"Admission to Ninewells Hospital following Heart Attack"

In late March I was admitted to Ninewells following a tightening in my chest and subsequent GP referral to the Acute Medical Unit. I was seen very quickly by Dr Robert who spent some time gaining an understanding of what had happened to me before taking blood samples which confirmed that a heart attack had occurred. Following a chest x-ray, ECG and blood sugar test, Dr. Robert calmly talked me through what had happened and what I could expect during my admission. I was given aspirin and an injection of fondaparinux. I felt very reassured after speaking with Dr. Robert and satisfied that he was able to answer all of my questions. I was then handed over to a cardiologist (Dr. Cissy I think) who worked diligently to find me a bed as the hospital was very busy that evening and I was admitted to Ward 1 later. 

On my arrival to Ward 1 I was made comfortable by the staff on duty who fitted me with a heart rate monitor and took a series of observations. Although I didn't get much sleep during the night, I was pleased to see that my BP had begun to fall as I had been troubled with stubbornly high (around 155mmHg for a seven day average) systolic pressure for more than a year prior to my admission. On the Wednesday I was seen by your Registrar Dr. Khan who once again confirmed that I had had a heart attack and that I would need an angiogram and echocardiogram to further understand what had happened and if any damage had occurred. Dr. Khan also prescribed bisoprolol for me and I noticed that my BP continued to drop towards the normal level. I was told that I wouldn't get either the angiogram or echo that day but was encouraged that my BP continued to fall. On the Thursday the staff on duty kept me fully informed of how the angio lab were progressing through their list and although I wasn't originally on the list, thanks to Nurse Sarah's efforts I was taken down late that afternoon. I was quite anxious about this procedure however the staff in the lab were so kind and understanding that I eventually calmed down, albeit with the assistance of a small dose of diazepam. During the procedure itself I didn't feel a thing and the lab staff told me immediately what they had found and that I didn't need any surgery (e.g. angioplasty). I was told before the procedure that I might be left with bruising however this did not materialise and four days later even the catheter holes on my wrist have healed up. About 4 hours after the angio I noticed a strange blurring in my vision which I reported to Nurse Chala. She bleeped the on duty doctor who came to see me quickly and did some checks to rule out the possibility that I had had a stroke. Again I felt very reassured by the attention I was given. On the Friday morning Chala took my BP again and I was absolutely delighted to learn that my systolic pressure had fallen to 110mmHg. Later that morning Dr. Khan saw me again and we discussed the results of the angiogram. He confirmed that I would need an echocardiogram before I could be discharged and promised me that he would do this himself if the echo lab were too busy to see me. In the end I was taken down to the echo lab after lunch and was given the very reassuring news that damage to my heart tissue had been minimal. Within a few minutes of my return to Ward 1, one of the on duty doctors advised that she had checked the echo report and that I could be discharged. Nurse Sarah already had my meds made up and the discharge letter set up, so I was ready to be discharged around 15:30. 

These days it seems that the media is full of negative reports of patient's experiences with the NHS, however my own experience was in sharp contrast to these. From the moment I arrived until the time I was discharged I felt that I was in good hands and that my needs were being met. Even the food was good! I have been left with the impression that Ninewells Hospital is a well managed facility with dedicated staff and state of the art equipment and I feel very grateful to have been treated there last week.

My only suggestion for improvement concerns the operating hours for the angio and echo labs, as I understand that these only operate on a Monday to Friday basis. I also understand that here is a backlog of outpatients who need these procedures and thought that this might be tackled by offering the staff in both labs the opportunity to work a few weekends (with appropriate compensation of course!) to bring the backlog down. No doubt you have considered this option already however it seemed like a potential opportunity to me.