"A&E and 3 day stay in acute medical ward"

Anything else?

On 18th March my husband arrived at A&E resus. via ambulance. Thanks to excellent communication between the ambulance paramedics and A&E, there was no delay in seeing to him. He had suffered a head injury and was bleeding badly from deep cut to his scalp.

The nurse looking after him introduced herself and kept me fully informed about the tests and treatment that were given. She also made sure that, when she went off duty, she introduced me to her replacement so that I felt I always had a definite person to refer to when I had any questions. I do not have any other experience of emergency A&E at RLI but I found this particular point to be very important to me and something I have certainly not found in other hospitals.

The Doctor who dealt with my husband was kind and very communicative. He explained the tests that were done and let me know that he had obtained advice from a neurosurgeon at Preston on what action to take over the CT scan result. His honest and straightforward approach was very much appreciated.

I was not aware of any undue delay in A&E for my husband, although there were other patients waiting on trolleys in the corridor. There was some wait for the CT scan but there were other patients who also needed that test. When the Doctor decided that my husband should be admitted to the Acute Medical Ward we were warned that there may be several hours wait because the ward was full. In fact we waited less than one hour. During this time my husband "came to" fully and the nurse saw to getting him a sandwich and a cup of tea because he had not eaten since breakfast and, by then, it was about 8.30pm.

My thanks to all concerned. We are equally happy with the AMW and will review that separately .

From a management point of view, the reason that the 'recommend to friends and family ' is not five star is that the hospital was clearly full. I recognize that there are severe financial constraints on all NHS trusts and, having worked as a manager in the public service myself, I know that meeting both the demands of the politicians and the public is ny on impossible, but it is important to have courage and remain true to your mission.