"A shining example and beacon of all that is good"

From my initial 999 call for an ambulance after suffering sudden blurred vision and itchiness, whilst driving down from Glen Coe in the Scottish Highlands, my treatment has been excellent.

Firstly thank you to the ambulance crew who treated me and locked my car and informed the police and also insured I had my keys and valuables (I was travelling alone) Then thank you to the staff at Belford Hospital in Fort William, who were without exception, excellent. In the CAU where I was taken, tests were carried out as to the cause of my sudden impairment and all courtesy and freedom to inform my wife was afforded with no worries on my part. Indeed their overriding aim was to ensure I remained calm.

I am now at home after four and a half days in hospital courtesy of my family travelling nearly 300 miles for me. I am now slowly regaining my balance. I might add the doctor did say they would get me home if I could not be transferred by my family, most reassuring.

In conclusion I have never dialled 999 and haven’t been in hospital as a patient for over 55 years, but must say that the courtesy, respect, concern and treatment I received here was exceptional. From what one reads of the more negative aspects of the National Health Service, I point to this one example, that of Belford Hospital in Fort William as a shining example and beacon of all that is good.

My sincere thanks