"My husband's treatment"

Symptoms that looked like a TIA. Our doctor sent him straight to Glasgow Royal for tests. He received excellent care from the start. Bloods. ECG. Chest X-ray. CT scan. Admitted overnight and Dr Olson and all the staff showed Care and compassion.

He was sent to Stobhill hospital for MRI with dye two days later.  Couldn’t have asked for any better.

The Food . My husband had a small wrapped brown bread sandwich and lentil soup and said it was very good. Just what he needed/ wanted.

My husband blacked out on motorway driving alone in the car. Ambulance took him to Queen Elizabeth University Hospital. The ambulance driver who brought him in came out to find me to assure me he was okay. I am truly grateful to him.

Again, he received excellent care from the start. Bloods. ECG. CT Brain. Chest X-ray. The doctors who spoke to us did so frequently and in layman’s term's.

My husband was in a confused state and the doctors asked me many questions about his wellbeing since the above incident.  I felt very reassured they were trying to get to the bottom of this. 

They referred him to Heart and epilepsy clinic. He had a room of his own. I stayed overnight in the chair. Again I am grateful I could do this. Own room has many benefits , cross contamination, own shower and privacy.

Disadvantages. At night he was very restless and would not have been coherent enough to ring his buzzer for help. I think a loved one should be encouraged to stay overnight to free up night staff.

The Food. He couldn’t eat but was offered many drinks even jelly or ice cream by caring staff.  

A 72-hour heart monitor appointment was received 7 weeks later.

I woke up to My husband convulsing and taking a seizure, I called 999.

He was admitted to Glasgow Royal Infirmary again he was attended to very quickly. Bloods and fluids had been done and whilst in ICU he took another seizure witnessed by many staff and was quickly diagnosed with Tonic Clonic epilepsy.  I too was extremely distressed, seeing my husband having a seizure will never leave me and they cared about me too.

Even the very busy ICU staff offered ME a cup of tea.  He received the appropriate medication and transferred to his own room  for one night observation. 

The doctors and nurses gave him excellent care. Cameron and Nurse Emma were both very informative and helpful in providing seizure safety advice for when we got home.

I  stayed overnight in the chair . My husband had Post-Ictal confusion and sickness and could very easily have fallen out of bed had I not been there. 

The staff can’t be everywhere at every moment and I can’t stress enough how much I think it would help for one family member or guardian to stay at night to watch over them. 

The Food. He was offered curry or macaroni cheese. I picked macaroni for him but he didn’t touch it or the tea or water. It looked inedible and was cold.  When the tray got collected I noticed the member of staff didn’t even react  that the tray was untouched. They didn't seem to care.  That’s okay because I was there. 

But it’s not okay if an elderly patient was there alone. A visible sign should be in place to let the medical staff know patient has not eaten or taken fluids. This could save lives.

Thankfully no more hospital admissions he has had two outpatient appointments with cardiology.

And spoken with neurologist Dr Murray on a telephone call, we both spoke with her and felt reassured and appreciative of her time and sage advice.

He has visited the Epilepsy clinic to speak to Nurse Arthur which was helpful and reassuring to know we have an emergency number for their clinic should we want to call. 

All of this has been done within one year.

As stated previously, he could not have asked for better care and attention.

My only small criticism is the food issue in Royal Infirmary March visit.

Thank you to GRI, QEUH and Stobhill Hospital 

The NHS can take a battering and people are quick to complain. 

I don’t believe my husband would have been given any better treatment in a private hospital, maybe the macaroni might have been slightly better. 

Many many thanks.