"If I could give the staff a medal I would"

At the end of January around 9:00 am my mum was taken into A&E by ambulance suffering from an exacerbation of COPD. The treatment she received was absolutely amazing and I cannot thank the staff enough. From the minute I went through to see her she had a nurse with her at all times and they did their best to help.

There was a specific doctor there who looked after my mum from the start in the room and then through to resus.  I think her name was Ashley but I can't even be sure as my head was a bit of a mess. Both in terms of treatment and care she looked after my mum exceptionally well and her manner with us both was absolutely amazing.

By the afternoon, I had finished a night shift at 7:00 am so I was exhausted. I hadn't slept, I hadn't eaten since the night before and was honestly not in a very good way myself. Once my mum had been taken through to resus and I was in the relatives room, that's when things hit me pretty hard. She was so supportive. The conversations we had to have around where treatment would no longer be beneficial to her were discussions that I wouldn't want to go through again but she truly did her best to make them as painless as possible and was so caring throughout the entire time. Honestly if I could give the staff a medal I would.

Unfortunately once other family arrived I had to leave before I became a patient myself but I heard the staff were just as amazing, some staying on long past their finishing time.

Once she was transferred to HDU on the Thursday night, the care continued through her entire stay. From the minute I first came up on the Friday the staff were genuinely brilliant, nothing was ever too much to ask and every single person we interacted with, doctors, nurses, HCSW's, domestic staff and porters, they were all prime examples of everything the NHS stands for and its values. 

She was since transferred to a ward last night and I'm hopeful that the levels of care will continue there until we can get her home.