"Late-pregnancy blood clots and wonderful hospital care"

I will be forever grateful for the care I received from the Royal Infirmary Edinburgh when I unexpectedly developed blood clots late in my pregnancy.

The doctor I saw on admission to Maternity Triage was thorough, reassuring and obviously very well prepared for this type of event.

The midwifery staff and auxilliary staff on my antenatal and postnatal wards were fantastically organised and caring. They are obviously terribly over-stretched in terms of the number of patients they often have to care for, but they never complained to the patients, and were unfailingly kind and competent. My anaesthetic, haematology and other specialists were wonderful as well.

I spent a month in hospital and saw the staff deal with so many patients, not all of them 'easy', and they were incredibly professional and understanding. I owe them my life and the safe delivery of my lovely baby. I know the NHS isn't perfect, but we hear the negative stories so often (understandably), while those of us who've been perfectly cared for are busy getting on with our lives. I worry about the effects proposed changes to the NHS will have on its ability to maintain quality of service and staff morale.

Thank you, RIE and its wonderful staff.