"Frustrating waiting times - made up for in staff…"

My partner and I have just returned home following a 10 hour stint at your department and both of us straight away asked the question how can we leave a review?

The waiting times are something that I have become accustomed to in this modern climate, naturally, what that usually entails in most walks of life is staff members who are stressed and as a result patient service is diminished. However, that is not the case here. What we did experience was numerous volunteers who were a breath of fresh air and generous in offering tea and food to all patients. Generally speaking, what we experienced was that all staff members were professional and kind and demonstrated a high level of emotional intelligence. Derriford hospital A&E department is a reminder that regardless of the politics, waiting times and bureaucratic nonsense - the staff members are humans too, to elaborate, empathetic humans who are courageous in their line of work and utterly selfless. That was our experience at Derriford hospital A&E department.

Now the specific reason for writing this review was to reiterate our thanks to a particular doctor who worked relentlessly and tirelessly in attempting to identify a diagnosis for my partners symptoms. His demeanour and mannerisms made her comfortable and made her feel as though she mattered and that she was being listened to. This was backed up with action in running a multitude of tests, carefully and considerately explaining the purpose for the tests and the results but also breaking down the medical jargon that came with the results. I would like to be contacted so that I can pass on specific details for our experience and possible identifiers that would mean the doctor can be contacted and informed of our praise and thanks. I would finally like to say that this particular doctor was a complete role model and I can only hope that other doctors follow his blueprint. I think the most important factor in any medical department is the patient having trust that the right thing is going to be done and that they can count on the professionals, this doctor in particular reinforced this trust and I would hope that any family member or close friend of mine may be assessed by him in the future.

Overall despite the lengthy waiting times I think that the work of the staff members tonight should not go unnoticed, especially that of the doctor who assessed my partner.