"My mother, Betty, 86, was admitted ..."

What I liked

My mother, Betty, 86, was admitted with pneumonia on March 20. I live in the U.S., but as soon as I arrived, a nurse met and directed me and had clearly been very attentive to my mother's needs. As the week progressed, the nurse kept me informed and was clearly well attuned to my mother and her condition. There were other nurses on the ward too who were kind, nurturing and ever helpful and attentive (but whose names I did not collect). My mother passed away in my presence on March 26th and the respect, kindness and sympathy shown by all was very heartwarming.

My compliments to all. In these days of financial constraints and heavier workloads it was very gratifying to see such positive human traits as respect, caring and empathy for patients and their relatives.

What could be improved

Although my experience was very positive while my mother was alive, I then had a very distressing time trying to obtain a death certificate in a timely manner. My mother died at 1pm on a Friday and nothing was done for the rest of the day. On Monday I spent 4 hours chasing down doctors (we were trying to get a response from one of 6 doctors) with the assistance of the very able and concerned sister. The Bereavement Office staff said this was a frequent occurrence. This shows a lack of basic communication and workflow management. I expected more.

Staff in the patient liaison office however, were very respondive, understanding and proactive: I look forward to a report on workflow and communications improvements at this hospital