"I was delighted with every aspect of my care"

I recently attended A&E after falling whilst walking my dog. Left facial injury after tripping on left foot, falling forward & hitting tarmac path smashing the arm of my spectacles & sustaining injuries to my eye socket, cheek, jaw and throat.

I was, after a short wait, seen by Nurse Becky, who cleaned my wounds, glued my eyebrow and checked my blood pressure and took bloods. She was very kind and helpful & also got me a warm drink & something to eat as I normally have breakfast after my dog walk & felt quite dehydrated.

I next saw Laura who found me in the waiting area to advise me that she would refer me to Orthotics for help with my drop foot which instigated my fall.

After a short time in the waiting room I was taken for an X-ray on my face focusing on the left side where I had sustained my injuries.

Returning to the waiting room, I next saw Dr Milner. I outlined my previous visit to A&E after being directed by the doctor at my surgery to attend A&E because I had experienced chest & jaw pains with the start of a swollen & painful left ankle, in addition I had high BP readings and a rapidly beating heart. I explained that after seeing a podiatrist for NHS treatment on a hammer toe they expressed concern regarding my swollen left ankle & with the support of their colleague advised me to see my doctor. This I did and they organised a daily diary of blood pressures to be taken by myself using a BP monitor borrowed from the surgery. They also arranged for me to attend my surgery for an ECG & blood test. I had had an ECG & bloods taken in A&E but my surgery had not received this information from A&E. I had discharged myself from A&E after 5hours on being told it would be 7 more hours before seeing a doctor. I signed out with the Sister on duty.

Unfortunately, I then had my fall & ended up back in A&E.

Dr Milner explained that my final blood test indicated high inflammation levels & he was anxious to rule out a bleed to the brain before prescribing an anticoagulant. So back to the waiting room and then collected, in a wheelchair, to go for a CT Scan on my head,

The results of this were normal so Dr Milner explained that he had requested a scan of my ankle to rule out a DVT & this would be done in EAU a couple of days later. He had examined my ankle, listened to my heart and breathing. He also confirmed that I had drop foot.

He then sent in a nurse called Melissa. She showed me how to inject myself with the prescribed anti-coagulant until my EAU appointment. She was very clear and concise in her explanation, demonstrating the injection process then I completed the second injection.

I was then discharged but shortly after returning home Dr Milner rang me to say that an ECG had not been done & so I returned immediately & was fast tracked for the ECG with Fiona, another brilliant, caring nurse.

Dr Milner reviewed my result and said my ECG was normal which I was delighted to hear. He did say that my standing BP was rather low but believed it was due to possible dehydration after my 6 hours in A&E. He also confirmed my appointment in EAU.

I felt cared for and confident that everyone who dealt with me showed genuine care for my comfort & wellbeing. I am sure that if everyone received care of this quality the waiting time would be irrelevant. I was delighted with every aspect of my care.

I would definitely like to recommend my triage nurse Becky and Dr Milner for star awards as going well beyond what was their remit.

In EAU once again I had an excellent experience, being escorted to each of the places I needed to be and waited for whilst my scan for a DVT was carried out. Thankfully there was no sign of a DVT but I was told I had a Baker’s Cist in my left knee.

I was then seen by Dr Holt who discussed my drop foot problem in detail & even suggested another abdominal scan to update my 2019 scan of my lower back where I was diagnosed with lumbar spondylitis. I declined as do not want surgical intervention at my age but did appreciate her ensuring that I get an orthotics appointment to assist with my dropped foot problem. Dr Holt is another person deserving of a Star award in my opinion.