"Visiting the Urgent Care Centre"

The UCC reception staff and nurses were absolutely brilliant when I visited on a busy Wednesday evening.

I spent over 5hrs able to observe the front line of the NHS and Hillingdon's ucc staff urgently require more recognition.

The waiting room was over crowded with a sign advising of a 3-4hr wait, despite this my name was called within 15mins of arrival and I was seen at the nurses window for a quick check over. Within two hours I had had a blood test, an ecg and had seen a dr, with the male nurse making time to offer me a chaperone (I declined as I really didn't want an excuse to delay my treatment). The male nurse read through what the dr had handed over and reassured me that this particular dr had a history of a&e medicine, was absolutely brilliant and would only have ordered the additional tests if I needed them.

Back in the waiting area, I observed the ucc receptionist calmly deal with abuse, a man vomit all over himself and then lower himself to the ground and two sets of men with police escorts (one with six officers) and these receptionists couldn't have been less fazed!

Unfortunately, due to my poor health, I was then transferred over to a&e, where my experience did go downhill, particularly in the assessment area...but eventually I got the treatment I required.