"Ward 106 is a real credit to the hospital."

I was admitted to ward 106 from ward 117 (which was equally amazing) at the Royal Stoke.

My care on ward 106 was led by a senior staff nurse and their team.

The staff nurse's caring compassionate hardworking ethos was so refreshing to see and my anxiety of being in hospital from previous bad experiences was quickly abolished.

Every time the staff nurse came on shift they took the time to walk around the wards and if possible stop to speak to us and ask genuinely how are you feeling today?

Not just in my case but I saw the staff nurse caring for other patients in this exact same manner and was never faultered by the stress and bustle of the busy ward.

The nurses and nursing assistants are all amazing non without exception. If you needed anything such as pain relief or even an extra blanket they never made you wait long. They too spoke to us all each time they came on shift and took the time to get to know us as people and take interest in our likes and dislikes. They spent time caring for us not faultered by the several other buzzers going off at the same time as yours.

They would pop their heads round to see you to simply ask are you okay? You weren't afraid to ask questions about your medication and care because they made you feel so at ease.

It's quite obvious the services which are run in house by these dedicated amazing people compared to the ones which are outsourced to the external company sudexo I think they're called. Whilst even the sudexo staff who we saw on a day go day basis we're all really pleasant the services they provided were not so great.

The nurses and assistants quite often took it upon themselves to clean the bathroom or around your station for you because the contractors were so sparsely spread they hadn't had the time to address it.

The food was quite frankly abysmal. I have dietary requirements because of my gastrointestinal condition and they didn't cater too well for that or my ethnic needs. Whilst they did provide an ethnic menu the choices were rigid and the quality of the food was very hit and miss. I used to joke to the staff I'll pass on ordering from the cultural menu as I'm likely to develop diabetes and cholesterol from the oily food. It was really frustrating as Indian food when cooked properly has so many health benefits but non of these were mirrored in the food served in the cultural menu. After a while I'd decline on the meals and wait for my family to visit to bring me a day or couple of days supply. Although I have to say the nursing staff did offer to do a subway run for me on a couple of occasions which I thought was really kind.

I have to go back into hospital for a procedure in the near future and for the first time in a very long time I'm not afraid or worried about going into hospital because I know I'll be well looked after on ward 106.

They're an absolute credit to the organisation and I'd like to thank them all sincerely for everything they did for me. You're all incredible.