"My first ever admission to hospital"

In February I recently had my first encounter with any Emergency Department - The Emergency Department at  The Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow. I presented in excruciating pain. 

The Triage Nurse, Caroline, was very empathetic to what she had seen in my obvious distress. She treated me with respect and dignity throughout and went above and beyond to ensure that one of the doctors could, as far as was possible in a busy ED, see me as soon as possible in order to at least initially render appropriate pain relief.

Thereafter I was seen by a lovely doctor, Victoria, who was quick to take a preliminary history and administer analgesia and once this had taken effect she proceeded with a thorough and appropriate clinical examination. She was kind, empathetic and kept me up-dated as to the next steps at all times.

Investigations were ordered quickly and an Orthopaedic opinion was sought. The Orthopaedic Registrar, Vicki, and her Orthopaedic colleague, Francis, were, like the other staff I'd encountered very pleasant, engaged, professional and extremely easy to speak to with a view to formulating a considered forward plan.

Before leaving ED, a very nice ED nurse, Leanne, made sure I had my needs met in terms of analgesia and provided additional medication to try to reach a more comfortable position. I was very impressed with my transit through the ED at the QE.

Next, I was transferred up to Ward 10D for admission. The staff on Ward 10D were fantastic. I particularly must mention Maureen, the Ward Sister, she was very kind, welcoming, had a very pleasant demeanour and was keen to let me know that if I needed anything she was there. Through my stay on Ward 10D I noticed that her troubleshooting skills were perfectly honed - she rapidly found appropriate solutions to problems or barriers that seemed to be in the way of moving care forward. Her common sense, hands-on approach was a complete asset certainly to the running of my ward care.

I had a brief encounter with another nurse, Karen, who was also very nice and had a solution-based approach to tackling problems.

At night on Ward 10D, the Healthcare Assistant (HCA), Annie, and nurse Isabel, were excellent - they could not have been nicer and were only too happy to get their hands dirty in order to make me feel comfortable and looked after. They are a complete tonic to that ward. I enjoyed seeing Annie coming back on a night.

The HCA's Karen and Carolanne, were also excellent and I witnessed several occasions when they went above and beyond their requisite roles. They were such pleasant women and had plenty of chat as part of their overall lovely personalities. Like Annie, they clearly have naturally caring personas.

Additionally, the Ward 10D Kitchen Assistant, Lucas, was a very pleasant and hardworking lad, nothing was too much trouble for him and he did his work enthusiastically and with a smile on his face. You could see that he took pride in his work. 

The Facilities Assistant, Paull, was also another pleasant member of the Ward 10D family and I had several chats with her whilst she went about her work. I could tell that she knew the requirements of her role and she did not cut any corners in fulfilling her duties. I could see that she also took pride in what she did.

I only briefly met Fiona, the Ward Clerkess, and she came across as being a helpful and nice lady too.

When I went to QE main theatre, the two theatre porters who brought me to and from theatre, Rhona and Louise, could not have been nicer. They were patient with my limited ability to mobilise and nothing was too much trouble for them.

Finally, the staff of Theatre 14 at the QE must get a mention. They were a very pleasant, caring, friendly team of nurses, HCA's and an ODP. They were clearly very good at what they do day-in day-out. I would also like to personally thank the Spinal Surgeon, Odhrán for his down-to-earth, friendly and personable approach with all of his dealing with me. He is clearly very busy but he has that skill of not letting his patients see that.

Overall, I had a great experience as what was my first, and hopefully my only, admission to hospital. Keep up the good work QEUH. The Health Secretary of the Scottish Government needs to know that Scotland's tax revenues are being well-spent.