"This was a good outcome for myself and the NHS, I ..."

What I liked

I was referred by my GP to you on the 10th June after complaining of chest pains on Friday 10th June 2012. I was signed of for two weeks and told to report to Redhill NHS first thing on Monday. This I did at 8 a.m. Monday 13th June. I had a blood test and an X-RAY, all done very quickly. At 12 noon as a result of an ECG at the Wall House I was called back to the hospital. The cardiac dept was very busy so after a long wait, I was admitted via the Emergency dept at 5 p.m. and at 6 p.m. a doctor admitted to the cardiac ward the next day. An angiagram revealed serious arterial damage so I was referred to the London Heart Hospital. This happened on the 17th June, with a triple heart valve replacement on the 19th. This operation was successful with the only drawback a build up of fluid in the left pleural chamber. I was released from London Heart to my relatives on Sunday 24th June.

The pleural chamber build up led me to being readmitted via emergency on the 28th June 2012. This was treated in Redhill, with 3.2 litres of fluid being removed on the Monday and Tuesday.

This all showed the NHS at it absoluted best, the GP, the angiagram, and referral.

What could be improved

London Heart were aware of the fluid build up and could have had me transferred to Redhill to deal with straight away, or could have done it themselves.

Because of modern society there is a culture clash between the patience required for medical recovery and the time involved. Not only for myself but others on the ward this could have been explained much better. I should have been told the pleural chamber problem would probably take a week.

Anything else?

The hospital has certainly improved over the last two years with greateer emphasis on prevention of additional infection. Very good nursing apart from one nurse on a Saturday night.