"A 10/10 stay with a few tweaks"

My stay here at Daisy Hill Hospital has been great. Everything on the Female Medical Ward has been excellent – the nurses, attention and service – I have absolutely no complaints.

The staff have all got excellent communication skills. They always have a cheery, bright and lovely personality that is fit to deliver the excellent care they provide. The staff are all very focused on their patients – they are always there asking “how are you?” and “how are you doing?” which I have found reassuring. I have also noticed that the staff are all very keen to work as a team, as they are always asking each other “can I help you”, which I think is brilliant and is a very positive way to work. The staff are also always very alert to any incidents that may occur.

All the staff have been particularly good and I don’t really like singling anybody out. However, I have to say that nurse Sree who has been on our ward for a couple of days has been great and has the potential for greatness. Susan who is on at nights is also very good as she is incredibly efficient and professional. I would also like to mention Gemma who explained my condition to me in brilliant terms. She was absolutely super and I would love to talk to her again. I think that breaking things down into layman’s terms in the way that she did is brilliant. The doctor talked in a way that I really could not understand so I was really appreciative of the way Gemma put it.

I also think that the staff do a great job with the choice of people they put into a ward together. I imagine this must be quite difficult but the staff to a great job at it.

When it comes to the food – it has been adequate. The tea and coffee has been not very good on occasion, with the hot water provided being lukewarm sometimes. However, I do like when staff members go round asking “do you want any tea or toast?” as some people might be too polite to actually ask for it themselves.

One small issue I had coming in was I was not aware of who the person in charge was and so I didn’t know if I had a serious problem that needed addressing who I would be able to go to. However, I asked one of the nurses and they explained it to me thankfully.

I also feel that a patient has to be quite alert and take responsibility for their own health, as sometimes details can be missed between doctors and nurses etc. and so it is important to pay attention to staff members just to make sure nothing is being missed.

The main thing I think could be improved is the cleanliness of the bathrooms/toilets. Overall, the ward cleanliness is absolutely fine – it is just the bathrooms. I have went to use the toilet on several occasions now and simply could not as it was simply too unclean e.g. toilet paper everywhere, urine on the floor and toilet. I understand staff are very busy and I think this could be improved if something like a notice was put up in the toilet saying, for example, “please leave bathroom as found” and hope that patients will clean up after themselves.

Overall, the job that is done here at Daisy Hill is superb and I don’t think anybody should be complaining. This is my first proper experience of a hospital and I really did have low expectations coming in after listening to comments such as “Crazy Hill” – but this is absolutely not the case. My experience has been absolutely 10/10 with only a few small tweaks needing made. On the whole, everyone is most attentive, caring and kind.