"Great care by neurosurgery team"

Our son was transferred to Royal London from UCH with a broken neck vertebra. The care he received from all the staff was superb and we thank the nurses, care staff and surgical team for their brilliant work in treating our son. He was discharged 9 days after arrival, well on the road to recovery, and we cannot fault the professionalism and support of the entire staff during his time at the hospital.

It is important to note the really helpful role played by the Clinical Nurse Specialist - it was invaluable to speak with the specialist nurse about the treatments because the consultants don't always have sufficient time to cover all the issues which relatives may have about what is happening. The Clinical Nurse Specialist's presence was really helpful to us as parents and the importance of this should not be underestimated; knowing what is happening and having someone explain things clearly and patiently is a vital part of having good communication and such specialist nurses should be maintained as a highly useful part of the patient care teams.

There is one area which could be improved and that is the passing of information from one team to another. A few times during the stay one member of the staff would say something which showed that they were not aware of the latest situation (e.g. whether 'nil by mouth' status, advice on when to drink water and how much to drink, what x-rays were required). Had we not been there to clear up some of these misunderstandings then a mistake could have been made and it seems that a better system of knowledge sharing should be looked into. The staff have so many things to do that it would help them as well in their busy shifts if it was easier to see the status of each patient and their needs. We appreciate the severe time pressure which the staff operate under and anything which would reduce the burden on them - e.g. simpler communication channels - should be looked at.

Overall, however, this point about communication should not overshadow the consistently brilliant care which our son received; thank you everyone!