"My experience of needing urgent healthcare"

Firstly: The Castle Practice Carrickfergus:

Dr Gawn: thank you!

Dr Gawn – marvellous GP practice, compassionate, caring, super competent.

Dr Gawn is focused on here, was the GP specifically managing my urgent healthcare need.

I rang the surgery recently within the contact guidelines; a system of triaging which properly used does work very well – I know, I have had experience: they do their utmost best, as indeed Dr Gawn did for me. It was a Monday morning; the most challenging day of the week for all GP practices.

Using the triage system I requested a call back, please, from one of the Doctors; this was about 08:40

Shortly after 09:00 Dr Gawn rang me. By his very active, focused listening and a couple specific questions he gave a diagnosis for me: a very nasty little virus! It needed urgent attention; most urgent of all being the commencement of specific medication. It is important to note here this medical emergency can sometimes quicky change into another medical emergency and before ending our call Dr Gawn was very clear: it the condition changed suddenly – he detailed the change he directed I took myself immediately to A&E. Unfortunately, his caveat did indeed, a day or so later, happen to me. Hence on we go to my feedback in the next stage: Antrim Hospital A&E

Secondly:The Antrim Area Hospital A&E:

Thank you, Nurse Michelle!

Registered Nurse, Michelle – clerked me in and took blood. …healthcare is not a job; and any who might see healthcare as a job need to think again; healthcare is about genuinely enjoying meeting people….it is so much more than a job – Registered Nurse Michelle with, I hope, over two decades of experience. Indeed, RN Michelle was a kind and interested in me and my urgent healthcare needs and true to her word really made me relax and leave all concerns to one side as to why I was sat in front of her; she was now in charge.

Thank you, Dr Permaul!

Dr Permaul, duty ED doctor – The most calm, experienced, reassuring, knowledgeable doctor with over four decades of practice (I am nosy, but in a nice way!). I could not have had any better care than that which Dr  Permaul gave to me. Not only is he, in my view, a hugely experienced medic; Dr Permaul is a man of enormous generosity of spirit he is also the kindest and most considerate man I have met in quite some time. What a guy!!

Finally: Eye Casualty Unit Royal Victoria Hospital Belfast

Thank you, Registered Nurse Teema!

Registered Nurse Teema clerked me in and carried some preliminary tests – Teema was very welcoming, focused, kind and compassionate.

Dr Donaldson; marvellous medic; welcoming, focused, outstanding communication skills and obviously very confident in her specialist area. Kind, compassionate and reassuring.

A final overview:

Although, normally, we might choose to post feedback specific to one person, one GP Practice, one Health Unit, one Hospital etc I have attempted, within in this posting to retell - factually – how my need for urgent medical intervention was so successfully managed as a direct result of the long-tested NHS systems, resources but also more, important: the commitment and skills of the most incredible NHS staff, staff at all grades working as one.

This connectivity in healthcare being due to truly dedicated, talented and extremely competent human beings - not remote, not machine like, but humans first and practitioners thereafter – human with feelings, hopes, worries, good intentions, error prone at times, they get tired, they experience illness themselves but overall, in the words of Registered Nurse, Michelle (Antrim Hospital, A& E) …healthcare is not a job; and any who might see healthcare as a job need to think again; healthcare is about genuinely enjoying meeting people….it is so much more than a job.

These healthcare professional in the past week of their taking such good care of me were, I experienced, ready, able, willing to give their best; they were determined to maintain their very high standards and professional responsibilities in providing healthcare to me.

I know, I acknowledge, I expressly do not dismiss the experiences of other patients’ contacts, perhaps with these self-same professionals described here, who may have had less positive provision of healthcare if so, please do use this excellent Care Opinion website.

I should say: I don’t do critical feedback unless really, really needed; others are out there who do enough of that already!