"Mum's Care"

My mum was initially taken to ward 62,after suffering what was thought to be a stroke. She was well cared for in this ward for a couple of days. It was discovered however she had taken a massive bleed on her brain, and after this was moved to Langlands Unit, ward 56.

On entering this unit, we all immediately felt that it was something special, the vibe was one of comfort, professionalism and courtesy. Every member of staff we interacted with was so empathetic and friendly, they made us feel extremely welcome, knowing how sad a time this was for us, as my mum was not going to recover. Nothing was too much trouble for them, we could bring food, music, had no set visiting hours, and shown where the family room and kitchen were to use freely should we want to or need to.

The staff checked in on mum consistently to ensure she was comfortable, they gave us any information we required to help us in our vigil with mum, they took our views into consideration with respect also. Absolutely nothing was too much trouble for the staff. At one point, a family member spoke to a nurse, not realising she was on a call,  and so left, this nurse came to the family member and apologised for not being able to speak to her, she had received some sad news of her own. We could not believe how conscientious she was to come and seek us out to apologise. This only made us feel more overwhelmed about the devotion staff have to a very emotional  job. In my opinion and although we didn't expect her to do this, we thought so much of her for it.

As I mentioned previously, when you enter the ward it is enlightening, for a unit where many families may be losing loved ones, these angels are an absolute godsend, and deserve to have the positive recognition they deserve. One of the staff asked if my mum was religious, and if we as a family would like to chat with the chaplain. We did this, and Chaplain James came into mum's room to speak with us. He spent a considerable amount of time chatting to us, reassuring us that he knew how we felt, it was so kind of him to do this. When he left the room, we all felt that the vibe we got from him was so warm and caring, he had a genuine feeling of peace and a knowledge of what we thought of mum.

We actually asked him to perform the service for my mum when the time came, which was sadly too soon. James did in fact deliver the service for mum, and I'm pretty sure she would have loved it.

I on behalf of my family would like to make sure that the staff from ward 56 are all notified, and congratulated on the job they do, and how much we would like to thank them for the time they spent ensuring my mum left this earth peacefully and with love, dignity and respect. 

Many thanks.