My Gran is my only surviving Grand Parent. She suffers from dementia and doesn't recognise anyone's…read moreface, even her own family. Dementia is a terrible condition; it eats away at the victim and is irreversible, chronic and debilitating. The condition also affects the family of the sufferers; it is like a long goodbye as the facets of the sufferers personality depletes by the day. The staff at The Highbury nursing home take very good care of my Gran; they treat her with respect and dignity and try to help her remember her life from back when she was a young adult. My Gran is 93 and the nurses are amazed at her resistance to frailty and disease. We all know that she isn't going to get better. She has had a good innings and The Highbury Nursing home is probably where she will spend her last days. I personally couldn't think of a better place for her to be. The Highbury Nursing home offers her all the help she needs and she is happy to stay there.

It seems a bit odd to review a hospital - particularly if you've ended up in the A&E department -…read moreI'm guessing most people would rather forget their stints there. However, I was pretty impressed with the quality of care that both I and a friend of mine received at the hands of the staff there. First - my friend: he was knocked over by a car in Selly Oak. Despite landing on his head (ouch) he was duly patched up in no time, and, having received immediate care and attention from the staff at Selly Oak, managed to come away with no ongoing injuries other than a slightly broken finger. They were extremely quick to respond, completely sorted him out and were really understanding with both him and us as we all piled down to A & E to see him. I was taken in as I had a bad asthma attack that my inhaler didn't seem to be able to sort out. They immediately shunted me up he queue in terms of seeing a doctor (I think this is policy with asthma) who sorted me out in about 5 mins! He was really attentive and thorough - which can be difficult when you're seeing 10 patients a second in A&E. To compare, I had a similar occurrence in Wolverhampton, and had to wait 3 HOURS before a doctor saw me - and even then he kept drifting in and out. So, well done Selly Oak. It's good to know that the injured of south Birmingham are in safe hands.

Selly Oak Hospital is now exclusively a military hospital and it fills me with a great sense of…read morepride that a Birmingham hospital takes care of the needs of injured servicemen and women. Previously for many years prior to the building of the new super hospital this establishment also took care of civilians. In fact both my mother and grandmother were taken here for different illnesses and I have to say that despite my general aversion to hospitals, Selly Oak always provided wonderful care. A further note, hospital food including that in the canteen is usually notoriously bad. However on more than one occasion I have to admit I actually ENJOYED a canteen meal from this hospital. Hospital's are never are a good place to visit but the people of Birmingham should take pride in the achievements of Selly Oak Hospital as it serves those who make tremendous sacrifices in order to protect our country.

I'm new-ish to the UK and finally registered with my local GP. Hawthorns was one of 3 options for…read moreour post code and was recommended by our next door neighbor. As a non-EU foreigner, we have to provide a few extra materials for registration. As the surgery is open until 18:30, we thought going at 17:00 to register would be okay, but were told to come back another day before 16:30 because that's when the admin team leave work. Something to be aware of for people in the same situation as us. The reception staff are consistent - same pair works there daily. I've been in enough now to know they will either be really friendly or stressed out. I was assigned to Dr. Patel. I really really like her. She actively listens to me when I talk to her and does not diminish my symptoms or wave me off. It's been easy to get an appointment in a timely manner and the surgery offers a wide variety of services, which means patients don't have to go through so many referrals. If you're in the Sutton Coldfield/Wylde Green/Boldmere area, I'd recommend this GP.