"Excellent staff and service."

My 86 year old mum was sent to A & E in an Ambulance by her GP because she was experiencing chest pain. Though she protested they were due to a long-standing condition that makes her prone to chest infections after a brief examination they insisted she went to hospital to double check it was not due to heart problems.

The ambulance staff were smiley and reassuring, very thorough when taking a history and carrying out their assessment,even repeating a couple of tests to make sure the results were consistent. They treated her with dignity and respect explaining the reason she needed to go to A & E to a very reluctant patient.

On arrival the hand-over to hospital staff was quick and she was soon seen by a triage nurse who did more assessments and explained the reasons behind the need to repeat tests she had had done at home. They took blood samples so carefully that there was no bleeding afterwards.

We were then sent to the waiting room where I was able to get her a drink of fresh cool water and she was soon called by a trainee Nurse practitioner who was excellent

. They took a very detailed history using sensitive questions to obtain the relevant information and carried out a very thorough physical examination and diagnosed that mum indeeed had a chest infection but explained this would need to be confirmed by an x-ray.

Off then to x-ray dept - taken by a lovely porter, seen very quickly and taken back by another really nice porter.

We then waited a while, but no more than 30 minutes, when the nurse returned they explained that all the tests had confirmed the diagnosis and having discussed the results with a consultant was able to proscribe appropriate medication. They kindly helped mum to the bathroom whilst I went to the pharmacy to get them.

I feel we saw the nhs at its best today and received excellent service from staff to be proud of.Thank-youi.