Hats Off to Club Surgical Centre

Who would have thought that a hospital could get a 5-star rating? Well, it sure is true.

I had to undergo an operation a week ago, and the Specialist operates here as an alternative to another major, well-known hospital in the East of Pretoria.

From the moment the appointment was scheduled, the astounding service kept surprising me - fast, friendly, and efficient. The admission was friendly, courteous, and faultless. No queue. Just a warm welcoming atmosphere.

By the time I was in my room, I needed to mentally persuade myself that I was not at a boutique hotel, but in fact, going to be operated on in an hour or two. The interior design and decor are simplistic but appear refreshingly upmarket. The hospital is fairly new, so no maintenance has probably been required, or if any had been done, it was impeccably maintained.

The nursing staff seemed to be truly enjoying their chosen vocations and absolutely nothing was too much trouble for any of them. Even the most menial of requests were immediately attended to with their warm personalities, exuded by their never-ending smiles.

Going into theatre, the same friendly, professional efficiency was more than evident, with everyone working at a fast pace, yet sparing no time to make me feel comfortable and relaxed. It was almost a pity that the anesthetics worked so quickly since I would have enjoyed a bit more of that movie as well.

Waking up - no pain. Back in my “hotel’, with my food delivered at my request, and being well prepared, well presented, and tasteful.

Unfortunately, I had a negative reaction to the anesthesia and could not be discharged. Club Surgical is a day hospital, but the fact that I had to sleep further into the night to regain my sense of normalcy, did not perturb the nursing staff in the slightest, or if it did, I still do not know about it. After waking up again and still not feeling myself, and being a day hospital, I therefore had to be transferred to another Pretoria East hospital. Being a day hospital, one would assume more-or-less daytime hours of operation. By the time all was done and the ambulance crew collected me, it must have been in the 21:30 / 22:00 region, and still, Nobody seemed like it was any inconvenience to them, in the slightest; and let’s face it, it most definitely would have been; yet the same staff who attended to me early in the morning, were still as helpful and friendly as in the morning, and after a very long day for them, they still had the time to show compassion.

Remember, all of this happened during lockdown - so no relatives to aid in creating this ambiance, or any of the like. Simply all the staff working in unison to do what they do best. At no point in time, was I confronted with a “rate my service” farce, yet at the next hospital, where Everything was Exceptionally mediocre, I was twice “compelled” to complete said forms and still received an e-mail to effect same.

Note 1: I deliberately did not want to mention any individual names, because I would hate to omit one and not do that particular person the necessary justice. Note 2: I am not an employee, shareholder or otherwise associated to the Hospital, its Staff or any other form of involvement, other than having been a patient for the day.