‘I wouldn’t want to go anywhere else’: Patients at the University Hospital of Hartlepool praise surgical centre
Patients have praised the staff at the Hartlepool’s hospital during an official visit by the town’s ceremonial mayor.
Councillor Carole Thompson and her consort, Councillor Phil Holbrook, took a tour of the surgical replacement unit at the University Hospital of Hartlepool, in Holdforth Road earlier this month.
The unit forms part of the hospital’s nationally accredited surgical hub, treating patients having orthopaedic operations, as well as gynaecology, surgical and breast procedures.
Councillors Thompson and Holbrook spoke to patients like Brian Redshaw, 70, who was recovering in the unit following hip replacement surgery.
He said: “This is now my fourth replacement I have had here over the past decade – I wouldn’t want to go anywhere else.
“The staff are brilliant, I couldn’t fault anyone or anything about my experience. The care has been beyond my expectations.
“From the teams who have helped me before surgery, to the team in surgery and now the team here in the unit helping me recover, everything has been very professional.”
David Ayre, 62, who had knee joint replacement surgery, said: “The procedure was painful but the care has been excellent and everything I would have wanted.
“The entire pathway has been very smooth, from my meeting with the GP to the physios and then the treatment here at Hartlepool.
“Staff have kept me well informed along every step of the journey.”
Councillor Thompson, who worked at the hospital for many years as an occupational therapist, said: “I have been having a look at what the teams are doing here and I am very impressed.
“The elective ward, and the work they are doing performing surgery like hip and knee replacements, is absolutely brilliant.
“We need to shout about it and let everyone know just how great it is here.”
Leeann Thomson, the unit’s ward matron, said: “It was great to welcome the ceremonial mayor and her consort to the unit to speak to staff and patients.
“We consistently get fantastic feedback from our patients about their whole journey through the hospital’s surgical centre.
“This is thanks to the passionate and dedicated teams we have here doing everything they can for patients.”