In November 2011, my husband was admitted to the QMC for emergency disc decompression surgery for Cauda Equina Syndrome.
I just want to thank all the staff on the spinal care unit for their patience, understanding and absolute expertise. The care my husband received was well above any standard, and completely flawless. The surgeon spoke to me following my husband's surgery while he was in recovery, and explained everything so well and in an understandable format. He also answered all my questions and concerns, and gave me some very good advice about caring for my husband following his discharge.
Thanks to this dedicated team of people, a very stressful experience was made into a manageable, well informed one.
I was kept in the loop so well and made to feel part of the picture. I was contacted up to twice daily by staff on the ward, including a lovely lady doctor who talked me through Cauda Equina and the kinds of things we could expect in the months following my husband's surgery.
I was also contacted before my husband was discharged to make sure I had been able to arrange suitable transport, and that he would have to sit in the front of the car and we may need to stop on the journey home (about 15 miles from QMC to Mansfield, so a long journey for someone in a lot of pain) to let my husband out so he can stand and move his legs. My mother in law and my husband's stepdad took me to visit each day, and provided the much needed transport for me to visit my husband.
Staff were so polite and warm, were willing to have a giggle and a joke with you, and made my husband feel so much at ease about some pretty embarrassing aspects of his condition too.
The ward ran like a tightly oiled machine, everyone was where they should be, the nurses station was accessible and you could approach them with any query or concern at any time without feeling like a time waster.
The meals were also run very well, my husband was given three choices of main, and three choices of desert, it was almost like a hotel service!
Due to the distance we had to travel each day, ward staff wavered the fixed visiting times to allow us to spend adequate time with him.
All in all this is a big thank you to all of those dedicated staff for what they did for my husband, and even though he is still suffering with Cauda Equina, which is a lifelong disability, his experience in the hospital was not a bad one and I feel this aided his recovery from the surgery very much so.
THANK YOU to ALL the staff on the QMC Spinal Care Unit.
"A massive thank you to all the staff on the Spinal Unit"
About: Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust - Queen's Medical Centre Campus / Trauma and orthopaedics Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust - Queen's Medical Centre Campus Trauma and orthopaedics NG7 2UH
Posted by Cornflake Girl (as ),
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Update posted by Cornflake Girl (the patient) 10 years ago