"Immediate and professional care"

Yesterday my 96 year old Mother's blood pressure went sky high. The doctor who arrived in a matter of minutes spoke to me on the 'phone and remained with my Mum until I arrived. She had already wheeled Mum to the main entrance of her apartments for us to transport her to our choice of hospital. First we followed the doctor to the surgery where she quickly wrote a referal letter.

The A&E at Broomfield Hospital was fairly busy but within a short time of arriving Mum had her blood pressure and temperature taken. Not too long after she was given an ECG and a blood test. After a wait designed to see if her blood pressure would go down naturally, a nurse took her bp and temperature again, with a better outcome.

After another short wait we were seen by a doctor who spent around 15 mins. patiently talking to Mum about her symptoms, going over her notes and writing a prescription. We were then able to drive to the front door of the department to wheel Mum to our car.

Each procedure was unhurried and carried out in adjacent rooms, by calm, polite and friendly staff. It all felt very, very professional, which is what we expect from the NHS but bear in mind, please, this first rate service had not been booked in advance and cost us absolutely nothing at the point of use. I don't think a private health establishment could have offered such immediate or better care, apart from a private room and a cup of tea, and I'm fairly sure private health insurance for a 96 year old would either be punitive or unavailable.

The NHS emergency service is there for us all and should be highly valued and never abused. Many thanks to Broomfield Hospital staff.