"What can I say?"

On 30/11/2019 I had several episodes of haematemesis and called an ambulance. I had never been admitted to Heartlands before, Good Hope being my local hospital, but Good Hope was closed and so I ended up in a very busy A&E department at Heartlands.

Despite all of the pressures, I cannot emphasise how impressed I was with every aspect of the attention I received whilst there. The service in Majors was astonishing. It was very, very busy but the cleanliness of the environment, the personal attention, the caring attitude and positive demeanour of the staff, as well as the manner and way in which I was treated, were outstanding. One thing that absolutely astounded me was the smiling and positive and collegiate effort of every member of the team that I came into contact with. I saw a nurse in triage who was calm, professional, courteous and smiling throughout whatever was going on. She handed me to a colleague whilst she went on break and I would describe her in exactly the same way. When I was moved to a cubicle, a further nurse looking after me was the same. She welcomed me, checked on my condition, provided pain and anti-sickness medication and smiled the whole time she was there and the manner in which she made sure that everything was addressed in my treatment was truly praiseworthy. It seemed clear to me that something was very deeply ingrained into everyone I came into contact with. It was the importance of the patient in spite of whatever else was going on. The highlight for me, however, was the young Doctor in A&E. What a consummate and totally committed but approachable professional and a credit to your Trust. Please pass on my thanks to those involved and to the entire management team. From the view of the man in the street (or me on the trolley), they did a brilliant job.

After A&E, I was transferred to AMU and then Ward 10. I want to repeat that the staff (all of them) on those two wards were fantastic at what they did. Again, and my wife pointed this out as well, the thing that seemed to be a common thread was a team of people doing a job that they enjoyed and doing it with a smile for the patients and in a way where everything that was promised would happen, did happen. It wasn’t a procedure or a chore or a problem, it was just done with a smile that was genuine. Unusually, there were no stand out stars amongst the nursing and HCA staff because everyone shone brilliantly. I was honestly overwhelmed with the quality and attention of care that I received. At one point I felt I shouldn’t be there and I spoke with the sister who both reassured me but also did what she could to try and ensure I was not there longer than I needed to be. I wanted to ensure that I wasn’t taking up a bed that was better needed by another.

Finally, please accept my thanks and good wishes for everyone who works so hard to make my journey from the back of an ambulance to home again, such a reassuring and positive experience.