"Admission to Craigavon Hospital after a traumatic fall"

In June my old husband fell downstairs in our home and broke a bone in his back and suffered a gash in his head.  After dialling 999 we were told ambulance would take 1.5 hours to arrive, so we quickly assessed him and arranged our own transport to hospital as head wound bleeding profusely.

On arrival at CAH we waited 40 minutes to be triaged; the triage nurse, Matthew,  assessed the situation and allowed me to accompany my husband as he suffers from mild cognitive impairment.  Matthew carried out preliminary observations and arranged appropriate x-rays and scans, while reassuring us in a caring and considerate manner.  My husband spent the first night in amber re-sus and next 2 days in yellow re-sus; during his time here I observed the pressure staff were working under but felt my husband was very well cared for.  He was eventually moved to Ramone 4 and stayed there for 3 days.  I found the atmosphere in this ward to be calm and there was an efficiency about how things operated which was very reassuring.  My family and I would just like to thank the staff for the care and understanding they showed throughout this very traumatic time.

My husband was discharged on day 6 under the care of the Acute Care at Home Team; before leaving the ward a member of the team discussed the protocol of how the team would manage this care and reassured me that he would be well looked after.  On the morning of his discharge a doctor from the AC team called at the house but my husbands discharge had been postponed until 1;00 pm.  They were supposed to leave a box with all the information we would need but didn't have this with them and said they would call after 1:00pm.  This didn't happen and I had no contact numbers to follow up. 

By 6:30pm my husband was distressed and in a lot of pain which resulted in my feeling anxious and vulnerable.  At 8:00pm one of the AC team arrived and apologised for the mishandling of the situation; she then spoke to my husband and family and reassured us that the care plan was in place. She stayed an hour here and didn't leave until my husband was well settled and had been given the relevant pain relief as well as IV antibiotics - it was discovered that he had developed pneumonia.

I would just like to commend the AC at home team for their care, in particular nurses Kevin and Courtney; the whole team - doctors, nurses, physios, OT's - provide such an excellent service which proved invaluable to us.   It allowed us to care for my husband at home, where his recovery progressed slowly but surely. Sincere thanks to all from our family.