"Justified praise for the NHS"

Anything else?

I write to let you know how impressed my wife and I were with all aspects of the NHS who treated me from about 8pm to midnight on Christmas Day. I was having difficulty breathing and we dialled 999. A volunteer paramedic arrived within 3 minutes , followed shortly by a paramedic in a ambulance car. Shortly thereafter came a full ambulance with a crew of two. Between them all I was virtually breathing normally, all tests for body functions had been taken and then, on the way to the hospital, a short ECG was taken. I was in the hands of a young lady in the ambulance - she was still a trainee but to my mind, she was very efficient and the driver was right to leave her in charge of me. We arrived at Poole Hospital and, after a short wait in the queue, I was handed over to the A & E staff. This was Christmas Day, bear in mind, and we heard constant wishes of 'Merry Christmas' and but no grumbles were heard. I was given excellent attention by the Staff nurse and Health Care Assistant who seemed perfectly happy to be working on such a day. As one remarked, 'we accept this when we joined up' and that seemed to be the normal feeling. I then had a full ECG and, in due course, a chest x-ray. I was seen by a doctor who decided that I, should I feel happy so to do, was fit to be discharged. We left and I drove my wheelchair outside and into our car with further assistance from the gent in charge of the car park who told my wife to park outside the A&E 'where the police usually park'. He kept an eye on the proceedings through the CCTV. This is what I wrote to Jeremy Hunt, Minister for Health and I have included everything to you so you can see what extraordinarily good treatment I received from every aspect of the NHS with which I came into contact. Virtually all the staff greeted me and my wife with a cheery 'Happy Christmas' and I heard no grumbling whatsoever. You may think it strange that the doctor left it it virtually in my hands whether I should be admitted or discharged. This however, was a wise decision to make as I am a paraplegic of some 46 years experience and have been treated for double pneumonia by Poole Hospital in the past. I have a restricted lung capacity and know my own health or poor health remarkably well. I had to wait to see the doctor but I was kept in touch all the time and told when I would be delayed firstly by the admission of a baby with croup and secondly by a trauma incident. Your staff were all busy but remarkably cheerful and I hope you can let them know how much we appreciated the service we received. With my heartfelt thanks and very best wishes for a Peaceful, Prosperous and Healthy New Year.