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My father owes his life to the wonderful NHS staff

Posted By CJOH

"My father owes his life to the wonderful NHS staff"

About: University Hospital Hairmyres / General Medicine (Wards 9-12) University Hospital Wishaw / General Medicine (Wards 5 & 8)

(as a relative),

My father suffered severe pneumonia and sepsis 8 months ago. He spent 4 months in hospital; 3 months in critical care and 1 month between high dependency and a general ward.

All the hospital staff, at both Hairmyres and Wishaw hospitals, from Consultants to Doctors, Nurses and support staff were incredible. We so admired their talent, skill, dedication, calmness and caring attitude towards the patient as well as the wider family.

Working in Critical Care is the ultimate fire-fighting job, dealing with life and death situations on a daily basis. Nothing prepares families for this unique environment and the stress of having a family member in such a precarious situation.

The lengthy hospital stay was made more bearable due to the support of the staff from the Critical Care Liaison Service.

They were kind and caring and explained the severity of the illness in clear, easy to understand language.

They recommended tools to help the families cope, such as the patient diary, which helped enormously to express our emotions during the lengthy hospital stay

They prepared us for potential set backs, of which there were many, and provided a shoulder to cry on during the darkest days.

They managed our expectations through the transfer from ICU to High Dependency onto general ward and finally home.

This dedicated point of contact was invaluable to help connect the dots between all the different specialisms involved in my Father’s care, from dietitians to physios, cardiologists to speech and language therapists.

They continue to provide ongoing follow up and support which is vital through the lengthy 18 month rehabilitation process.

We welcome the opportunity to share our story and give other patients and families hope when they are faced with such severe illness.

The importance of this ‘umbrella’ service to support families through this unique situation should not be underestimated. It’s invaluable.

My Father owes his life to the wonderful NHS staff and we will forever be in their debt.

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Responses

Response from Andy Pender, Senior Nurse, Emergency Medicine, University Hospital Wishaw, NHS Lanarkshire 8 years ago
Andy Pender
Senior Nurse, Emergency Medicine, University Hospital Wishaw,
NHS Lanarkshire

Submitted on 19/01/2016 at 14:54
Published on Care Opinion at 17:25

picture of Andy Pender

Dear CJOH,

Thank you very much for your positive story. I will let all the staff within the areas know how you and your father felt that the care was '' incredible'' especially during such a difficult and worrying time for you all.

This will give the staff a boost and it helps us keep doing what we all so passionately believe in within the Critical Care Areas and the General Ward environment.

Thank you for mentioning the importance of the Critical Care liaison Service in your therapeutic experience as this is the cornerstone of the work that Audrey provides.

I am delighted that you found the multi disciplinary team working was person centred and that his follow up was well supported.

I wish your father continued progress in his rehabilitation and recovery.

Best wishes and thank you once again for taking the time to post these comments.

Andy

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