Share review of Ashford Hospital

Ashford Hospital 2019-09-12 Person 4 5 0

The following observations are not intended as criticisms as I was greatly impressed by the clinical attention and treatment I received which was second to none. There are just one or two areas where some improvement could be made on the administrative side: 1. At the pre-op clinic I was given several pieces of paper containing instructions for anti-coagulation, blood tests, INR tests, post-op doctor's review for clip removal, etc which had to be actioned on different days prior to and after the operation. The verbal instructions which I was given at the time came very quickly one after the other and I got somewhat confused - it took me some time to sift through everything when I returned home. I suggest it would be helpful if the pieces of paper which are handed out could be accompanied by a simple summary schedule giving a check-list of the dates on which things needed to be done so nothing is forgotten. This should also give a summary of the various phone numbers for the different departments involved 2. The treatment I received on the ward was excellent. However the information provided by the different disciplines came piecemeal and there didn't seem to be any one person on the ward who knew everything that was going on for me. I often had to wait for answers until the physio/nurse/senior nurse/doctor/blood tester etc came round. I appreciate that everybody was busy and doing their very best - it would be good if there was somebody on the ward staff who knew exactly what was happening in the various disciplines and could answer patients questions (rather than have to wait until the person involved comes round!). 3. On the day of discharge I was advised that I could go home at 3pm. However when the time came the medicines from the pharmacist had not arrived and I had to wait several hours before they were delivered from St Peter's. This inconvenienced the person who came to give me a lift home as they had to take the afternoon off work unnecessarily. I asked if I could collect them from St Peters but was told this was against the instructions. Here is something that could surely be improved. 4. On discharge I was told that an appointment would be made for a post-op clinic with the surgeon but nothing came through the post. I had to make phone calls on three separate occasions before an appointment was finally made. 5. The toilet aid provided by the OT department was a Stamford Combi Scania which is suitable for women but not very practical for men, as it has to be removed from the toilet to facilitate urinating by a man. I requested a Cosby toilet surround with a Savannah raised toilet seat (which is easily removable and is available from the Red Cross) but I was told that the NHS budget didn't allow for this. I find this rather hard to believe as it would make life so much easier for men patients to use. Thank you for reading all this which is offered in a constructive manner and I hope it enables the excellent service provided to be further improved.