"Positive A & E experience"

I had occasion to visit Harlow A & E department for a persistent nosebleed a few months ago. I was seen promptly by a very sympathetic doctor who tried very hard to stop the bleed, but after a couple of hours reluctantly had to ‘pack’ it, which meant an overnight stay in hospital.

As Harlow does not have overnight ENT emergency facilities, they arranged for me to be transferred in the evening by ambulance to Broomfield Hospital where I was admitted. The staff in the A & E department were very caring, and do their best even though they are hampered by a lack of resources. For example there was no working light for the doctor to use when trying to assess my nose, so they ended up using the light on their mobile phone, which was held by a friend who was with me, as there were no nurses available to help.

A few weeks later I had a follow up call from the doctor to check if I had seen their recommendation on the discharge letter that I should have an ECG at my local surgery, as they thought I had an irregular pulse. The discharge letter had gone electronically to my surgery and I had not seen a copy. No one at the surgery had picked up on this, so if they had not phoned me it would not have been done. As it happened, it was okay, but this may not have been the case, so I was very grateful for that follow up call.