"Experience of emergency admission"

Thank you to the team on the surgical assessment suite who saw me very quickly after I was sent by my GP with what had seemed a simple ear infection. They identified it had developed into cellulitis and treated me quickly but with care and compassion and I was admitted to ward 10 without delay.

Thank you to the sucurity staff who gave me reassurance and helped me sort out my car parking as I had driven to the hospital and had not expected to stay in, which resolved my worries about my car being in the car park for days

Thank you to the team on ward 10 for their care and treatment. They were reassuring, responsive and caring including accommodating my IV intervention times around when I could get my children brought in for a visit, which meant my children's anxiety about mum being ill (which is extremely rare) was kept to a minimum.

All the staff I met during my stay were friendly, helpful, skilled and compassionate offering reassurance and good care. No doubt the ward, like all services has challenges with staffing but clearly communicated well and was supported by other teams when needed. The mixed gender of patients was managed well even if people were visible to each other as all the room doors open onto the main ward corridor.

Overall my experience of having to be in hospital was positive both in terms of clinical treatment, but also in terms of the emotional reassurance given to me. I spend my working life in hospitals as a psychiatric nurse but when the role is reversed and you become the person who feels very unwell, disempowered, frightened and in pain, I was greatly reassured and cared for extremely well by a team of nurses who demonstrated all the attributes that embody good nursing care and remind me why I am so proud to be part of our profession.

Thank you to all I had contact with during my stay