"My 10 year old broke his arm"

My son broke his arm at school last week. We went to A&E and was directed to the Children's A&E Dept, which is in a separate unit away from normal A&E patients. My son was assessed by a nurse and a doctor and then sent to X-ray and then back to Children's A&E where we were again spoken to by staff and told he would be plastered up and then sent home but we needed to come back the following day and my son would be put under general anaesthetic so that his arm could either be "manipulated" into place or if that was not possible then plates would need to be inserted.

The staff in A&E were really good with my son, spoke to him and me and kept us informed, I couldn't be more grateful to them, they really do an amazing job. The following day we arrived at the Children's Assessment Unit in Fothergill Block at 8am. My son was monitored and we were told an anaesthetist would be along to speak to us about what would happen and then my son would be collected and taken to theatre. We went down to theatre at lunchtime, my son was put to sleep and about an hour later I was allowed to see him and he was then taken back to up CAU where he was monitored for a couple of hours and then we were sent home. As a parent it was very traumatic to see my child in so much pain, he was quickly give painkillers in the A&E department and was then given further painkillers when he was plastered up.

On the day he was put under general anaesthetic I was very worried about him and whether his arm could be fixed without the need for surgery. My son was also worried, anxious and tearful. The staff in A&E and the CAU took time to explain what was going to happen, they asked my son if he had any questions and gave much needed reassurance that everything was going to be fine. The anaesthetist (and I wish I had got his name) spoke to my son whilst buzzing around sorting out the anaesthetic, asking him questions about school and my son was completely oblivious to the fact he was actually being put to sleep. Not easy seeing your child in that position, very upsetting. We must have spoken to about 20 staff during our time at the hospital including the nurses, doctors, consultants, X-ray staff, anaesthetist, the recovery nurse, porters. You have to put your trust in these people and every single one of them dealt with us professionally and sympathetically. They must do their job a hundred times a day and we were only a small part of it but I really felt that they all took their time with us and their professionalism and people skills were just second to none. I was sitting outside theatre waiting and trolleys with people on were in and out constantly.

I want to pass on that I am so thankful to all the staff we dealt with at Good Hope Hospital. My son's arm will heal in time and he will forget about what he went through but these brilliant people are still going to be doing their job and I'm so very grateful to them.