"Very positive experience at A&E Aberdeen"

On Wednesday evening  my daughter, had felt unwell for four weeks with a persistent cough.  She persevered for weeks between trying cough medicine, antihistamine, steaming her chest and just trying to "get on with it".  She was suffering at work due to the type of work she undertakes. She had been given two courses of antibiotics and told by two GPs that she was not asthmatic, she describes the two GPs both being "adamant" that she was not asthmatic, even though there was a significant family history of it.  She was suffering with a cough that sounded as though she was "coughing up a lung" four weeks on and was finding that her breathing was deteriorating. The GP was not willing to give her any more antibiotics and basically sent her away (though they had ordered for an urgent xray, appointment of which came through a week later for the following Thurs).  The next day my daughter had been off work and feeling very breathless, a normally very healthy woman in her 20's she was unable to walk 100 yards without feeling very breathless and lightheaded.  Due to a genuine concern of her potentially having a Pulmonary Embolism (this due to my own experience of a rare and nearly fatal experience resulting in heart failure and intensive care) I decided to take her to A&E at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary. 

From the moment we arrived, the Receptionist was welcoming, friendly and efficient at taking information required.  My daughter was then seen really rather quickly by the Triage Nurse who took our concerns regarding potential PE very seriously.  Whilst in A&E she had bloods taken, oxygen checked, ECG tracing and an X-Ray.  From start to finish, the staff were genuinely professional, not once was she made to feel as though she was wasting any bodies time, she was thoroughly checked and left the hospital within 8.5 hours of arriving, she left with inhalers having been told she had developed asthma. She had immediate relief from using the inhalers whilst still in triage, yet to be fully confident that it was not a blood clot, the staff ran additional bloods of which very much put our mind at rest. 

Four days on and she is still coughing yet things are much better than they were.  We were very impressed with the staff, from the receptionist to the nursing team to the doctors in A&E, all acted with genuine compassion and genuine concern. Even through in XRay the member of staff helped her to put her necklace back on, she pointed out that even taking the time like that was comforting. The only draw back in A&E, the amount of people smoking at the door, the smell of hash that was wafting through to the court yard area behind  the waiting area windows, the amount of "hangers on" that didn't need to be there as in, large groups of family members who could have well just stayed at home! It would be helpful if NHS Grampian could try and tackle these issues.  Otherwise, we wish to express our sincere gratitude.