"Care and Support"

Following a hip fracture my Dad was moved outwith his home town to Annan Hospital for rehablitation.   I was a bit concerned given the distance, which although was just 16 miles away, given the covid restrictions, could have been the other side of the world!

As communication hadn't been particularly good in the acute setting he had come from I was worried about what it would be like at Annan Hospital, however, I needn't have worried, when Dad arrived there following his transfer, I was phoned by a Staff Nurse who advised me he was sitting having a cup of tea and some soup and seemed happy, I was also told to phone any time, easy to say but some don't always mean it, and that any of the family, we are a large extended family, could facetime Dad at any time!   This was a great relief, my son, daughter and I did facetime him that day and just to see that he was smiling and happy and looking like his old self really put our mind at rest, we hadn't seen him for 2 weeks at this point!  

Throughout the following days we were able to phone Dad on his mobile and if it wasn't charged we phoned him on the ward phone and were always met with helpful friendly staff who were able to give us a wee update on how he was doing, which was just fantastic.   Every time I contacted Dad he was full of chat about what had been happening and what he had been eating, he always said he was well looked after, even now 1 week following his discharge he will talk favourably about the staff!   Any time I had reason to call the hospital directly just to have a chat about Dad, I always felt that the staff made time to listen to me, even if they were busy at the time and called me back, which they always did.   The staff at Annan Hospital should be so proud of themselves they are a great team!