"7 week old daughter's stay in Wagtail Ward"

Anything else?

My daughter Olivia was admitted to Wagtail ward on Saturday 23rd February with Meningitis. Naturally this was a very worrying time for my wife and I with our daughter being so young and we were extremely distressed. Thanks to the Staff Nurse on duty that evening when we received the news, she was excellent in reassuring our concerns with her calm and personable approach. Olivia was particularly poorly at this time and was made as comfortable as she could be the Staff Nurse and other members of staff on shift that night. Olivia’s care was exceptional during her week long stay and her separate room was very comfortable, cleaned daily & kept tidy.

The doctor gave us a daily account of Olivia’s process and really took the time to explain the complexities of Meningitis, the testing processes to identify the bug/strain and also the strategy for treating the illness. Thankfully Olivia responded well to the treatment &anti biotic’s and we were able to bring her home for home leave on her 6th day overnight and then bring her back to hospital on the 7th day when she was formally discharged from the hospital, with the reassurance of 48 hour access to return to the assessment wing in the Children’s wards Penguin should we have any concerns.

I really couldn’t speak highly enough of the staff working on Wagtail Ward and would hope that this post may be of comfort to other parents whose children need to stay at Basildon hospital, as all too often people are quick to criticise when they are not satisfied, so I think it’s equally important to recognise and praise excellent care when it is received.

In addition to the Staff Nurse, I would also like to say a special thank you to staff on Penguin and the lady from SLH who always offered to give us a break to pop up to the canteen/to grab a cup of coffee.

Best wishes to all and thank you for the excellent care provided.

If you could let me know of any ways in which my wife and I could provide any support to your department in terms of fundraising or toy donations etc please let me know as we would be happy to assist in any way we can.