"Exemplary Care by Discharge Team"

I'd like to take the time to thank LRI Discharge Team.

Our father was in Ward 36, and very much wanted to come home.

With a set of conditions that were fighting each other we didn't appreciate that he was not going to stabilise.

We needed to do a continuing health care assessment and had heard very bad things about it and were daily scared.

A member of staff fast tracked the assessment, in a meeting that finished at 7pm on Thursday evening.

By 1pm Friday a hospital bed had been delivered to Dad's home plus table and other bits and bobs.

Unfortunately when we rang to see what time Dad would be coming home he had deteriorated and was not fit enough to make the journey.

The same member of staff sat with Dad until we managed to get there.

I know they were supposed to be doing some interviews that afternoon but obviously must have cancelled them.

They knew Dad had a cat and spoke to him about that, although Dad was mostly unconscious at that point.

When we arrived they were there holding his hand and I can't thank them enough for the swift response the day before and the time taken to sit with Dad in his last hours. They were magnificent and in what I imagine is a highly stressful job it was really moving to be on the receiving end of such humanistic care.

Incidentally, on the morning of my Dad's funeral I got a call from LRI to go in for MRI scan next day and it turns out I have a very rare bone cancer and if it wasn't for the skill of the radiologist interpreting that result correctly I no doubt wouldn't be on the road of being investigated.

So I have two reasons for thanking LRI.Do please pass on my gratefully thanks to both departments.