It's not every day that your surgeon presents you with flowers and their personal congratulations, but for 78 year old Rena Matheson, this was an unexpected but delightful surprise.
Mrs Matheson was the 20,000th patient to receive treatment at the Shepton Mallet NHS Treatment Centre, the county's first Independent sector hospital developed to treat NHS patients.
A keen golfer, Rena, had been concerned that a long wait for cataract surgery would keep her off the course for months, but when her GP said she could have her surgery in less than 28 days she had no hesitation in opting for treatment at the independent sector managed hospital.
Staff at the Treatment Centre wished to show their appreciation and mark the occasion with a presentation of flowers to Mrs Matheson, who was having her final checkup following a successful NHS funded cataract operation in August.
Presenting the bouquet of flowers was Mrs Matheson's consultant eye surgeon, Javad Moayedi.
Mr Moayedi, who has worked in hospitals in Sweden and Belgium, before coming to Shepton Mallet, said: " Everyone at the Treatment Centre wanted to mark the occasion of treating our 20,000th patient since opening in 2005. More and more patients, like Mrs Matheson, are choosing to come to the Treatment Centre, particularly when they realise that we have some of the shortest waiting times in the region and offer the best of care to all our NHS patients."
Receiving her bouquet, Mrs Matheson, who lives in Taunton, thanked hospital staff saying: "I've been so delighted with the treatment I had at the hospital. Earlier this year I went to get new reading glasses but was told by my optician that I had the start of cataracts in both eyes and so there would be no advantage in getting new reading glasses. I then saw my GP, who asked if I would like to go to the Shepton Mallet NHS Treatment Centre as they could perform the surgery in about 28 days. I liked the idea of being treated quickly and my daughter was able to take me to the hospital.
"The treatment at the hospital was excellent. I couldn't find fault with anything there and everyone was so pleasant and nice. The treatment was quick and after surgery I almost couldn't believe the improvement. I like to play golf three times a week and I can now see where the ball is going and don't need spectacles for driving or watching television any more. I was completely flabbergasted when they told me I was teh 20,000th patient and gave me flowers. I felt like a film star for the day".