"ENT Dept, A&E, F1 Ward (multiple services visited)"

Anything else?

My daughter has recently been seen in the A&E department for a school injury, the staff were lovely and very kind and calm in a very busy department. The waiting time was as to be expected but no longer which was good. She also recently had an ENT department appointment, the lady fitting her earplugs was also very kind and efficient and cheerful and reassuring to my daughter. Then my daughter was an inpatient on the F1 ward for day surgery. The ward was spotless, the cleaning staff were working constantly at cleaning floors, beds, surfaces etc, but all done with a smile. The nursing care was fine, although an agency nurse and very efficient. The play worker was very kind in going through what would happen with the GA etc using the photobook, this was very good and made it less daunting. The anaesthetist was cheery and this is great in a children's ward as it does make a difference. The surgeon was very kind and clear in explaining the procedure. All in all I could not fault the care received. One only one suggestion was that the agency nurse had not been to collect from the recovery room before and therefore we got a little lost on going to collect my daughter, this was a little frustrating as I was very anxious to be with her as soon as possible as she came round from the GA. Perhaps a longer handover at the beginning of her shift would have been kinder to her as she was rather thrown in at the deep end. The last time my daughter was on a children's ward was another local hospital and the cleanliness was not of the same standard as FP, nor the friendliness of the ward staff. It really does make a difference when you are anxious to have nice kind and friendly people around you, a smile and a bit of cheer costs the NHS nothing and is really appreciated by all patients. FP on all our recent visits has got this right and it really makes a difference. On our trip to A&E it was quite late in the evening on a Friday when we left and we were a little lost and ended up back at the main reception rather than the A&E reception, a delightful cleaner/housekeeping member of staff observed our confused look and without us asking her she asked if we needed help/were lost. She could so easily have just walked by, again it is these little things that make a big difference and they cost the NHS nothing. If I could make one tiny area for a slight improvement it would be for note to be taken of food allergies. It was a requirement for my daughter to eat before leaving hospital after her GA, as she is allergic to dairy (which is on her notes and was informed to the hospital and again on the morning of admission) she was offered a dairy yogurt on coming round. This was not a problem but then the alternative for her was crisps which I am not sure is the best thing for a child who has had to fast for over 12 hours. I could easily and happily have brought her in some food if I had known this would be an issue and had been asked to