"Care at Forth Valley"

I have lived in the Forth Valley district for a while now and have had a few good and bad experiences whilst under the care. Yesterday I was in for a day surgery under my consultant Dr Slim (ENT) 

Although there was I assume an emergency or a tricky surgery which resulted in me not being taken until the early evening I also do feel it’s important to recognise that these things happen and overall my care was well handled, I received what I felt was great treatment. I felt like my team were well briefed and patient comfort came first. I know myself I’m not exactly the best patient in the world particularly when I’m experiencing unpredictable wait times but this is a me problem and not entirely a reflection on the staff involved. They did try their best to make the wait as comfortable as possible and also deal with my anxiety ridden self which I know is not easy. 

There was one particular nurse who stuck out who was extremely understanding and a lot more patient with me than I would have been, she had a French accent and was working in the day surgery ward. The anaesthesia team were very kind and also did their best to ensure I was comfortable and calm, my main Surgeon Dr Slim did everything we had discussed and moved this surgery in record time as an urgent matter. The team who were in surgery recovery were also stand out in my memory particularly when it came to making me feel comfortable and ensuring I had enough pain relief to cover (which was my main concern due to past issues receiving pain management) but as I said, I felt that my comfort was put above my history and this to me was paramount for my recovery and indeed my anxiety going forward for upcoming procedures. 

Although I may not act like the best patient in the world at times I do appreciate the constant trials and tribulations of surgical procedures and that the nhs staff have extremely important roles to carry out but they still found time to deal with someone who’s behaviour was less than perfect by my own admission. 

My overall care since being passed to DR Slim and his team has been a massive improvement and I feel as though I am being heard and treated fairly but also as well as this, I feel I am being treated in very good timeframes given the stress the nhs and its staff are facing. 

The staff really are the backbone of our nhs and they carry that torch of responsibility every day with likely more complaints than praise. It’s easy to complain about the things that didn’t meet expectations but it’s not so easy to look past those and praise the things that did exceed expectations. I try to be as fair as possible when giving feedback and overall the good practice, care and devotion much overshadowed any unpredictable wait that may have unfortunately had to happen.