"Reassuring me that help was just a call away"

I was feeling pretty rough on the Saturday, a bit like flu ,cold inside and very warm outside of my body. I took paracetamol and went to bed sleeping on and off all night. Sunday I felt really rough, so much that I just couldn't sum up the energy to visit my husband in his care home, I was coughing and very breathless, I got through the day but that night I was coughing all night, not sleeping, it was a dry cough.

By early Monday I'd had enough and rang 111, they took me to hospital and I was in ICU all day, bloods,monitoring etc. I was put on oxygen and electrical nebuliser Salbutamol and spent 5 days in hospital. COPD was the outcome, gradually my breathing settled down and armed with a new inhaler etc I was allowed home on the Friday.

I was followed up with several calls from the Virtual Ward making sure I was ok and no returning symptoms, this is a new one on me and what a brilliant idea, no trips to the hospital, but reassuring me that help was just a call away should I need it. Just a phone call, not a bevvy of nurses flitting from one to another, no waiting for hours, no buses to get, saving time and freeing up staff. Great.