Mr Simon Monkhouse 2015-10-16 Person 5 5 0

Firstly Simon is an amazing , caring , attentive Surgeon. He not only listens but acts fast and gets the job done. Even before I met Simon I found his secretary to be extremely helpful and so supportive and sympathetic to my situation and she organised an appointment for me very quickly. So already I was impressed. Then when I met Simon, firstly I noticed he listened to me , he didn't interrupt he just listened to me explain all my symptoms and problems I was having, not once did he dismiss me or suggest things were in my head , he listened and said if it isn't the gallbladder we will keep going until we find what it is. This gave me hope. I had suffered with my tummy for about 6 months and was under the care of the Irish health system. I wasn't able to make a gall bladder scan due to work commitments they had organised so it was rescheduled for 6 months later. I couldn't wait that long so my fiancé got in touch with Ashtead Hospital and spoke to Simon secretary and I was referred to Simon there. From listening to my symptoms and explaining the gall bladder research I had done we decided to start with that as Simon said my symptoms sounded like Gall Stones. He organised the scan for 30 minutes after me first walking into his office and booked me an operation slot for 3 weeks after just to get everything in place. I was overwhelmed by the speed at which Simon was keen to help me and get my problems resolved. The scan showed normal so Simon organised a nuclear scan and that found that my gallbladder wasn't functioning. I was so happy to have found the potential cause of the excruciating pain I had been suffering. All along the way Simon kept me greatly informed about the process of the operation and on the day came to see me pre op to settle any anxieties I had. The operation went fantastic but post op I had a reaction to the anti sickness drug. Simon came back that evening to see if I was ok and again the next morning , he drove in the opposite direction to his morning surgery just to check in on me. The care and attention he showed was humbling and over whelming. It wasn't a case of just get the op done and he disappeared. He kept in touch checking in on me daily to ensure I was recovering well. Had the post op check up 3 weeks after and everything was fantastic most of my symptoms have gone specifically the excruciating pain so I was very thankful to Simon and always will be. Oh and was most grateful he checked the cost of the operation and realised the hospital had overcharged us and he got us the revised quotation which saved us a great sum of money. My scars have already started to heal and are very tiny inserts so also for that I am thankful he took great care and ensured I had minimal scaring. I would recommend Simon without hesitation. He is an excellent caring surgeon.