"A&E in Liverpool, 3 days before Xmas"

I slipped and fell badly late on Sunday evening. Although I got to bed ok when I woke in the night I could barely move. I decided to go to A&E at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital, and my partner drove me there.

We arrived at 7.00am and were seen within 15 mins by the triage nurse who also gave me a pain killer. A further 15 mins and I was seen by a medic and ultimately had an X ray. Because of the shift change I saw a second doctor who explained the results.

He explained that I had a chip on a vertebra but otherwise there were no broken bones. Further painkillers were issued to me and I was home within three hours start to finish.

Both doctors, the nurses and the radiologist were all extremely courteous, explaining what would happen next and checking that I was in the most comfortable position given my injury.