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Mr Edward Westcott

General Surgeon

I had 5 surgeries in Barcelona, where I nearly lost my life. It began with a really sharp pain in my abdomen, an emergency operation because there was sepsis and a perforation in my sigmoid colon. - a life threatening condition. The barcelona doctors closed the perforation, but, unfortunately, the colon started to leak. There was a buildup of fluid and a stone then dislodged itself from my gall bladder, which was extremely extremely painful. Another emergency operation took place. But, while in the OR, my vitals started to fail. Perhaps not knowing what to do, the doctors decided to stall for time, and put me in an induced coma for 5 days. Long story short, many things went wrong - i ended up losing my appendix, gall bladder, parts of my stomach (there was so much bleeding). There were 3 more procedures, but I survived. I left spain with a mesh in my abdomen, a colostomy bag, no core muscles in my abdomen (they had been moved to the side to accommodate the mesh), 30% less blood in my left leg (they had accidentally nicked my iliac artery), and a huge ulcer on my left foot (i spent 7 weeks in the hospital, most of it in the ICU, and i was not moved much). For most of the year, i rehabbed slowly. I learned how to live - survive, really - with a colostomy bag, and consulted with the best doctors in Manila on how to remove the colostomy bag (the procedure is called a reverse Hartmann), how to remove the mesh, and somehow restoring my core muscles. None of the top doctors consulted were comfortable preforming the reverse Hartmann. “Too many adhesions - it may take 8 hours before we get beyond the adhesions”, said one. “The reverse Hartmann is the most difficult procedure that a rectal surgeon can perform”. “Your intestines are all over the place, we may have a hard time recognizing things”. I had been through so many surgeries, the doctors were concerned that my innards were jumbled up. “We will need 2 operations, the reverse Hartmann, and the 2nd for the mesh”. The explanation was that the 1st was a “dirty” procedure, involving fecal matter, and that the 2nd was a clean procedure, that required everything to be clean to avoid infection. After a long search, and after weighing all options, I decided to have the surgery in London. Dr Edward Westcott performed the reverse Hartman on me at Princess Grace hospital in London on October, 2025. To my surprise, both procedures - reverse Hartman and mesh removal were done in one shot, contrary to what my other doctors had told me was possible. The whole procedure took 4 hours, and I was up and walking in 24hours. Best surprise was that I was able to regain control of my core muscles. The mesh in my abdomen had ripped apart my core and I had difficulty getting out of bed, or into cars, or walking up unsteady surfaces. Anything requiring good core muscles - I could not do. None of the doctors could tell me how my core would behave after surgery as there were few who had my problem - abdominal mesh, no core muscles, colostomy bag. Not only was the colostomy bag gone, I could now play sports and engage in regular activities like a regular human being. I am told that this was made possible due to some very recent advances & techniques - they injected my abdomen with Botox 6 weeks prior to surgery - to allow them to stretch my abdomen more during the operation. Then they used some new flexible bio mesh that allowed the doctors to join my core muscles together, yet stretch and move about. All in all I am very pleased and happy to recommend Dr Westcott to anyone in need of abdominal surgery. I won’t say my body is as good as before, but it is a damn better than anything I expected.

London Heart Practice

Cardiology

I booked my appointment directly with Parkside Hospital, Wimbledon, so I didn't attend the London Heart Clinic nor any HCA premises, so my comments relate entirely to Parkside Hospital. 1 - Booking the appointment was a welcoming experience, Tanya was friendly, polite, courteous and easy to converse with. 2 - A follow up email was sent with the appointment details and patient information form which gave some scant details that would not in themselves form the basis of a contract imo. 3- On arrival for the appointment, I was asked to sign a form in 3 places. I was not given a copy of it nor given a chance to take it and read it in the waiting area, I was just asked to sign it, without it being read. 4 - on the basis that this document is in fact a contractual document setting out terms and conditions, which I didn't get to read, this is very poor practice, and could be challengeable. I also have no idea whether it made any reference to 'consent' within it. 5 - I was not handed a copy of the form before or after signing, and the form, with my signatures, has not been emailed to me subsequently, and it is now 2 days after the appointment. 6 - I arrived early for my appointment in the hope that I might be seen earlier than planned, but in the event, I was actually taken in for my appointment 25 minutes after my appointment time, but on the other hand, I had some 50 minutes, so I might have delayed someone else or made Dr Hinton late on leaving. Having said that, he didn't rush me at all, and I am very grateful for this. 7 - Dr Hinton himself was a pleasure to consult with. He made me feel at ease, and he enabled me to feel validated, and heard. He was kind and supportive and I felt I had found someone I could trust. Trust is a super important factor to me, as I've had so many bad experiences in the past. 8 - Dr Hinton grasped matters quickly and set out a case management plan, and dictated his letter to my GP in my presence, for which I am grateful. The only issue I have with that is, that I would rather the NHS GP is not involved, as I have no faith in NHS medical services right now, and I would wish to refer the letter to my health insurers, but am not sure how this will be done, and particularly so, if I am reluctant to speak with my NHS GP? I'm hoping that I will also be furnished with a letter that I can produce to my health insurers, so as to get authorisation for a scan plus it's super important that the letter has been sent to the right GP practice, and I hope it has. I did amend this quickly on the form. This has left a bit of a grey area for me, and I don't know if it was mentioned on the form that I was asked to sign without being able to read through it or be furnished with a copy so I could read it whilst waiting and ask for any amendments? 9 - Parkside is easy to access but it's looking a bit shabby in the outpatients area from my perspective, and the staff look a bit unkempt. My aunt was awarded an MBE for her services to nursing nearly 40 years ago, sadly, she is no longer with us, but she was a stickler for her staff having pristine uniforms, admittedly in the days when nurses wore hats and cuffs, proper uniforms, and butterfly belts, but she was always immaculately turned out and took a pride in her appearance, as well as her work. I often think that today, it begs a question about infection control, or moreover, the lack of it. 10 - it would have been nice to have someone volunteering to work the drinks machine. Older people are afraid to ask but are often dehydrated when waiting, and as we age, technology becomes quite challenging, even a drinks machine!

Wessex Cardiology

Cardiology

Recently wanted an MOT to check that my heart was all fine due to having a HA at a young age. I had an ECG and a Stress Echogram procedure prior to my consultation with Mr Wilkinson. I requested to see Mr Wilkinson, as it was him who performed emergency stent procedures on me 14 years ago, and it was really great to see him again after all these years. Mr Wilkinson is top of his field and a very lovely guy. The nurse who performed my tests was really professional and friendly and very helpful. My consultation went very well and put my mind at ease. I went private as I wanted some Piece of mind and the NHS only deal with reactive situations (IE heart attack) and are not interested in supporting people years after treatments unless you have a serious issue. I can 100% recommend anyone looking to book private consultation / tests via Spite hospital. I only have one major gripe… they no longer, and for some time do not take a credit card payment (no longer use a card machine) the reasons were explained, as you can only do a BACS transfer now. I find this very unhelpful and this should be reinstated. If you have lots of spare cash around to complicate then this will not be a problem for you, but for people who use this service and it’s an extra expense, it’s more difficult. I would use Spite more if a credit card service was available.

Newmedica Leicester

Ophthalmology

I attended an appointment with my mum as she has been referred for cataract surgery. Upon arrival we had a warm friendly welcome. When mum was called in I explained to the lady that mum is profoundly deaf and she lip read's and asked if she could look at mum when talking to her. Naz was absolutely amazing, she spoke clearly and looked at my mum when speaking and explained everything to her. Both myself and my mum were really impressed as it's not easy for my mum when people don't understand her deafness. The lady we saw after Naz was good with mum too. With our experience yesterday it put our minds at rest that mum will be helped and understood when she goes back for surgery.

London Gynaecology - Moorgate

General Practice (GP), General Practice (GP) (Video Consultation), + 1 more

I highly recommend Miss Mez Aref-Adib. I’m 39 years old and had a 6 cm fibroid that caused heavy bleeding and severe pain. Dr. Aref-Adib performed my laparoscopic surgery and successfully removed all of the fibroids. She was extremely attentive to my condition after the surgery, followed up closely to make sure everything was going well, and was always available to answer any questions I had during recovery. Three months later, I feel so much better, and there is only a very faint mark left from the stitches on my abdomen. I highly recommend Dr. Aref-Adib—not only because she is highly skilled and professional, but also because she is genuinely kind, caring, and responsive.

Mr Hisham Shalaby

Orthopaedic Surgeon

The visit was for a two year review of a revision ankle replacement. I was very pleased to have been able to undertake this just some two or three months after a telephone contact with Mt Shalaby's secretary at St John's. Mr Shalaby was courteous as ever, gave clearly understandable information throughout the conversation. Furthermore, and somewhat unexpectedly, he flagged up a further review around the five year anniversary of the operation. I am, as before, delighted with the result of the intervention and have indeed recommended the process - and Mr Shalaby and his team - to a number of ankly distressed friends and acquaintances.

Spencer Private Hospital Ashford

Audiology, Cardiology, + 11 more

Experience OK but to have to travel 80 mile round trip with 24 hrs notice was stressful, for the pre-accessment which I had to ask for, as not arranged. If I had been told on the information letter that if I was taking antibiotics I would need to have 4 weeks clear before I could have my procedure, this would have prevented me from excepting the procedure date I had been given. Therefore would have given the date to someone else. I had two weeks notice of my procedure which is OK if all information had been given to me. Find the administration side lacking. Lovely staff. .

Better - Soho

Acupuncture, Physiotherapy, + 2 more

I have chronic pain (left elbow, right wrist, and lower back) due to sports injuries and less-than-ideal posture from long working hours in finance. I first met Simon at the Canary Wharf clinic in 2018, and he has since become my go-to physio. Not only does he provide effective pain relief, he also helps me understand the root causes so I can manage the pain myself. I highly recommend him to anyone who works long hours and also trains hard at the gym. Went to see him first week of Jan 2026 becasue my wrist was a bit flared up last month, and he's as good as usual!

ABBI Clinic - Preston

Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychiatry, + 2 more

Different time slots and sessions or more flexibility. Clearer communication between services and funders. Digital timetable, links and resources could benefit from being clearer/more easy to find. Mixed bag of staff, although the weaker ones did go quite quickly it still felt as though I was a bit of a guinea pig and didn't get as much from those sessions. Core team very caring, compassionate and supportive. Environment is an downside, a shared office building is not the best setting.

Quality Dental : Shoreham

Dentistry

Whilst all staff were friendly and professional from the reception staff to the dentist. My appointment was 10 o'clock but I was not seen until 10:25 without any courteous apology or advise of the delay until I was in with the dentist. I appreciate that delays can happens with the treatment of the customers before me but a courteous apology and advice of the estimated wait would have been appreciated as my car was parked in a pay and display area.

Mr Arun Kumar

Orthopaedic Surgeon

I would highly recommend Mr Kumar. He carried out a left total knee replacement on me in October. He fully explained the procedure and aftercare in a clear and understanding manner. His care and empathy was second to none. I am now pain free, mobile and enjoying my day to day activities. I am truly grateful to Mr Kumar and all the staff at The Alexandra Hospital who all went above and beyond during my stay.

Mr Yuvraj Agrawal

Orthopaedic Surgeon

Mr. Agrawal was professional and also open and friendly. He gave information in simple and clear terms and was open to discussion about my particular needs around my treatment. I had both hips replaced and recovered very well from both surgeries; my scars have healed very well. I would definitely ask for Mr. Agrawal again if I had any other orthopaedic issues, and I cannot recommend him highly enough.

Mr Sumit Kar

Obstetrician & Gynaecologist

I saw Dr Kar today at my 6 week post hysterectomy follow up. He very patiently answered my long list of questions with regards to recovery. He was also very reassuring about the hematoma that I developed post surgery and explained everything very clearly. I also asked him advice about HRT which he took time to talk to me about.

Mr Simon Fisher

General Surgeon

Mr Fisher is one down to earth guy, he explained everything before the op in everyday language which covered all our questions, we were taken through the stages of treatment, so, knew exactly what to expect, And being so easy to talk to, it take away a lot of the stress and apprehension.

Mrs. Lorraine Grover

Nurse, Psychotherapist

Thank you so much for your very valuable advice and discussion, I feel that you have supported me in the most accurate and professional way possible. Your manner and approach is very personal and at no time did I feel our discussion was anything but reassuring and precise to my needs.

Mr Rakesh Choudhary

Orthopaedic Surgeon

I had partial knee replacement on the right leg eight weeks ago. I went home same day. I was walking on crutches within two days. Felt immediate relief of pain. I finished with crutches in two weeks. I can walk 85% better now than before the operation I am very please with results