"Long 6 weeks"

I am writing on behalf of my mum. She’s 80 and the past year has been reasonably good to her apart from becoming more frail during COVID. 6 weeks ago she was admitted to Antrim hospital through ED due to double vision.

The triage nurse, Sean and the ED nurse, Ruth (alongside her student) were exceptional- the place was busy but they both took time to reassure mum when there was lots of scary conversation about a possible stroke.... and although she struggled to hear the doctors who attended to us he went out of his way to respect her and ensure I understood everything that was going on. As a daughter and carer it was encouraging to be part of the conversations and to be included in the decisions around admission.

Mum spent 5 days in ward A5 and when was discharged she said the care she received was excellent and the nurses were very patient with her as she tried to manage her mobile and keep in touch with everyone at home. This is my only observation which I feel needs consideration- the doctors had lots of questions for my mum and many she could not answer clearly... yet they never rang me. I had to go up to the hospital to ask what the plan was and to give over information which I thought was important. At a time when families are limited to visit it is reassuring to have nursing staff tell us ‘she slept well and is in good form’ but it is even more important for doctors to engage families on the phone and to consult with the families...

Particularly for the older patient who has additional support. Aside from this- we are very grateful to the consultant and the team for all their care. Sadly mum was diagnosed with secondary cancer to her skull, lung and bowel coming from a cancerous lesion on her neck. She will always live with double vision now and subsequently for the past 6 weeks we have had multiple appointments- I would like to thank Conal in Orthoptics, Magherafelt who took time to listen to mums concerns and recognised she didn’t fully understand the severity of her diagnosis. He talked to her in a way she understood and brought humour into the assessment. 

I also want to highlight the excellent service at the Ulster hospital of Mr Tohill’s team and the nurse specialist, Shauneen. Today mum is in surgery (through the Day Procedure Unit) to have her skin cancer removed. She will need admitted and she is very scared but from arrival at the hospital we met the ward sister and her nurse and nursing assistant were excellent to reassure mum and reduce all our anxieties of once again being in hospital. I am sorry I don’t remember their names but they were very patient and we are very grateful. Even leading up to the surgery the Pre assessment calls from anaesthetist, and pre assessment team Laurence and Mary were excellent at explaining to mum the need to fast and what medicines she required. This was followed up with phone calls to myself and also a written explanation. Excellent service. 

Today marks the start of a new part of mum's journey. Recovering from surgery and then facing further treatments for the cancer but so far, as a family, we want to thank so many who have helped us along the way.