Care Opinion

Text size

Theme

Language

Videos in BSL or ISL
Help with language translation
Help with reading or listening

Support, kindness and generosity of spirit

Posted By LazyDaisy

"Support, kindness and generosity of spirit"

About: North Devon District Hospital / Haematology North Devon District Hospital / Radiology (X-ray) Tiverton and District Hospital / X-rays and scans Torrington Hospital

(as the patient),

I was diagnosed by my GP with hereditary haemochromatosis in May 2024 and saw a consultant at North Devon NHS regarding the condition in January 2025.  The condition was fully explained to me and I was promptly seen for an ultrasound of my liver at North Devon and a fibroscan at Tiverton Hospitals.  I then started venesections at Torrington Cottage Hospital and after 8 months of weekly treatments for blood tests or venesections I have reached maintenance level. 

I want to say that at every stage of this process I have been treated with consideration and kindness by everyone involved.  The condition, as I am discovering, is quite common but least known about, so it was a worrying time for me and my family but at every stage I have felt well supported by fun and friendly nurses and staff. 

A huge and very special thanks must go to all the lovely nurses and staff at Torrington Cottage Hospital with special thanks to Beth and Carol who made the whole experience an (almost) pleasant one for me.  I will miss our regular chats together.  My experience makes it very clear that small local hospitals provide a vital service to the community and they should be supported and strengthened wherever possible. 

In my case a 20 minute drive to Torrington would have been a 50 minute drive into Barnstaple plus parking fee costs every week for 8 months!  Quite some expense for me, notwithstanding the added pressure my attendance would have meant to an already stretched North Devon hospital where serious cases are attended to every day. 

I also want to say how much I appreciate the MYCARE app and strongly hope it is rolled out to all NHS Trusts.  It has been very helpful for me to see my progress in ferritin levels, access my documents and letters and to keep track of appointments etc.  I think it is an excellent service/system and I recommend it to anyone who can access it if they are undergoing treatment.

The support, kindness and generosity of spirit shown to me at every stage by everyone involved in my treatment is beyond measure.  Thank you all. 

More about:
Do you have a similar story to tell? Tell your story & make a difference ››

Responses

Response from Jane Woods, Head of Records Management (Eastern Services), Health Records Department (Eastern Services), Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust last month
Jane Woods
Head of Records Management (Eastern Services), Health Records Department (Eastern Services),
Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

Submitted on 12/09/2025 at 17:04
Published on Care Opinion at 17:04

Hello

Many thanks for using Care Opinion to provide such lovely feedback. It is so good to hear that although you are going through a difficult time you have felt supported and well cared for.

I am responding in connection with your comments made about MyCare as I work within the MyCare team. It is lovely to hear that you have had a great experience using MyCare. Please continue to spread the word amongst your friends and family as, once you've managed to set yourself up, it gives you a lot of information at your fingertips. If you have somebody you would like to share this information with please don't forget to set them up as a proxy. You can restrict what they see but it does make it easier for yourself should you find you aren't able to use it for whatever reason.

Best wishes for your health and wellbeing.

Jane

  • {{helpful}} {{helpful == 1 ? "person thinks" : "people think"}} this response is helpful
Opinions
Next Response j
Previous Response k