"Great staff on the whole, just a couple bad experiences"

I have had to have three breast surgeries over the last 3 months. The first two at Gartnavel hospital in Glasgow and one at The Royal in Glasgow. I wanted to thank very much Mr Romics and Mr Bramhall my surgeons for their professionalism, personalised care and the time they took to answer all my questions. I felt listened to and heard throughout the process.

The breast nurses Natalie at Gartnavel and Lyndsay at The Royal were communicative, knowledgeable, caring and put me at ease.

The nursing staff and the whole team within Ward 48 (surgical) at The Royal were excellent. The ward was well run, calm and a fantastic place to recover. Led by Jackie, some of the team in particular I received close care from were Brogan, Alyssa, Lisa, Alicia, Kirsty. The support workers cleaning and feeding us cheered us up with nice words and smiles. 

The radiography team at the breast clinic (clinic 3) Gartnavel hospital were also superb. In particular Jill stood out to me as well as Avril. Again calm, measured, professional and I felt listened to during what turned out to be several tricky interactions. 

There was also an absolutely excellent anaesthetist at The Royal during my third surgery late March. I am trying to find her name. She was very calm, clear and informative but at the same time, so kind and caring as I felt scared before that surgery. Her two colleagues in theatre were also so good, held my hand and reassured me. It made a scary experience much easier. I appreciated them very much.

I also had to get an additional  surgery shortly after for a haematoma and required a specialist anaesthetist team. I felt scared and again a young woman anaesthetist put me at ease explaining the whole process while looking directly into my eyes. One of the nurses Alan also helped me by being very calm and ‘light’ but professional at the same time- a good manner for patients. 

During what was a difficult time, the approach of the staff made all the difference. Let’s keep valuing our health care workers. We have such a special service in the NHs. During our most vulnerable times, we need good people around us. Thank you for all the care I received. 

My one area of constructive feedback relates to one individual. And mostly from a safety point of view. An anaesthetist at Gartnavel who I had for my first two surgeries. They did not do the same pre-theatre briefing with me as I heard the others do. They did not introduce themselves to me. Their manner was quite negative, commenting negatively on my teeth braces and saying what a waste of money they were, and that nhs money should be spent on cancer care not on children’s braces these days. Not having gone through the paper checklist with me outside the pre-theatre room, they had amoxycillin ready to inject into me into until I verbally told them (while lying outside theatre that I was allergic) and their conversation was not calming or relaxing. The nurse on duty with me kept me calm and was extremely nice and she steered the conversation on to other things when she could see I was looking stressed. I feel bad to share this but I feel that I am in a unique situation in that I experienced them twice.