"Treatment upon the short illness and sad death..."

My 83 year old mother who suffers from frontal lobe dementia was admitted to your accident and emergency department on Wed 11th October following a fall where she lay all night. I was advised to take her myself by her GP as if we chose to wait for an ambulance it could take a while, so when I arrived at the hospital I ran into reception and explained my mum was in the car and had collapsed over night. The receptionist jumped up and ran around the counter and outside with me . They knocked on an ambulance door and quickly explained the situation to them. The immediately came to my car and assisted my mum into a wheel chair and into the hospital where we were taken to a room.

My mum then underwent various blood tests and x-rays and it was agreed by a very nice doctor that she was to be moved to the acute medical ward for observations.

We did wait a long while for a bed but everyone we saw treat my mother and myself, my sister and my daughter with the upmost care and respect.

She was then admitted to the ward by a very sympathetic and understanding nurse who reassured us she would be well taken care of over night.

The following day she was moved to ward 1 where a very understanding Doctor spoke to us all and advised they were not very happy with the blood results so would keep mum in for a few days just to be sure.

Mum had not been in hospital for over 30 years and was confused by the situation. However the staff were so friendly and considerate that she seemed to be enjoying her stay.

The ward rang me at 4.30am on the Sunday morning advising that mum had suffered a heart attack and that we should come immediately. We were seen by a Doctor who was very sympathetic but very clear about the situation which was what we wanted.

Over trhe next 2 days we spent in the hospital we witnessed the care and support everyone gave not only to mum and her family but to every person on that ward. The staff would often forget we were behind the curtain but we could clearly hear what was being said and the absolute patience the staff had with very confused and demanding patients. They often repeated the same thing over and over but not once did I witness a sharp tone in any of there voices.

Mum died at 10:00 pm on 16-10-2017. The health Care

Lee was around for the final few hrs and her care and understanding of a very difficult time was outstanding.

I wanted to take this opportunity to thank all those concerned on behalf of my family and to congratulate the University of Durham hospital for the significant quality of care they give to the elderly in our society.