"Emergency Department"

I am a regular attendee at the ED as I have a chronic condition, Sphincter of Oddi dysfunction which brings on spasms of acute pain and discomfort in addition to raised liver function levels and the risk of pancreatitis. Unfortunately, the condition is not widely known and every time I attend I have to go through the process of explaining what it is, spelling it for the staff and informing them how to treat me.

I am met with varying responses, quite often not positive as it is assumed I am yet another opiate-seeking patient with abdominal pain. I attend the ED on average twice weekly while I'm awaiting surgery with a specialist surgeon in London.

I do however feel I need to give a special mention to one particular amazing person, Dr Duffield. I have been treated by Dr Duffield a few times now and I can't praise enough. Not only is Dr Duffield respectful towards me- which is unfortunately not always the case-  Dr Duffield goes above and beyond to ensure I am made comfortable and treated quickly so that I can leave and go back home, until the next time!

An additional complication is that inhale the worst veins known to man and have often been cannulated in the feet. Dr Duffield has spent some time looking at my arms and has now found a good vein that can be used when I go in.

Dr Duffield is now liaising with my hepatologist to 'tweak' my care plan so that the information needed is readily available for all staff when I attend. This is a huge amount of progress for me and will make my visits much shorter lived and hopefully prevent me from having to feel guilty about taking up a bed and taking up valuable time of the staff.

There are many other excellent members of staff I have come across, a nurse, Nikki, HCA named Emma, both of whom have been very kind to me.