly and invariably with a smile on the face. Care was also morale-boosting but not over-familiar.

As a trauma patient, my progress through the hospital was also monitored by a liaison officer, which was particularly reassuring.