My partner had been advised by 111 to go to A+E after an extended reaction to having their eyes dilated for some standard GP tests. They were struggling to focus their eyes, had a horrible headache and eye pain, were super sensitive to light and very nauseous - and understandably very anxious because they suffer from anxiety anyway, and anything where your sight is suddenly not right is very scary!
It turned out that they had to be checked for a very rare but sight-threatening reaction to the dilation drops, which meant a long day in the hospital going from one end to the other. Thankfully it was ruled out and my partner is now fine.
We experienced amazing staff from the moment we arrived at the hospital, and I'm sure these are just some of what I remember:
- the volunteer greeter who helped us find where to go
- the Eye Department receptionist who assured us yes, we need to go to A+E first, but she'd probably see us later (and remembers us when she did)
the triage nurse who took brief but so helpful moments to firmly and calmly reassure my partner that we were in the right place and they'd be looked after
- the A+E cleaner who, seeing through the door that my partner was in pain while they were running the mopping machine, came and asked if they could close our door to lessen the noise
- the nurse (Rosa) who not only put down the bed in the A+E room for us so they could rest while we waited, but turned down the lights for us and when I mentioned I was a little wobbly (I need to eat regularly and we'd been a bit longer than expected by that point), went and got me a sandwich!
- the A+E doctor (Rebecca) who once again, took the time to reassure my partner's anxiety and was incredibly knowledgeable, knew about this very rare risk, and got us a chair and porter to get us back to the Eye Department
- the Eye Department doctor and staff who got us through all the tests earlier than expected (we were done before our actual appointment time arrived!) and even, at our request, re-ran a test so that we could be extra confident and allay my partner's anxiety, and was able to diagnose an ocular migraine
- the receptionist and second A+E triage nurse who helped us with what to do next and with home management for said migraine
Everyone was so helpful and went above and beyond to make a stressful day a bit easier for us and we appreciate it massively.
"Amazing Exeter Staff!"
About: Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital (Wonford) / Accident and emergency Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital (Wonford) Accident and emergency Exeter EX2 5DW Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital (Wonford) / Ophthalmology Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital (Wonford) Ophthalmology EX2 5DW
Posted by Clarence1701 (as ),
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