"Brilliant at August Bank Holiday"

On Saturday, 23rd August I fell from some step ladders at home and broke my left hip. A traumatic event for me, a 66 year-old who has never spent a night in hospital. The realisation that my holiday to Italy the following day would be impossible did little to raise my spirits on my way to A&E in the ambulance. A seriously painful night on Saturday was only alleviated by the care of the staff on Maple Orthopaedic ward. Their kindness, care and optimism enabled me to get over this first awful night. You read so many negative things about the NHS and it seems balanced reporting never has to get in the way of a good story. The nursing care that I received on my first night was excellent – doing their best to keep the pain at bay whilst keeping my spirits high – not an easy balancing act. An early operation the next day, even though it was a bank holiday, and some positive thinking on both my part and that of the staff, saw me ready to come home two days post op. I didn’t get discharged until three days post op but that was because of the insistence of the physios that I had to be fully mobile, pass a test to that effect and that the specialist equipment I needed was in place at my home. I found my experiences at the Cumberland Infirmary to be remarkable thanks to the exceptional, dedicated, professional and efficient staff. It seemed to me that all the staff wanted to be there even though it was a bank holiday weekend. From A&E to the Orthopaedic ward to Physiotherapy to Occupational Therapy it was a first class performance. Many thanks to everyone .