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Treated me with compassion

Posted By Dionnex

"Treated me with compassion"

About: NHS 24 Western General Hospital / GP Out of Hours Service (Lothian Unscheduled Care Service)

(as a service user),

I had to call NHS 24. I had a bad urine infection. NHS 24 was busy, but it was worth the wait because on the other end of the phone I was treated with such kindness and compassion. The call handler Rachel I spoke to was so kind when she was trying to speak to the nurse about my symptoms she was always asking if I was ok and to say if I needed her. She got me seen at Out of Hours at the Western General Hospital. The doctor I saw was so kind. He was understanding about everything that was going on and he did everything possible to try and get me a bit more comfortable and respect my wishes that I wanted to stay at home rather than be in hospital. He offered me pain relief straight away and then gave me a stronger antibiotic with some antisickness tablets that dissolve to see if that would make things manageable and told me if I started vomiting it would likely be a hospital admission. Within half an hour of being seen I was home and tucked up in bed. This might mean nothing to some people but to me it means a lot. I was treated with compassion and both NHS 24 and the doctor I seen at out of hours both listened to me and took me seriously. I appreciate it so much and you don’t know how helpful you have been when things have been really rubbish. You are all angels.

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Responses

Response from Shona Lawrence, Clinical Governance Lead, Nursing and Care, NHS 24 3 years ago
Shona Lawrence
Clinical Governance Lead, Nursing and Care,
NHS 24

Submitted on 11/10/2021 at 14:56
Published on Care Opinion at 14:56

picture of Shona Lawrence

Hi Dionnex

I'm really sorry to learn you have had symptoms of a bad urine infection which sounds quite debilitating. I hope you are well on the mend and feeling so much better.

How kind of you to take the time and effort to thank the staff involved in your care. It sounds as though everyone you spoke with, or came into contact with, had your best interests at heart and listened to your needs, especially in relation to your wish to stay at home.

I'm sorry though for any extended wait time you had to get through to NHS 24. We are exceptionally busy as you can imagine, however our staff are doing a tremendous job of managing as many calls as safely and effectively as possible. We understand waiting to get through can be frustrating and we are working hard to try to reduce the wait times.

It would be great to share your kind words with Rachel who managed your call to 111. If you would be so kind as to contact me directly, then I would do this. I'm sure she would be delighted! You can contact me on 07814 299944. If not up to calling, drop me an email at Patient.Experience@nhs24.scot.nhs.uk with your details and I will ensure this is passed on.

The LUCS Out of Hours GP sounds like a huge credit to NHS Lothian. I'm sure he will be equally delighted to see your positive comments.

Thanks again for getting in touch and best wishes for a full and speedy recovery.

Kind regards

Shona

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Response from Shona Lawrence, Clinical Governance Lead, Nursing and Care, NHS 24 3 years ago
Shona Lawrence
Clinical Governance Lead, Nursing and Care,
NHS 24

Submitted on 11/10/2021 at 17:37
Published on Care Opinion at 17:37

picture of Shona Lawrence

Hi D

Thanks so much for getting in touch with me directly. It was a pleasure to speak with you. Thanks also for your complimentary feedback on our service on each occasion you have had to call. I'm sorry to learn of your ongoing health issues and I wish you well.

From our chat, it's clear that you feel absolutely involved in your care which is fantastic to hear. Patient's often know what's best for them, so I'm pleased you have felt involved and listened to.

I will certainly ensure your kind comments are shared with Rachel. I will also share your story more widely within NHS 24. It's great for our staff to see positve comments on the excellent service they provide.

Take care meantime and don't hesitate to contact 111 if required.

Kind regards

Shona

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Response from Jeannette Morrison, Head of Patient Experience, NHS Lothian 3 years ago
Jeannette Morrison
Head of Patient Experience,
NHS Lothian

Submitted on 14/10/2021 at 16:47
Published on Care Opinion at 16:47

Hi Dionnex,

Thank you for getting in touch with us and sorry to hear you had developed a bad urine infection. I was really pleased to hear of the help and support that you received via NHS 24 and Rachel in particular.

Thank you for your kind comments regarding the out of hours team at the Western General Hospital and I have shared your lovely feedback with them, who I am sure will be delighted to read your kind words. As Shona has already indicated the clinical services continue to be exceptionally busy so it is especially nice when people take the time to let us know of their experiences, especially when things went well for them and this meant for you being able to go home after being seen and treated by the team.

I do hope that you are continuing to feel better and thank you again for getting in touch.

Kind regards

Jeannette

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