"Brought an injured friend"

My wife and I brought a friend, injured in a cycling fall at 6.30 on Sunday evening 27th April, we were immediately checked in at reception and told the approximate waiting times involved, which turned out to be quite accurate. The queue dissolved before us in a fairly rapid fashion, which maintained our hope of being seen soon, and long before the novelty of the situation had worn off the patient had seen the Triage Nurse. There was a further wait to see the Doctor. The very quick arrangement of a variety of scans and x-rays (on a Sunday) was more than we hoped for. The stomach churning job of clean up and stitching was skilfully carried out as soon as the internal evidence allowed. We were given a cup of freshly made tea whilst we were waiting in the treatment area, which we sat and enjoyed in the semi-seclusion of the booth. The range of ailments which were being treated all round us showed the versatility of the staff. The whole atmosphere was one that reassured, from the professionalism of the staff to the evident expressions of sympathy for the facial injuries of our friend. We left with supplies of treatment cream for the patient for the days that followed. The whole operation was completed in a time frame which was much less than could be expected, considering its complexity and the far more serious claims on staff time and attention as stretcher cases of near dead people were also arriving from time to time. Five stars is an inadequate measure of the quality of this service. Many thanks to all the dedicated staff. John Greenhalgh