"Compassionate care of a very poorly and dying..."

Anything else?

My mother was was a admitted to Chorley Hospital in December 2011 with pneumonia and leukemia. She was initially admitted to Medical Assessment Unit and then transferred to Brindle Ward where, sadly, she died 12 days later.

During the final two weeks of her life, my mother was frequently in pain; clearly anxious (sometimes frightened) and felt vulnerable. Her deteriorating health resulted in her needing all her personal care attending to and a high level of clinical intervention and supervision.

Whilst family members were with her day and night for the majority of the time (and provide her with attention and one-to-one care), she received support from a wide variety of medical staff and professionals; this included nurses, doctors, nursing assistants, administrative and domestic staff.

Whilst my mother was on the Medical Assessment Unit for a very short period, I know that she felt attended to and cared for by the staff whilst there. She particularly benefited from input from a Peripatetic Critical Care Nurse who saw her both on MAU and Brindle Ward –she was especially grateful for the care offered by this nurse and commented that she felt she had ‘saved my life’ during her first few days in hospital.

On Brindle Ward, we saw that staff were extremely hard working and conscientious. Clinical care was administered but, crucially, done so with sensitivity, care and compassion by the majority of individuals.

Caring for very poorly patients inevitably places a number of demands on busy staff but I felt comforted and reassured that alongside good quality clinical intervention and support, my mother was nursed and cared for with respect, gentleness and very human kindness.

I am extremely grateful that this was my mother's experience and thank all those involved in caring for her.