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"Made us feel like we’d come home!"

About: Royal Hospital for Children and Young People (Edinburgh) / Dalhousie Ward

(as a parent/guardian),

We’ve just had another stay on the Dalhousie ward with my youngest who’s had RSV. The staff on Dalhousie are absolutely incredible and nothing I can write can sing their praises high enough! 

I tried my best to remember all the names of the staff that looked after us but I know I will have forgotten at least a couple so my apologies to them! Thank you to Jessica, Annie, Lorna, Amy, Ellie and Morgan. 

It was so nice to see (properly with no masks!) so many friendly and familiar faces from our last stay. 

A couple of special mentions though. Amy who was a student on our first night brought a much needed laugh to a stressful few days! Babies are never easy, don’t do as they’re told and wriggle so much. I can’t imagine how difficult some tasks can be to perform competing with all that. She handled it with grace, which really helped. It was so nice to see Ellie again during our stay and she is brilliant and took such good care of us. Lorna is fantastic at her job and in speaking to some friends they didn’t know a lot of the information that Lorna gives you upon arrival. She is fantastic at her job! Also on our last day I never caught her name but the nurse that looked after us and had a good chat with me and my husband about being a nurse and gave great advice to my husband who has been inspired by the staff on the ward to train to become a paediatric nurse. 

Now Morgan, I could write all day about how incredible she is and it still would not do her justice! We only saw Morgan for one shift again.  There was talk of discharging us but between talking with Ellie the night before and Morgan we all agreed one more night would be best to make sure everything is OK as the previous night had been borderline with the need for oxygen and potential for a ng tube. Morgan took time to listen to my concerns and then ask very insightful questions like what he’s like at home/our routine. Using this knowledge and what would help to improve his condition she came up with a plan that again really changed things around for us! She even helped my husband explain to the dr whilst I was away why we weren’t comfortable being sent home. I witnessed her supporting another patient (baby) on the ward in the same way and in speaking to the parents afterwards they felt happy with the plan and even saw an improvement in the short time we were together. She honestly deserves more recognition for her outstanding care beyond a pat on the back for a job well done, in my view. 

Thank you again to everyone on the Dalhousie ward that looked after us and made us feel like we’d come home! You are all amazing! We are forever grateful to the kindness you have shown us and the time you’ve taken to look after us as a family! 

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Responses

Response from Louise Davies, Patient Experience Officer, Patient Experience Team, NHS Lothian 5 months ago
Louise Davies
Patient Experience Officer, Patient Experience Team,
NHS Lothian
Submitted on 24/11/2023 at 16:06
Published on Care Opinion at 16:06


picture of Louise Davies

Dear funnyyz65

Thank you so much for your kind comments regarding the staff on Dalhousie Ward who cared for your son. It is heartwarming to hear how friendly and supportive they were towards you and your family.

This feedback has been shared with the Clinical Management Team who will be able to pass it on to the named staff. I am sure they will all really appreciate you taking the time to give such lovely feedback.

Thanks again

Louise

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Response from Claire Sutherland, Senior Charge Nurse, Respiratory Medicine, Royal Hospital for Children and Young People, NHS Lothian 5 months ago
Claire Sutherland
Senior Charge Nurse, Respiratory Medicine, Royal Hospital for Children and Young People,
NHS Lothian
Submitted on 07/12/2023 at 21:09
Published on Care Opinion on 08/12/2023 at 10:05


Dear funnyyz65

My name is Claire and I am the Senior Charge Nurse on Dalhousie ward. Firstly, I would like to thank you for taking the time to share your experince and provide such fantastic feedback to our team.

I am so pleased you had a positive stay in the ward and your baby is now well and has been discharged home. I hope baby has now fully recovered.

Please be assured I will pass on your feedback to the ward staff and specifically the staff you have mentioned in your story (Ellie, Morgan, Lorna and Amy). The staff really appreciate it.

Once again thank you very much for sharing your story.

Kind Regards

Claire

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