Glyn Moore: My hip replacement experience

My name's Glyn Moore and I live in Northiam. I recently, about 4.5 weeks ago, received hip replacement surgery at Benenden Hospital. I chose Benenden Hospital for my hip replacement surgery because about five or six years ago, I had my first hip replacement surgery there. Why did I choose Benenden five or six years ago? I think because of its excellent reputation locally.

I would describe it as discomfort rather than pain, but it was discomfort that was with me all the time and particularly so lying in bed. Strangely enough, I'm a very keen golfer, a member at a tennis and golf club. I enjoy golf, but I enjoy walking, and of course, when your hip is starting to give you a bit of discomfort, both those activities become a little more difficult. In fact, I had to start using a buggy on the golf course because even walking around the course was becoming too much.

For both my first hip replacement and the latest hip replacement, the consultant I first saw and in fact, the consultant throughout both surgery procedures was Mr. Reddy. Mr. Reddy is a really nice guy, very funny. After my first replacement, he complimented me on my hard bones, which made me curious, and then he told me he had to effectually hammer the joint home. He's a little guy, but he obviously packs a punch.

From the outset with all three surgeries I've had done—the two hips and the knee—my experience of Benenden from the very outset was very good. Staff take time and trouble to explain to you in some detail what's going to happen, not only in terms of the surgery itself, but also post-treatment and the help you'll receive to get you back on your feet again as quickly as possible thereafter. They explained and answered any questions that I had around the surgery, anaesthesia, and the kind of things most people are concerned about prior to having surgery.

My whole experience of people working at Benenden has been really good. From the minute you walk in the hospital to be greeted at reception through to all the people who are helping you whilst you're there—the nurses, the kitchen staff, etc. You can't fault their friendliness and their helpfulness, and they generally do seem to be a happy bunch of people.

The hospital itself is very pleasant; it's extremely clean. I think that's probably the thing I noticed first of all—clean and tidy. Again, from the moment you walk through the front door to going into your room, the rooms are en suite, very well located, often with decent views to the outside and good facilities in the rooms as well, from television through to lighting and so forth.

Four weeks after the treatment, having taken place, I've regained pretty much full mobility. I can walk without crutches or sticks. I was given really good guidance by the physiotherapy team to make sure that I both stretched myself but didn't overdo it. So I'm very pleased at the rate of recovery. The importance of exercise on a daily basis was stressed, and I've kept up that regime as well as walking around the house and limited walks outside the house too. I feel four weeks later probably in a much better space than I expected to be.

I would certainly recommend Benenden Hospital. I'm really pleased to say that Benenden Hospital and my golf club at Tenterden have entered a partnership, and I shall be very much promoting Benenden to the members of our golf club to go along and take advantage of what I think is a really first-class local facility. Very much with the benefit of having had it done twice, very soon after arriving back from the operating theatre, the nurses are encouraging you to get out of bed and walk around with the aid of a frame. That's a daunting prospect in my mind. On the first occasion, I thought, is this gonna hurt? Will my joints support me? And indeed, I had absolutely no problem. So the second time around, I had the confidence to very quickly do what the nurses asked, and I would urge anyone to benefit from my experience. Don't worry; what they ask you to do, you can do, and the quicker you can do it, the better it is for you and your recovery.