"First Class Service from Ambulance Service and Wishaw General A&E"

Earlier in the week my 100 year-old grandmother began to feel short of breath, wheeze and started to experience a tightness in her chest. As a current SAS employee I was on shift when this happened and after receiving a call on my mobile from my concerned mum who was in a panic I advised her that further help should be sought. My gran has never used the ambulance service before so this was her first time and she was unsure what to expect. The attending crew Paul and Steve from Law station were on scene within 1-2 minutes of being dispatched. They were extremely patient with my gran and went above and beyond their duty. They spend time with her doing obs and an ECG. Nothing was a trouble for them. They advised her she needed to go to hospital to have some further tests done. They even made my gran smile and laugh about the situation and this put her at ease as she does not like hospitals.

On arrival at Wishaw General A&E they made sure she was comfortable and handed her over to the nursing staff. At this point I had managed to get to A&E to be with my gran and I must say I have so much praise for all the staff at Wishaw General A&E. I know there has been bad press about the hospital and it’s care but in my gran’s case I could not fault them one bit. She did have to wait a while to see the doctor but I understand that the department is always busy on Monday and higher priority cases come first but everyone was doing their best and in the time she was in the department she was kept informed about what was happening. The ambulance crew that attended to her earlier even came back to visit her whilst she was waiting to see how she was and that cheered her up as she was laughing and joking with them.

After a wait she saw Dr Graham who, after carrying out tests informed she would need to stay with them for further treatment. This came as a shock for my gran who is scared of hospitals and doesn’t like to be left alone. She kept saying to me that she didn’t want to stay and just wanted to go home. I stressed this to the Dr and asked what other options were open for her to prevent her being admitted to hospital. After some discussion between myself, Dr Graham and her own GP they decided to administer treatment before discharging her and would refer her to the Hospital at Home team for ongoing treatment and review. I explained this to her and she was happy and grateful at the decision.

As her mobility is poor she needed to be discharged by PTS ambulance. As she was discharged later on in the evening I knew there was going to be a bit of a wait for her but I explained this to her and she said she was happy to wait. I must thank John and Michelle from Cumbernauld station who collected her from A&E and assisted her into the house, up the stairs into her bedroom. They did all of this whilst making my gran laugh and smile. My gran was full of praise for them after they left.

I know that the NHS in Scotland is under huge pressure and strain due to rising demand but my gran’s experience highlights how everyone worked as a team and the pathway of care lead for a successful outcome. I wish to pass on my thanks once again to Paul and Steve from Law ambulance station, John and Michelle from Cumbernauld station and also all of the staff at Wishaw General A&E who did their upmost to treat my gran. She just wanted to say thank you to everyone involved in her care.

She has now been visited by the Hospital at Home team twice since Monday and she is happy that she is being treated in her own home. She has improved massively and fingers crossed she continues to improve.