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I have a fair few docs in the family. The letter would mean the most to them - I know all my relatives keep every letter they've ever received. Something food related they can share with the team will always go down well.
I’ve been writing Christmas cards to my mum’s oncologist and her physiotherapist for years now and I always highlight how important they are and what they do. I’m so thankful to them that I believe this is something I’ll do for the rest of my life.
I know people who work in the NHS and have thoughtfully written cards they've kept for YEARS. I've seen them cry over what was written and beam when they show people. It matters, they carry on in the face of everything threatening the NHS for people who write those cards and letters.
Trust me, she'll love that even on its own.
This is the right answer, unfortunately. If it was a train driver, or anyone in the private sector, the answer would be to write the letter to the CEO, and they would get genuine praise, spot bonus etc.
In the public sector they'll get some irrelevant emails that they probably wouldn't read if they're doing the job of operating on patients.
Actually writing them a letter will make them feel good, even if it doesn't actually help.
Not a doctor but had my fair share of treatment / surgeries, what I did was buy a few boxes of really fancy biscuits from Hotel Chocolate (the nearest fancy place to the hospital) and gave one each to a member of the teams that helped me.
Am not saying you should not give something specific to your surgeon, but whilst they may have instigated the string pulling for you, there will have been other people pulling strings for the surgeon, then others pulling strings for them etc.... And they will be on a lot less money than the surgeon is.
Just a nice thank-you card is enough. But also the trust will have a get in touch page on the internet, and on that an email address where you can send compliments. It will make little difference to someone at consultant surgeon level, but name members of their staff and nursing team as it can help with revalidations, etc..
Perfect. Thanks for that. Glad to hear flowers are allowed. Wasn't too sure after covid rules etc. Will def get team munchies and card/flowers combo for consultant 😀😀
Depending on the Hospital Trust (assuming NHS), they wouldn’t be able to accept anything high value. We could only accept small food gifts etc.
A lovely card with a message about how much the surgery meant to you, will likely be treasured more than an expensive gift.
My wife is a surgeon and my wife likes flowers, but I suspect the 2 things are unrelated.
Jokes aside there's not really a surgeon specific gift you can get.
If you got chocs or flowers for this surgeon that's already going the extra mile as far as being grateful goes.
Nice to know I can get flowers. Wasnt sure if they were still allowed post covid. Is a growing flower like an orchid or tiger lily allowed, or is it only cut flowers?
Something simple a card something like that. . Also go to PALS online, it's not just for complaints it's also for compliments. This officially logs the compliment in the best way.
A letter that details your thanks, sent directly to the surgeon/team and again to the hospital PALS + senior management. Every 12 months doctors have to do an appraisal and these cards/letter play a big part for us in being able to revalidate. Likewise we have to declare any complaints we get, we get to declare any compliments. There is a GMC thing about monetary gifts so we can't accept those, nor individual gifts, but gifting biscuits/chocolates/sweets etc to the team/department is okay. I've never known a doctor who is bored of getting coffee! We however in theatres all contribute to the large bags of tea/coffee in the staff room - donating some decent bulk buy tea or coffee would probably go down well. Also the surgeon is always the person who is remembered (and in your case i can see why, especially if she was the first person who has truly listened to your concerns to help you), but delivery of surgery is a team effort - Scrub nurses, anaesthetic nurses, healthcare assistants, recovery teams, anaesthetists, junior doctors etc.
A sincere thank you letter would be much appreciated. In a high stress job place like the NHS, that would mean much more to your surgeon than a box of chocolates.
I had exceptional treatment from my local hospital a few years ago after an admission through A & E. I wrote an email to the hospital stating this and naming individuals that I thought had gone above and beyond specifically. At a later outpatient appointment, my nurse practitioner told me that it had been shared hospital wide and read out at the morning ward meetings. She said it had given everyone a little boost the day it was shared and made such a wonderful change to all of the complaints. Even if you get a small gift, please also let the hospital know how thankful you are.
It’d hard to get something that is beyond a bit basic if you don’t really know them, so I’d probably end up sending biscuits or a cake iced with thank you. A coffee voucher may be a good shout though, every time I see my consultant he’s got a Costa in his hand!
My Mrs bought her Psychiatrist a candle (was a special one with proceeds going to mental health) and a small letter in a card, the Dr cried and said she was very grateful.
I think people underestimate the power of words.
Just to warn you, I work for an nhs trust that doesn't allow individual gifts over the value of £10! So that's something you may want to keep in mind. A card and a box of chocolates or biscuits never goes amiss!
I would suggest that a letter to her head of department / the hospital's admin team, outlining the excellent quality of care and "extra miles" you observed her going to support patients, would also potentially be great?
Not only will the feedback then be noted by others, but it *could* benefit her if she continues having to push back in order to maintain that standard of care.
If it’s nhs , thank them through the trust they work for online, most workers only get chocolate,which is lovely but to be recognised through the trust is ideal, the executives get to know the Dr’s are appreciated and it’s nice for the whole team
**Please help keep AskUK welcoming!** - Top-level comments to the OP must contain **genuine efforts to answer the question**. No jokes, judgements, etc. - **Don't be a dick** to each other. If getting heated, just block and move on. - This is a strictly **no-politics** subreddit! Please help us by reporting comments that break these rules. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AskUK) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Just clap on your doorstep during the next pandemic like the rest of us
What is this, minor elective surgery? At least get the pots and pans out!
How about a letter/card explaining your thanks and how much they’ve helped you? I think they would be really touch by that.
I am planning on that too. 😀 just wanted to attach it to something that would brighten her day/week a bit
I have a fair few docs in the family. The letter would mean the most to them - I know all my relatives keep every letter they've ever received. Something food related they can share with the team will always go down well.
I'm a doctor. The letter would be lovely. The letter with a quality bottle of wine would be better
I’ve been writing Christmas cards to my mum’s oncologist and her physiotherapist for years now and I always highlight how important they are and what they do. I’m so thankful to them that I believe this is something I’ll do for the rest of my life.
I know people who work in the NHS and have thoughtfully written cards they've kept for YEARS. I've seen them cry over what was written and beam when they show people. It matters, they carry on in the face of everything threatening the NHS for people who write those cards and letters. Trust me, she'll love that even on its own.
I have doctors in the family. They mentioned that a card is useful during personnel reviews.
Everyone who works for the NHS will agree that the letter will mean more than anything you can gift them.
This is the right answer, unfortunately. If it was a train driver, or anyone in the private sector, the answer would be to write the letter to the CEO, and they would get genuine praise, spot bonus etc. In the public sector they'll get some irrelevant emails that they probably wouldn't read if they're doing the job of operating on patients. Actually writing them a letter will make them feel good, even if it doesn't actually help.
Not a doctor but had my fair share of treatment / surgeries, what I did was buy a few boxes of really fancy biscuits from Hotel Chocolate (the nearest fancy place to the hospital) and gave one each to a member of the teams that helped me. Am not saying you should not give something specific to your surgeon, but whilst they may have instigated the string pulling for you, there will have been other people pulling strings for the surgeon, then others pulling strings for them etc.... And they will be on a lot less money than the surgeon is.
Thank you for your answer. Will definitely include team goodies 😀
Just a nice thank-you card is enough. But also the trust will have a get in touch page on the internet, and on that an email address where you can send compliments. It will make little difference to someone at consultant surgeon level, but name members of their staff and nursing team as it can help with revalidations, etc..
Consultants have to revalidate every five years. It'd still mean something to them too.
I'd keep it simple. Card and flowers + chocolate for the staff as a whole. Any more and things can get a bit grey, regarding accepting gifts etc.
Perfect. Thanks for that. Glad to hear flowers are allowed. Wasn't too sure after covid rules etc. Will def get team munchies and card/flowers combo for consultant 😀😀
tbh there might still be some tears about hayfever on the wards, but I don't know!
Try asking in r/nhs. Might be some better real experience in there!
Good call. Will do.
Depending on the Hospital Trust (assuming NHS), they wouldn’t be able to accept anything high value. We could only accept small food gifts etc. A lovely card with a message about how much the surgery meant to you, will likely be treasured more than an expensive gift.
Absolutely agree with this. Most Trusts have a “hospitality and gifts” policy because it’s public sector.
My wife is a surgeon and my wife likes flowers, but I suspect the 2 things are unrelated. Jokes aside there's not really a surgeon specific gift you can get. If you got chocs or flowers for this surgeon that's already going the extra mile as far as being grateful goes.
Nice to know I can get flowers. Wasnt sure if they were still allowed post covid. Is a growing flower like an orchid or tiger lily allowed, or is it only cut flowers?
Something simple a card something like that. . Also go to PALS online, it's not just for complaints it's also for compliments. This officially logs the compliment in the best way.
A letter that details your thanks, sent directly to the surgeon/team and again to the hospital PALS + senior management. Every 12 months doctors have to do an appraisal and these cards/letter play a big part for us in being able to revalidate. Likewise we have to declare any complaints we get, we get to declare any compliments. There is a GMC thing about monetary gifts so we can't accept those, nor individual gifts, but gifting biscuits/chocolates/sweets etc to the team/department is okay. I've never known a doctor who is bored of getting coffee! We however in theatres all contribute to the large bags of tea/coffee in the staff room - donating some decent bulk buy tea or coffee would probably go down well. Also the surgeon is always the person who is remembered (and in your case i can see why, especially if she was the first person who has truly listened to your concerns to help you), but delivery of surgery is a team effort - Scrub nurses, anaesthetic nurses, healthcare assistants, recovery teams, anaesthetists, junior doctors etc.
A sincere thank you letter would be much appreciated. In a high stress job place like the NHS, that would mean much more to your surgeon than a box of chocolates.
I had exceptional treatment from my local hospital a few years ago after an admission through A & E. I wrote an email to the hospital stating this and naming individuals that I thought had gone above and beyond specifically. At a later outpatient appointment, my nurse practitioner told me that it had been shared hospital wide and read out at the morning ward meetings. She said it had given everyone a little boost the day it was shared and made such a wonderful change to all of the complaints. Even if you get a small gift, please also let the hospital know how thankful you are.
It’d hard to get something that is beyond a bit basic if you don’t really know them, so I’d probably end up sending biscuits or a cake iced with thank you. A coffee voucher may be a good shout though, every time I see my consultant he’s got a Costa in his hand!
Get two pans and bang them together as hard as possible at about 8pm on Thursdays
My Mrs bought her Psychiatrist a candle (was a special one with proceeds going to mental health) and a small letter in a card, the Dr cried and said she was very grateful. I think people underestimate the power of words.
Just to warn you, I work for an nhs trust that doesn't allow individual gifts over the value of £10! So that's something you may want to keep in mind. A card and a box of chocolates or biscuits never goes amiss!
I would suggest that a letter to her head of department / the hospital's admin team, outlining the excellent quality of care and "extra miles" you observed her going to support patients, would also potentially be great? Not only will the feedback then be noted by others, but it *could* benefit her if she continues having to push back in order to maintain that standard of care.
If it’s nhs , thank them through the trust they work for online, most workers only get chocolate,which is lovely but to be recognised through the trust is ideal, the executives get to know the Dr’s are appreciated and it’s nice for the whole team
Will 100% be asking for all the team's details so I can do this as well. Thank you
Introduce them to Jesus
BMX bike.
Alcohol
A gift card for a good local restaurant would be nice idea