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Care Opinion

I was in very safe hands

Posted By John McLean

"I was in very safe hands"

About: NHS 24 / NHS 24 (111 service) Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh at Little France / Accident & Emergency Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh at Little France / Cardiology & Coronary Care Unit Scottish Ambulance Service / Emergency Ambulance

(as the patient),

For several weeks leading up my hospital admission, I had been increasingly becoming short of breath, lethargic, no appetite, coughing and feeling generally unwell. This situation culminated in my wife phoning 111 on the Sunday morning, explained the situation and then handing the phone to me. I answered a few questions and was told help was on the way. Within minutes a"first responder" arrived and closely behind him an ambulance. After some attention at home, l was taken to the A and E department resussitation unit  at the royal infirmary. I cannot praise enough the attention and treatment i was given there, the staff were very reassuring, professional and friendly, l felt l was in very safe hands. After a few hours l was transfered to the Cardiac care unit ward 114, where again the staff were superb, my treatment was of the highest standard and my recovery was made easier with their constant care and attention. I was transfered again on after a few days to ward 103. This is the only part of my recovery l feel was a let down. The staff were definitely busier with much less time spent with each patient, I decided to be totaly honest in this report and if the situation in this ward is "the norm" then i can understand the concerns of the public towards the N.H.S. Lastly my wife and l would like to reiterate our thanks and deep appreciation to all staff during my time in hospital.

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Responses

Response from Shona Lawrence, Clinical Governance Lead, Nursing and Care, NHS 24 5 years ago
Shona Lawrence
Clinical Governance Lead, Nursing and Care,
NHS 24

Submitted on 19/03/2019 at 15:24
Published on Care Opinion at 16:28

picture of Shona Lawrence

Hi John

Thanks for sharing your experience on Care Opinion. It is great to read your positive comments in relation to the care you received. I hope your recovery continues and you are well on the mend. I see you feel let down in relation to your care on Ward 103 and I am sure my colleagues within NHS Lothian will be disappointed that you had a negative experience.

It sounds as though this has been a difficult time for you, and for your wife. I wish you both well. At times like this, it is especially good of patients to take the time to provide feedback. Thanks for specifically mentioning your call to NHS 24 on 111. It would be good to share your story with the staff involved in your care here at NHS 24, so if you would be good enough to contact me directly, I would be delighted to hear from you. My direct phone number is 0141 337 4582 or email at patientaffairs@nhs24.scot.nhs.uk. I will however share your story more widely within NHS 24 so that staff are reminded of the important role they have in providing an overall positive patient experience.

Thanks again for getting in touch.

Take care

Shona

Shona Lawrence

NHS 24 Patient Affairs Manger

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Response from Shona Lawrence, Clinical Governance Lead, Nursing and Care, NHS 24 5 years ago
Shona Lawrence
Clinical Governance Lead, Nursing and Care,
NHS 24

Submitted on 20/03/2019 at 09:36
Published on Care Opinion at 10:12

picture of Shona Lawrence

Dear John

Thanks so much for contacting me today. It was a pleasure to speak with you. Thanks also for sharing some further detail which will enable me to identify the staff here at NHS 24 who managed the call your wife made to 111 on your behalf. We do feel it is hugely important that our staff receive any complimentary feedback on the service they provide to patients and callers.

Thanks also for agreeing to allow me to share your details with NHS Lothian which I will do today.

I am pleased you are doing well and I extend my best withes to both you and your wife.

With regards

Shona

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Response from Alan Martin, Patient Experience Manager, Corporate Affairs and Engagement, Scottish Ambulance Service 5 years ago
Alan Martin
Patient Experience Manager, Corporate Affairs and Engagement,
Scottish Ambulance Service

Submitted on 25/03/2019 at 06:56
Published on Care Opinion at 14:48

picture of Alan Martin

Dear John,

Thank you so much for taking the time to share your feedback on CareOpinion. I am sorry to read that you have had this episode and required a stay in hospital. Breathlessness can be really quite frightening. I am really pleased however to read that the feedback you have provided on the whole has been very positive and the care was of a standard you describe. I do hope that our crews also provided you with the same care whilst treating and transporting you.

I do hope that you are feeling much better and are on the road to a full recovery.

Thanks again for your feedback and I wish you and your family all the very best.

Kind Regards

Alan

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Response from Gina Alexander, Director, Care Opinion Scotland, Care Opinion 5 years ago
Gina Alexander
Director, Care Opinion Scotland,
Care Opinion

I'm one of the Care Opinion Team, leading the work in Scotland!

Submitted on 26/03/2019 at 10:54
Published on Care Opinion at 10:57

picture of Gina Alexander

Hi there "John"

Here to tell you that we make a mistake. We didn't identify the right services in ERI and so the cardiology team didn't know you had shared a story until today.

My apologies to you and to the ERI team (who pointed out our mistake) - I know they are so disappointed not to be able to respond to you more quickly but that's on us.

So glad you are feeling better, long may that continue.

Apologies again.

All the best

Gina

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Response from Sara Ross, Senior Charge Nurse, Cardiology, Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, NHS Lothian 5 years ago
Sara Ross
Senior Charge Nurse, Cardiology,
Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, NHS Lothian

Submitted on 26/03/2019 at 11:12
Published on Care Opinion at 15:19

Dear John

Thank you for your feedback. I am sorry to hear that you have been unwell and had what must have been a frightening experience, but I am glad you had prompt treatment and are now on the road to recovery and I hope you are now getting back to normal.

I was very disappointed to hear, that you felt 'let down' when you were transferred to 103 and I would like to be able to look into this in more detail with you if possible so that we can identify any specific areas that made you feel that way. In learning from your experience I can ensure measure are put in place to prevent this happening again in the future.

You are right to say that ward 103 is an extremely busy environment and certainly the nurse to patient ratio is reduced slightly when you leave a high dependency area such as the Coronary Care Unit (ward 114) as in all wards throughout the RIE. However, despite this I feel that the highly specialised nursing staff of ward 103 are still able to provide a very high standard of patient care, so I was disappointed to hear that this was not your experience.

If you would like to discuss this further with me, please call me on 0131 242 1033 or 0131 242 1031. I would really like to have the opportunity to investigate this further. I am available today, Friday, Saturday & Sunday this week, or Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday next week (week beginning 1/4/19).

Best wishes

Sara Ross

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