"More than excellent care"

To be honest I am more than overwhelmed at the excellent care I received whilst in the Stroke Unit Clinic in the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast on in November 2021.  To be honest there are not enough adjectives to explain the care, extremely excellent attention and the hard work and dedication of the staff in the Clinic.

I actually find it very emotive to explain exactly how I feel as the quality of care by the staff was exemplary to say the least.  I was in the unit after having been admitted on the evening before.  I was in the Clinic from first thing in the morning until around 7.  The staff from the moment they entered the clinic never stopped working, and working extremely hard considering the type of patients including myself they had to deal with.  Their care, respect and attention to all patients was exemplary and to be honest I really find it difficult to understand how they cope in such a difficult discipline.

I feel the unit is grossly understaffed and what is expected of the staff is extreme to say the least.  Double the staff would still in my opinion not be adequate.  The staff I came in contact with and to whom I am deeply indebted to are Kathy, Elizabeth (2 extremely efficiently nurses) and a doctor called Noel.  I honestly don't know how they cope.  From they came in to the unit in the morning they hit the ground running and I mean running.

Due to the complexities of Stoke patient (including my own situation), the nurses and doctors don't know what the condition of the patient they are going to have to deal with but all were treated with courtesy, professionalism and seen to very quickly.

During my time in the ward the staff don't have time due to the volume of work to have proper breaks which is not right.  They never once complained and treated everyone with the same professional care and at times as stated previously due to the complexities of stroke victims was not easy.

I consider the unit could do with at least double the nursing/medical staff along with clerical backup and auxiliary assistance.  I genuinely don't know how the current allocation of staff can be expected to carry out the work they have to do which I feel is totally uncalled for.

There is a lot of press regarding COVID and figures and statistics but there are the very much forgotten workers who carry on in the other disciplines who are the forgotten numbers.

As stated before I was very deeply moved at the efficiency and the extremely hard work of the overworked team.  I really feel the those in positions should take a firm hard look at the bigger picture of those staff working outside the 'covid' bubble.

I genuinely hope that my communication is taken with the seriousness of the situation and not just read but urgently acted upon as I am deeply concerned about the welfare and well being of an excellent bunch of highly dedicated group of staff.