"Excellent care"

I wanted to share my experience of the excellent care provided by staff at ward 19 and 20, University Hospital Wishaw.  My son (4 years old) was admitted to ward 20 in October 2020.  This was not his first admission, he has been admitted on numerous previous occasions to both wards 19 and 20 and I have always received an excellent service from all staff: nursing staff, medical staff and auxiliary staff.  I cannot fault the excellent care my son receives.  I have always found the staff to be caring and compassionate.  In this particular admission the doctor who initially saw my son was very thorough in her examination but also very kind and compassion to both me and my son, particularly as I was very worried.  The two children's wards in the hospital were extremely busy at this time but this did not impact on the service we received.  I am also very aware of the wider pressures on NHS Lanarkshire overall in these trying times of Covid but the care we received was still at an excellent standard.  

I was overwhelmed at how the staff did not show any concern when entering our room despite the fact that my son had been tested for covid and could have been positive, but the staff provided a kind, compassionate and thorough service.  The nursing staff also made me a few cups of tea and although this may sound like a minor thing, it made the world of difference to me at a very stressful and worrying time and I am so grateful to them for this.  I also found the staff to be very child centred, making up stories and games to help my son take medication and this also made the world of difference to his experience.  I also felt included and listened to in decisions about my sons treatment.  All treatments and assessments were explained to me in detail and the reasons behind these were explained and then explained again after I had some time to process the information, which again highlights the excellent service provided despite a number of additional pressures on all NHS services at this time.