"Excellent care in A and E and Paediatrics"

As a family we have had a bit of a run of bad luck this past month. Our 10 month old twins have both been ill and required a few trips to children's A and E. As a result and on different occasions both had to be admitted onto the Paediatric ward. I feel compelled to write a review of the care we received at the hospital as I have always felt that the North Mid has a poor reputation. On all occasions the children were assessed quickly by a friendly and caring team of nurses. We did have to wait to be seen by the paediatricians but I am sure that it would be the same in any hospital, we all know how stretched our services are. However, serious medical symptoms were not ignored and the children were seen immediately by doctors on our second visits to A and E when they took a turn for the worst. Generally, I think we have to show some understanding to the health professionals who are doing their best with limited resources. Once we were admitted onto the ward, the children picked up quickly and only needed to stay in overnight. We felt reassured on both occasions that the children were being treated and monitored well. The nurses and doctors were kind and personable, ensuring that my partner did not go hungry as he was on his own for a long while as I had to look after the other twin. in addition, you could tell that the handover between staff on different shifts was effective and the doctors and nursing teams worked well together. Unfortunately, the Rainbow ward is in temporary accommodation at the moment so i'm sure the facilities could be better. Certainly, the outpatients' area for children was much nicer and the staff who were the same both on Rainbow and in Outpatients' were as kind, even making us cups of tea as we waited for blood results late into the evening for our second twin who deteriorated when his brother was discharged. On our subsequent trips for intravenous antibiotics the staff were understanding and explained the results of tests, whilst also always asking me if I had any questions. My GP has recently told me that the mother's views are supposed to be listened to and whilst ironically this isn't always the case at my GP surgery it certainly was at the North Mid. Thank you to a caring and hardworking team!