Kingston Hospital Nhs Trust

After an afternoon at the Day Surgery Unit for a little procedure, I am pleased to say I was pleasantly surprised! Very clean, tidy and although a bit lacking in things to occupy you while you’re waiting, they were so kind and friendly, they restored my faith in the NHS. And after going to Hampton Medical Centre for the last 7 years, it needed some restoring!!!

I was at the day surgery unit yesterday waiting for my daughter whilst she was having an operation. I was very anxious & upset & the staff in the day room were very supportive & kind offering hot tea & helpful information. This particular area was very clean & shiny & was immediately dealt with as soon as a patient vacated the cubicle. It was very child friendly with a variety of toys & things to keep the kids amused whilst they were waiting to be operated on or recovering. I was able to go into the operating theatre (appropriately dressed) to be with my daughter whilst she was put to sleep, I then went for coffee at one of the many food & drink places in the main hospital. I returned to the day room to wait for my child to come out the recovery room, it was generally quiet & calm with the radio playing in the background. After she returned & was resting, the surgeon & anesthetist came to visit her to see if she was ok which was nice. We were allowed to stay as long as we wanted until my child was ready to leave.

My lovely neighbours recently gave birth to their second daughter here; sadly shortly afterwards she had a very high fever and had to spend time, as an inpatient, in the Paediatric Department. It was very distressing for them to see their tiny baby so unwell and having to be subjected to blood tests and drips, at such a tender age. Happily she is now safely back at home; the situation was made easier for them because of the great care they received — they couldn’t speak highly enough about the excellent staff who seemed to understand, and anticipate, everything they were going through.
It’s tough when hospitals in the UK get such bad press resulting in patients and visitors feeling even more anxious about levels of service or potentially worrying infections. So it’s worth giving credit when one has a good experience. When I visited here, although I found it to be quite old-​fashioned and had quite a long wait, the staff were pleasant and I was quite impressed (although not necessarily a guaranteed solution) at the obligatory gel hand-​cleaning dispensers that had to be used before setting-​foot beyond reception. I was happy and relieved to hear such heart-​warming comments from my neighbours during such a distressing time.