Share review of Cleveland Clinic London Hospital

Cleveland Clinic London Hospital 2023-10-07 Person 4 5 0

I was very impressed with the administration of my stay. The wristband system meant I was always confident that the correct drugs were being administered. The Caregivers on the whole were very kind and efficient and friendly. My Obs were done in a gentle and sympathetic manner even when I was virtually asleep. I would particularly like to praise the use of the Adductor Canal Catheter which administered the Adductor Canal Block. This made a huge difference to my pain control and recovery. In fact I can honestly say that I have not felt any pain so far from the knee which was operated on. To be able to get a good night's sleep each night meant I was stronger and more able to focus on my recovery as each day passed. Dr Barry Phillips, who pioneered this treatment along with Sam Rajaratnam, is the only Anaesthetist who offers this, and these two factors prompted me to chose to have my knee replacement at The Cleveland Clinic.

Although the food was excellent and delicious and the main meals were delivered in a timely manner, the "all day and all night" food and beverages system didn't seem to work. If I wanted a coffee or a tea during the morning it frequently took a while for a member of the Catering Department to call on me and then it took even longer for the requested item to arrive. In fact the assistant Nurse, Mary Grace, managed to get my coffee for me quicker than the catering department. Also on a couple of occasions part of my order was missing, eg the potatoes and additional vegetables I ordered with my Salmon on Wednesday night, were missing from my meal and only turned up when I had virtually finished eating. It is a very good system with a fantastic choice of food it just needs a little tweaking!! Additionally, my discharge was unusually haphazard with a lack of communication between teams. Judging by their uniforms, the staff were agency staff and not my usual Nurse in Charge, Senior Nurse and Nursing Health assistant. Having been informed in your literature that discharge was 11.00 hrs, my husband rushed up to town to be with me by that time, and in fact we were eventually discharged at 1515 hrs. Apparently a further dose of the Adductor Canal Block had been authorised but I was not informed of this so was waiting all the time for some senior staff member on hand to remove the catheter from my leg. Eventually, two teams turned up at once! The Agency nurse showed me the medication which I was going home with but I was not informed of any potential side effects particularly the nausea that I a currently experiencing.

Having been under a Consultant at SWLEOC for over two years I was beginning to despair about the state of my knee and since I wasn't in desperate pain had rather been given the brush off. I knew it wasn't right, it looked crooked, it affected my walking and balance and I just needed some answers. At my initial consultation with Sam Rajaratnam I had XRays and an MRI and he told me that I had a very damaged and deformed knee and it was very close to affecting the ligaments and making it very serious. He arranged a date for my operation to take place there and then, although I had to postpone it for a month due to family reasons. Throughout the process Sam promised me that he would straighten my knee and that I would be able to walk properly again. This he has done and I cannot wait until I am completely healed to get my life back again.

Sam Rajaratnam and his team for their exceptional skill in knee replacement. ( My scar is much smaller than other scars I have seen) and my recovery has been amazing. Together with Dr Barry Phillips' innovative pain-relief regime they have made a serious operation totally bearable. I should like to extend my thanks to all the caregivers who made my stay at the Cleveland so comfortable.