"He exceeded expectations"

My father has Parkinson's and dementia with Lewy Bodies. He has been in hospital or nursing care for the last ten months through no fault of his own and  he has suffered.

I could write a saga based on the wrongs that he has endured, however, this story is about an encounter with someone who provided the caring service that we should be able to expect from the NHS:

Enter Simon from the frailty team.

Further to a 111 call overnight, Simon came to my parents' home the next morning to check on dad.

My expectation, from experience, was for someone who was too overworked to care, too self-important to listen and too judgemental to understand.

Well, colour me wrong!!

Simon arrived, a big smile in greeting and went straight to work doing the normal observations expected - the difference being that he engaged directly with my father, the patient. Simon took the time, during these normal checks, to engage with my father, to explain what was happening, why it was being done and what the results indicated. The reason we are so impressed is that the communication was directed at my father and the information presented in an informal manner, accompanied by amusing tales to illustrated the importance and relevance of the facts. My father was being treated as a valued individual with the right to know what was happening to him and the expectation that he was capable of understanding the situation - a truly miraculous event as many people who have endured NHS treatment will acknowledge.

A huge thank you to Simon.