Share review of Dr Israa Al-Shakarchi

Dr Israa Al-Shakarchi 2014-11-15 Person 5 5 0

I had a serious flare-up of rheumatoid arthritis in my right knee which meant for a while I could hardly walk.Dr Al-Shakarchi met me after a short stay in hospital after visiting A&E and being prescribed a heavy inflammatory drug by an orthopaedic consultant which relieved the inflammation but at the cost of damaging my liver. Dr Al-Shakarchi took a highly professional approach, understanding my history and eliminating possible causes such as DVT, whilst also steering a course through hydrocortisone injections, fluid extraction and gradual reintroduction of effective medication which allowed my liver to recover and then my knee. I was particularly impressed by her thoroughness and her explanations, so I always knew the reasons behind each stage in my treatment. The thoroughness, particularly in meeting patients for the first time, meant that her clinics' times did overrun their scheduled appointment times, but a little extra time waiting seemed to me a small price to pay to then have treatment of the highest order which I knew I could trust. Dr Al-Shakarchi was new to working at Kingston, but is clearly now picking up how to get things done at the hospital. Most importantly, she is clearly a top professional and puts her patients first - and that is a hard combination to better.