"Treated with generosity and dignity"

On Wednesday 29th June I arrived home after a long drive from Great Yarmouth. Had a quick nap and was thinking about supper, but unfortunately I was experiencing stomach cramp(or so I thought) as I had not eaten for a few hours. The pain became so intense I asked my wife to call the doctor, after a couple of calls to afterhours surgery we finally got through to "911" odd we thought but minutes later there was a First Responder at the door. This was the first of a serious of events that changed my life and view of the NHS. The paramedic quickly put us at ease, gave me some pain relief and listened to my symptoms and called an ambulance. The next two paramedics arrived and after some deliberation I was informed that I was going to hospital. All the time these three people were professional, gentle, and caring. Treating me with dignity and generosity. On arrival at the hospital I was seen quite quickly considering my symptoms were not life threatening(my view). Initial diagnosis Kidney stones but after a CT scan it turned out to be an Inflamed Appendix. "Stopping In"

Over the next 48 hours I came into contact with more than 50 medical professionals from the ER team, the

Junior doctor who first saw me, the consultant who directed my diagnosis, the surgical team who operated, the many nurses on three wards who cared for me, and all the other departments I had to see including the porters, and the tea person. Every single one of these people have my gratitude and thanks for the generosity, care and dignity they showed me in that short period of my life. I would love to thank them individually but that's impossible.

If the NHS UK needs a model to look at for their training in patient care send them to Cramlington to see it in action in the real world.