"Care and compassion in Causeway and Antrim EDs"

Last Friday afternoon I came home from work and went up to check on my son. He had been diagnosed with severe tonsillitis and been on oral antibiotics for nearly a week. He still looked dreadful, he wasn't eating and I felt he wasn't improving as I worked previously as a nurse in ED I was really concerned he had developed quinsy so I took him to our local ED in the Causeway hospital.

Well from triage to being blue lighted via Ambulance to Antrim ED with quinsy, the care he received in Causeway ED was fantastic. They recognised how ill he was, started him on fluids, antibiotics etc and referred him to ENT in Antrim. 

But for me, the mother of a boy who had recently turned 18, the biggest thing I have to be thankful for is the compassion shown by the staff to allow me to stay with him. He couldn't speak so he couldn't answer their questions, he was petrified so the fact that I could hold his hand and explain what was happening brought us both a lot of comfort. 18 year olds though technically adults, when sick and scared still need their mummies. Big thank you especially to Nurse in Charge Lisa, Nurse Natalie and Doctor Ben who were all amazing.

When he arrived in Antrim ED initially I was not allowed in with him, he was texting me from his room asking why I couldn't be with him and that he was sore and scared. After a discussion with the Nurse in Charge Duane he very kindly moved my son into a room that I could access from the waiting room to reduce risk and I will be eternally grateful for that.

The procedure he had to go through was complicated and didn't go as planned. It took over 6 attempts and over an hour to lance the abscess and the 4 inch needle going into the back of his throat traumatised him let alone the scalpel. Dr Jonny the ENT doctor was very patient with my son as he could see he was scared. Nurse Laura from the SNG was great getting him sorted for home.

I am part of this wonderful NHS family, we don't always get it right but when you really need us like my son did last week, we will take care of you. My son told me he could not have gone through what he did last week without me by his side, and in fact he has now decided he needs to marry a nurse like his mum, lol.

At present we are being very restrictive on visiting within the NHS and with Covid I can understand why. However there are times and situations where we need to use professional judgement and compassion to patients and families to let them support their loved ones in true times of need.

To the six staff mentioned in this story I will be eternally grateful, and to the 2 lovely receptionists who showed me kindness whilst I waited in Antrim waiting room, thank you so much, I was past myself x.