The Royal Marsden Hospital (Sutton)

The Royal Marsden Hospital (Sutton) 2021-06-23 Person 5 5 0

Lovely, caring, helpful staff

The Royal Marsden Hospital (Sutton) 2021-06-10 Person 5 5 0

From the moment that I enquired about treatment here, I was deeply impressed. Staff called me promptly, were extremely polite and I felt valued. Whilst I have received quality care in general at my current hospital, I have often felt like a number. In addition, as is usual in the UK, contacting the doctor's secretary is a very hit and miss affair and getting a callback is a miracle. Not the case at the Royal Marsden in Sutton - communication was polite, clear, helpful, accurate and delivered kindly. Even before COVID, the NHS was going through so much and I tried to bear this in mind and be a "patient patient". A helpful registration pack arrived quickly in the mail, and from the moment when I arrived at the entrance, I was blown away by the focus on patient care. All staff were helpful and made me feel welcome, and upon arriving at Outpatients Reception all paperwork was in order and I was quickly taken to the appropriate room for my consultation. I was initially seen by a registrar, and a nurse-practitioner in training. They, once again, made me feel very welcome whilst they took my case history and did the required tests. The consultant then came in with a more senior nurse-practitioner, and the consultant had already had an extensive discussion with my current one so did not need to ask all the same questions again. I appreciated his background research on my case. I had volunteered for a trial, and was quite astounded that my current consultant (who is a renowned expert in my condition, and works at the "top" hospital for my condition in the UK), had not heard about this. I had to do all the research myself regarding this trial. The consultant athe Royal Marsden advised me that subject to a thorough physical examination in a couple of weeks, I would be an ideal candidate for the trial. After this, the specialist nurse practitioner had an extensive discussion with me to assess my holistic needs. This related to support for other things going in my life, which included referrals to other departments and services like complementary treatments. At her prompting, our conversation went into quite some depth and her compassion and empathy left a deep impact on me. I was given a thick information pack to take home, detailing the services that she would refer me to, and the contact details of her and her colleagues who would me my primary contacts for different areas. This hospital is not located close to my home, but my trip to the Royal Marsden Hospital in Sutton was well worth it. I felt entire confidence with every aspect of the care shown to me so far. An outstanding hospital, with incredibly dedicated staff!!!

I cannot think of anything at present. Your hospital sets an example that all hospitals should aspire to.

The Royal Marsden Hospital (Sutton) 2021-06-08 Person 4 5 0

Staff always checked I was comfortable and when I was in pain said they would pass this onto to my doctor

They were brilliant and everything was perfect

The Royal Marsden Hospital (Sutton) 2021-06-08 Person 5 5 0

The side effects from the treatment made me feel worse than I have ever felt in the last 70 years. Without the support of the radiotherapists, dieticians, speech therapist, physiotherapist and dietician it would have been unbearable.

My particular radiotherapy bathed an area of my head and damaged the performance of my salivary glands and taste buds. My mouth filled with ulcers and blisters and eating and speech became difficult. The support I was given made it bearable but I feel that there must be a technology that could avoid these problems. As the world's leader in cancer research and treatment I would hope that the Royal Marsden would be involved in developing a tool that could be used without such severe side effects.

The Royal Marsden Hospital (Sutton) 2021-05-26 Person 4 5 0

I found the diagnostic clinic very professional and friendly. My questions and anxieties were answered. Thank you to your team .

Female Volunteer at front entrance was brusque and instructed me to remove my own mask and wear one provided . Her manner was not welcoming to someone who was anxious and apprehensive about visiting the clinic.

The Royal Marsden Hospital (Sutton) 2021-05-16 Person 5 5 0

Very professional nursing staff

Nothing that I can think of

The Royal Marsden Hospital (Sutton) 2021-05-16 Person 4 5 0

I had to walk from the ward to the operating room at the other end of the hospital through corridors that are used by the public and therefore not that clean. I would suggest providing some slippers to patients so that the socks don't get that dirt which you'll inevitably leave in your bed.

I was under the impression that I would be getting lunch as I stayed in the hospital until the afternoon. The nurse brought some pre-made sandwiches and a coffee, which helped a bit though. I definitely had to go for a big dinner after leaving the hospital considering I haven't eaten since 12am the night before for the procedure.

The Royal Marsden Hospital (Sutton) 2021-05-12 Person 4 5 0

Staff were consistently warm, welcoming, reassuring and positive. Recognised individuality of patients. Sought information about reactions to medical treatment through both structured format and informal discussion about how it's been since last time. Based on information gathered in discussion, were able to recommend adjustments to medication to make things easier. Also to explain how medication worked so that various reactions were understandable (not frightening). Good level of humour. Sensitive to needs during chemo sessions, but also left patients space so we could read, write emails, etc. Whether by plan or taxi rank system, there was a rotation of different staff, so I felt I recognised everyone in the unit, and those, like the pharmacist, who came in at the end of a session, or the guys on reception. Logistical planning of appointments was very well done.

All I can conjure up is that on one occasion there was no toilet paper in one of the loos. That is not a medical issue, but can be an important one given hair loss from chemo therapy. I have taken relatively little medication in my life. I can easily mix up pills, etc. So having something like a (small) printed sheet with instructions for drugs for the coming cycle would have helped me. I often asked the pharmacist to repeat instructions more than once when he gave me my medication.

The Royal Marsden Hospital (Sutton) 2021-05-04 Person 4 5 0

As has almost always been my experience at this hospital, there was an adequate number of staff and they were skilled and dedicated. See next box for details of a problem that arose.

I was in the ward for radionuclide treatment (PRRT). I arrived earlier on Tuesday morning, the treatment was a few hours later, and I was due to be discharged around mid-afternoon the next day (Wednesday). There were no complications except that I was found to need potassium supplement tablets to be prescribed as part of my discharge medication. This need was known on the Tuesday and the necessary medical decision had been taken. There were only two other medicines that I needed to take home with me and they are routine after PRRT. A specialist nurse anticipated that I might be ready to leave between 2 and 3 p.m. on Wednesday and I asked my wife to get to the hospital to pick me up at 2.30. I was however kept waiting until after 6.30. This was because the medication from the pharmacy did not arrive until well after 5 p.m. It then had to be formally approved by a doctor but all the doctors who had been looking after me had gone home by then. The on-call doctor dealt with the matter as soon as he could but was busy for a time with a sick patient. I do not feel that the length of this delay of 4 hours, particularly for me wife, was acceptable or necessary. My wife was sitting in the car in the car park for most of the time. Around 4.30 she did go to Maggie's Centre, where a volunteer was friendly and helpful, but that closed at 5 p.m. and she had to go back to the car.

The Royal Marsden Hospital (Sutton) 2021-05-04 Person 5 5 0

Great personal service

Nothing. Great service. Seen promptly