LETTER: Congratulating medical staff

Every time I read a letter in the local press about our hospitals, it always seems to be In relation to negative issues, so I felt that I should write this time to support and congratulate the medical staff at our hospitals for the excellent service that they provide to our communities, despite huge pressures placed on them. My comments come from recent first-hand experience as follows. Last summer my GP referred me to the hospital because my blood count had gone down, which resulted in the need for a colonoscopy and endoscopy at the DGH in November. The results of this showed that I had a tumour in my colon which when investigated proved to be cancerous. This was quickly followed by surgery in mid-January at the Acute Surgery unit at the Conquest Hospital. The point of my writing about this is to highlight the kindness and courtesy of the staff at both hospitals, during this rather traumatic process. Each stage of the process was handled with great efficiency and thoroughness by the medical staff, which culminated in the surgery followed by a first class level of care in Gardner Ward at the Conquest by all the staff involved. Given the nature of the surgery, the experience was the very best that one could hope for and in my view is a credit to the NHS, not only in East Sussex, but in the country. I was able to return home six days after the surgery and after a week had a courtesy call from the surgeon to enquire whether everything was progressing satisfactorily. I could have not asked for more. So please support our hospitals and their staff, who do such a superb job.