"Excellent care"

I’m writing to express me and my families gratitude for the care my grandad received while in the Western General Hospital, Ward 26. My grandad was admitted following a fall. Due to his age and subsequent reduced mobility, hospital admissions were becoming a frequent occurrence for him over the past year. Therefore, as a family, we recognised that more assistance and care would be needed for my grandad to allow him to be safely discharged home and therefore he needed a care package for discharge which he didn’t currently have in place (My grandad is 90 and my gran is 88 and until now, they both had lived independently). As I work for the NHS, I made it my duty to try and get this put in place for my grandad. He was first admitted to the medical assessment unit in the WGH in August and I called and spoke to a very friendly and helpful charge nurse (sorry, I can’t remember her name) but I explained my concerns and she kindly took the time to listen and assured me that my concerns would be passed on and that because of this, they would not look to discharge my grandad anytime soon until he was assessed.

As a result, he was subsequently moved to a downstream ward, ward 26 to carry on his care and assessment. While in ward 26 we feel my grandad received the best care, me and my mum (my grandads eldest daughter) called routinely to share our concerns with the team and for updates which every single staff member we came into contact with were always so helpful and reassuring. Working in the NHS myself, I understand how sometimes in the busyness of a shift, messages and communication can sometimes be lost between clinicians and families however, this was not the case with ward 26. A special thanks to Dr Theo who my mum spoke to over the phone first and advised he would ensure my grandad was assessed my physios and occupational therapy, which he was. A very special mention to Lynsey, the occupational therapist who we feel went above and beyond to assist my grandad, ensure that he was getting mobilised daily, ensuring that he was pain free (alongside other members of the clinical team) and most of all, ensuring that a care package specifically tailored to my grandads needs was being actioned. She kept us updated almost on a daily basis and would take so much time out her day in order to do this to reassure my grandad, and us as a family about progress grandad was making and amendments to the care package. Again, for me working in the NHS, I understand how challenging and time consuming this can be in a busy ward environment so we truly appreciate that we were afforded this time and attention. I would also like to give a mention to Izzy the pharmacist, as it was discussed with Lynsey during a meeting that my grandad would also benefit from the introduction of a nomad medication dispenser to assist him in taking his daily medications once home and again, this concern was actioned and brought to pharmacy attention by Lynsey and Izzy very kindly organised for this to be put in place, meanwhile ensuring that my grandads pain relief was adequate and he was comfortable.

We as a family feel compelled to pass on our gratitude to the whole team in ward 26 who were involved in my grandads care. We felt listened to and that our concerns were taken on board and everything possible was done to ensure a swift and safe discharge home for my grandad. He has since been discharged home and now has a care package in place and we as a family are very grateful for this.

Good feedback is not given enough and it’s so important for people to know that the job they are doing is valued and that they make a real difference, and all the staff and especially the named staff above have definitely got it right. Communication throughout this whole situation has been key and it has been excellent throughout. Thank you very much again for all you have done, we as a family really appreciate it.