Hospital staff deserve praise

Editor News editor Over the years I have had a lot of dealings with Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells hospitals, and London, Great Ormond Street and Guys.

I have had mixed experiences with all of them, but on Wednesday last week I took my youngest daughter for an appointment at Maidstone Hospital in the eye, ear and mouth department.

I was so impressed by the service we experienced right from arriving in the busy car park where a hospital employee appeared wearing a fleece to direct the cars and help people to park in areas that weren’t specifically spaces but could be used as such, to the helpfulness and friendliness of the staff in the Costa Coffee shop.

We checked in, with ease, and within five minutes were called for our appointment.

The doctor and nurse we saw were lovely and explained everything thoroughly to my daughter, who is 16, and to myself, but addressed my daughter fully as she was the patient which again impressed me.

She then had to have some X-rays. Again we waited only a few minutes. We were taken back to see the doctor once the X-ray films had been developed who then explained my daughter will need an operation and general anaesthetic.

As everything had run so smoothly my daughter and I had time for a brownie in the cafe before I took her to school.

All in all, a very straightforward and actually enjoyable experience at a hospital usually in the press only when being slated.

Thank you to all the staff. Erica Waters, Discovery Drive, Kings Hill

The NHS is frequently in the news these days, often in association with underfunding, underachieving, along with a multitude of negative stories.

Regardless of what the government has done and still does, we have an NHS staffed by many dedicated professionals who provide a good and caring service.

For years I have suffered from chronic back pain and recently, having had the cause identified, I attended Maidstone Hospital’s pain relief clinic.

I arrived at the hospital with some trepidation, as I knew the procedure to relieve the problem was quite delicate and lengthy and was to be carried out under local anaesthesia as the correct nerve endings needed to be identified.

From the moment of my arrival I was treated with the utmost care and professionalism and everything possible was done to put me at ease.

I was given a room and was told my friend could stay there while I was undergoing treatment.

This involved a degree of discomfort but I knew everything had been done to minimise this and a very kind young lady held my hand throughout to help me relax.

I now know I had very little to worry about and hopefully I am now on my way to recovery with the prospect of a lot less back pain. Thank you to all the staff who were involved with my treatment.

I was two years old when the NHS was born and knowing how much my parents appreciated it compared with what they had before I think we would be very stupid to let it fall into the hands of Sir Richard Branson or giant foreign corporations. Tony Monk, Westerhill Road, Coxheath shock after what happened. She us now back at home and doing OK. A big thank you to all. Linda Carman, Leigh Avenue, Maidstone