"My mother suffered a stroke and ..."

What I liked

My mother suffered a stroke and after a week of acute care at Queen's Hospital was transferred to the wonderful specialist stroke rehabilitation unit in Beech Ward at King George Hospital. We cannot praise the team of staff working in Beech Ward highly enough.

Faced with the care of many severely physically- and/or mentally-compromised, mostly elderly patients, the nursing staff worked with skill, care, patience, and above all, compassion. Irrespective of the inability of many patients to communicate, the care staff accorded each patient a high level of personal dignity and respect.

There was overall an air of 'quiet competence' amongst staff of all grades, with a large measure of team-work and overt cameraderie backed up by good overall organisation. The nursing was supplemented by an excellent therapy team, who lost no opportunity to prepare the patients for their return to the world outside.

This level of care and individual dedication should be the benchmark against which other units are judged.

To all the staff on Beech Ward, thanks for being there and doing what you do so well!