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Care Opinion

My experience in A&E

Posted By Chlst75

"My experience in A&E"

About: Craigavon Area Hospital / Emergency Department Northern Ireland Ambulance Service

(as a staff member posting for a patient/service user),

I’ve been okay here in the yellow area. I came in by ambulance at 6:30am and it was a really quick process which was good. The ambulance crew were very good and I was seen quickly by a doctor. One thing I would say is I regularly suffer from migraines and know having some food and water quickly will really benefit me and stop it in its tracks before things get worse. I was vomiting a lot so was extremely dehydrated feeling. I asked for something at 8 and the doctor said they would get me some fluids soon as possible. By 10am they still hadn’t come and I had to ask 3 separate nurses for help but with no luck. I then needed to get IV paracetamol because the migraine had gotten that bad.

I have had these before and know myself and my own body and could have prevented anything worse and my migraine taking off. I work in healthcare too so was feeling a little frustrated. I was in here on Tuesday morning too at 3am and didn’t get one sip of water since I had been in; it’s the simple things that make a difference. I was observing an elderly man across from me here in A&E and he had come in from a nursing home. They set his food tray on the table in front of him but he struggled to reach it and couldn’t get anything to eat himself, the staff came to take it away and the nurse said he had finished and had eaten it but that clearly wasn’t the case and I just felt sorry for this man and wanted to help him myself if I could. I do yes feel safe in terms of COVID in A&E which is a positive. The communication between myself and the staff members here is clear too and explained to myself and if I don’t know I ask questions. Some bedside manner is better than others too. I was told I had to go for a scan but sadly I had already eaten my lunch at this point so it will be postponed until tomorrow now. My liver tests were all over the place as the Dr said, so I will be admitted here in the meantime. The cleaning of the ward is all fine too.

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Responses

Response from Amanda Sweetlove, NIAS, Northern Ireland Ambulance Service 2 years ago
Amanda Sweetlove
NIAS,
Northern Ireland Ambulance Service

Service User feedback

Submitted on 19/09/2021 at 23:52
Published on Care Opinion at 23:52

picture of Amanda Sweetlove

Dear Chist75

Thank you for your kind words surrounding our service and the crew who attended to you during your recent emergency. It helps to boost morale to hear the care and attention you offered to a patient has been acknowledged as a positive experience.

We are always very grateful to hear meaningful reviews about a job well done and I would very much like to share your compliment with the staff involved. If you would be prepared to offer me a few extra details to enable me to locate them, please contact me on amanda.sweetlove@nias.hscni.net

I hope you have had the tests you required and are feeling a lot better.

Take care

Amanda

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Response from Lisa Dougan, Clinical Sister Emergency Department, Acute Directorate, Southern Health and Social Care Trust 2 years ago
Lisa Dougan
Clinical Sister Emergency Department, Acute Directorate,
Southern Health and Social Care Trust

Submitted on 21/09/2021 at 10:25
Published on Care Opinion at 10:25

picture of Lisa Dougan

Good Morning,

Thank you for taking the time to send us your story via care opinion of your experience through ED.

I was thrilled to see you were assessed by doctor quickly on arrival to ED as this can often not the case.

Unfortunately due to the pressures we are currently under, we are unable to care for patients the way that we strive for. We find this difficult to deal with, however as a team we try our best to give the best nursing care possible with the time we have. I am sorry to see that you suffered as a result of this. I will be sure to share your experience with our team so we can see clearly the impact this has on our patients.

Within our department we strive to have assigned staff for providing support to those patients that require assistance with personal care and certainly meal times. I will share your story with our manager in the hope that this doesn't happen again. Thank you for highlighting this to use.

It is heartwarming to see, even with the pressures we face, that you felt safe and communicated with.

I hope you continue to improve in the hospital and the rest of you stay is comfortable.

Best Wishes

Sr Lisa Dougan

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Response from Andrew Dines, Head of Service, Domestic, Catering, Portering and Security Services, Southern Health and Social Care Trust 2 years ago
Andrew Dines
Head of Service, Domestic, Catering, Portering and Security Services,
Southern Health and Social Care Trust

Submitted on 28/09/2021 at 12:53
Published on Care Opinion at 12:53

Thank you for posting and taking the time to recognise the efforts of our Domestic Services Team.

I will pass your comments to the team.

Many thanks

Andrew

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