"Wonderful people in a dilapidated and..."

The staff were wonderful.

Before we even arrived at the hospital we were cared for by two wonderful paramedics. Thank you.

It was a busy bank holiday Sunday evening when we arrived by hospital with my poorly boy suffering heat exhaustion/heat stroke. He was really unwell and I was very worried. We waited for many hours to be seen by a Dr but during this time the nurse really took care of him, checking him regularly and using whatever (underwhelming) equipment possible to bring down his fever. The faces of staff were predominantly stretched and tired but when with patients they were really caring and engaging and switched on, trying to do their best by people needing care.

The A&E department is in horrendous repair. The walls are seriously old, chipped, scratched. The curtains are disgusting and pulled. The floor was disgusting. The chairs, although bolted to the wall, were somehow broken and even missing (!?) with plastic torn and ripped. The equipment was sad and outdated (the Dr mentioned this multiple times). The toilets were disgusting. The water filter was empty. The vending machines were empty of food. The wait was unbelievably long.

The way the staff operate in these surroundings is incredible. That they were dealing with so many difficult, drunk and disorderly people as well makes them amazing. Our main nurse (after the 9pm shift swap) was wonderful. Busy but so kind and she cared about my boy. Thank you.

We were transferred to the paediatric ward for an overnight stay. The staff nurse who met us was wonderful- calm, gentle, kind and caring. Thank you.

First impressions with soft lighting and a comfortable hospital bed were wonderful. We were well looked after and my son was checked regularly throughout the night, thankfully he was recovering swiftly! Unfortunately the daylight showed the tired state of the ward but not as terrible as a&e! The staff, again, were wonderful!!

One tiny point-cultural rather than a reflection of poor care- was that I overheard a nurse tell a small boy (jokingly) to stop crying like a girl! In my opinion, 1- pain is real for both genders and crying can be wonderful pain and trauma relief. 2. Boys can cry just as girls can. 3. It makes girls seem to be the weaker sex! Worth considering language.

Thank you NHS for existing. How very sad that we can't as a society fund better care for staff and the environs. And how sad that people abuse such an incredible service.