In July I attended A&E at 8:00 pm accompanying my daughter who had a suspected blood clot on her lung. The dept was extremely busy and there was only one doctor working. The refreshment machine was out of order. It was extremely uncomfortable overall.
We had been told the ambulance waiting time would be a minimum 4 hours so had made our own way. Other people were arriving with very sick relatives, 2 of whom became unconscious in the queue who had also been told the ambulance would be 10 hrs or more and had made their own way there. The department was full of anxious and sick people and relatives and the wait was 13 hrs.
In the event we were there until 13.00 the next day. Throughout this time the staff did their absolute best with the resources they had and coped well with the one aggressive patient and very mentally unwell patient. However, there was one member of staff who stood out and whom I had plenty of time to watch. Bal the security guard was an absolute star and a credit to the organisation. He diffused so many potentially difficult situations by watching people and just wandering over to chat and maybe get them a drink of water, or organise a taxi. He refilled the cups on the drinks machine and other seemingly minor tasks that actually in those awful circumstances made a real difference. He even noticed in the early hours of the morning that I was cold and got me a blanket without me having to ask. My concern being for my daughter and the other patients.
He spent time persuading a very confused woman to come inside and be seen. In all this he did not neglect his primary duties. He was watching the room all the time and stepped in immediately to protect the staff when people became anxious and rude to them. In dealing with these situations he was firm and confident and de-escalated them all very effectively.
He is an asset to NUH and I hope he is recognised for the work he does above and beyond his role. Just as an aside my husband was waiting outside in the car for many hours and independently commented on how hard he had seen the security guard (who we now know as Bal) working. constantly checking on people outside and talking to them. He made a very long night much more comfortable.
"He made a very long night much more comfortable."
About: Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust - Queen's Medical Centre Campus / Accident and emergency Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust - Queen's Medical Centre Campus Accident and emergency Nottingham NG7 2UH
Posted by Daughter number 2 (as ),
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