"My husbands stroke"

When my husband was initially moved to Perth Royal Infirmary we were made to feel a little unwelcome & that we were just in the way. We weren’t introduced to who was in charge of his care or what was happening to him. It was quite an unsettling experience. Nurses and doctors didn’t always introduce themselves or take the time to find out about my husband. In the end we had to request a getting to know him sheet which we duly filled out and it was put in his file & wasn’t being looked at (to our knowledge) as 4-5 days later one of the nurses offered me a getting to know them sheet!!!. 

However since he has grown stronger & staff have gotten to know a bit of his personality (he is an amazing man & can be quite funny & cheeky with the staff), things are much better. We don’t  feel unwelcome or in the way & a lot of the staff make sure to fill us in on what has been happening, or in our case write in a little book which we leave there to let us know what has gone on that day. We are also made very welcome to physio sessions & speech and language always make a point of keeping us informed of what is going on.  

It’s going to be a long road for us & all the little things add up, so by just telling us that our loved one managed to eat half a sandwich or had a good nights sleep or managed to sit in a chair  or even when he gets a nick on his chin from his razor whilst shaving himself , those things cheer us up.  It’s not just the medical things we need to hear. 

That being said, the care my husband has received has been amazing & the team at Perth Royal Infirmary are absolutely fantastic.  Some of them really go out of their way to make my husband smile by being silly and having a laugh with him.