"A faultless experience"

I was admitted to A&E on the afternoon of 23rd November 2021 and within a few hours diagnosed as having had a heart attack. I was transferred to the Acute Cardiac Ward later that evening. Within 20 hours of entering the hospital I had been diagnosed, visited by a consultant, underwent an angiogram with a second consultant and had a stent implanted. I was kept in an extra night as a precaution because of an increased temperature. I had a very informative two-hour meeting with a member of the Rehabilitation team. After waiting a short while for my new medications (6 in total) I was collected on Friday 26th. Every member of staff who came into contact with me of whatever level treated me with respect, referred to me by my chosen name and behaved in a completely professional manner. What could have been a frightening experience became one that was caring and re-assuring. The food was excellent and a choice of dishes for the three main daily meals was a surprising bonus. I arrived home to find letters giving me a follow-up appointment in January and the discharge notes sent to my GP waiting for me! I have subsequently had a telephone call from the Rehab team and have been signed up to a personalised website on which I record such things as the drugs taken, details of the daily walks I now have to take and an exercise video which takes me through a 45 minute programme. My life in their hands was a faultless experience.

D Palmer