Reviews
Reviews
Lovely, caring, helpful staff
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!!!
Staff always checked I was comfortable and when I was in pain said they would pass this onto to my doctor
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.
I found the diagnostic clinic very professional and friendly. My questions and anxieties were answered.
Thank you to your team .
Very professional nursing staff
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.
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.
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.
Great personal service