"Doesn't need a sentence,when one word sums it up ...."

What I liked

My daughter was taken to casualty after a fall at a concert at Heaton Park resulting in deep lacerations to her chin and serious damage to her front teeth. The care she received in the Casualty department was excellent. All the staff that were involved in her visit, from the staff in reception to the doctor that treated her were extremely professional but also caring and sympathetic to both hers and my needs. In particular the nurse that 'repaired' her chin made a huge impression on us. She understood how my daughter was feeling, she put us both totally at ease and reassured us that everything would be ok. I would be extremely grateful if our gratitude could be fed back to both her and the department.

I am a senior manager in the NHS at a different Teaching Hospitals Trust so I do understand the pressures that all departments are under in providing excellent patient care. Experiencing the 'other side' as the parent of a distraught teenager was a side that I thankfully have rarely experienced but I can honestly say that my experience in Casualty at North Manchester General, and more importantly the experience of my daughter, showed that patient care is a priority to staff working in what must be very difficult circumstances.

I felt that it was extremely important that I fed back on our experiences as too often people only take the time to comment when they have a complaint !! My daughter is now well on the way to recovery and I'm sure that this has been made easier by the treatment and compassion that she received during her visit to the department.

Many, many thanks to every one involved from an extremely grateful parent.

What could be improved

From our experience there was nothing that needed improving. Yes we had to wait a while, but it wasn't an unreasonable wait and we understood that there were other patients that had greater needs than ours.