"Thank you all for taking such good care of me."

What I liked

Within 3 minutes of being delivered to A&E by two lovely paramedics, I was being attended to by a nurse and a doctor and given IV anti-sickness, pain relief and fluids, and within an hour or so was transferred to the medical assessment unit where I was greeted by a nurse with the words "welcome, would you like anything to eat or drink?" (It was 1.15 am!) I was attended by a doctor around 3am to be told test results and diagnosis/treatment, and they asked if I was comfortable and whether there was anything more they could do for me. My fluid drip was removed promptly when it finished. I was frequently offered hot drinks through the night, and at 7am the tea trolley came round and again every hour or so thereafter offering drinks, cakes and biscuits. I was offered a choice of breakfast and the porridge was perfect. Even the ward cleaner asked if I was ok and did I need anything. My bed was changed and my water jug replaced. I was told at 11 am I was to be discharged after lunch (think they wanted to see I ate something before I left) and within 5 minutes of finishing my meal, which was delicious, was collected by the ambulance crew and returned to my front door with 3 prescription items at no charge. I have never felt better cared for, even at a private hospital costing thousands of pounds.

What could be improved

In my experience I cannot think of anything that could have been done better.

Anything else?

I heard two ladies complaining about a third patient's treatment because the patient was very obviously in pain. The doctor explained that everything that could be done was being done, and whilst they understood their concerns they wanted to reassure them that the very ill patient had been given every possible medication and was being kept as comfortable as they could manage. As that patient was in the bed beside me I know this was true. Another patient was very rude towards two of the nurses when they tried to administer pain relief which she had demanded and was very quickly prescribed by a doctor, to the point of telling them she didn't want them looking after her. Their polite response of please don't speak to us like this when we are only trying to help you belied the hurt on their faces when they left her bedside but they remained calm and professional at all times which can't have been easy. I made sure I said thank you for taking care of me which I hope went some way to redressing the balance. These wonderful people do a sterling job despite working long hours under pressure and I thank each and every one of them.