"Excellent care at Worthing Hospital"

Dear Worthing Hospital, I'd like to thank you for taking care of me after I had suspected viral meningitis. Whilst I'm am still recovering from the viral illness, I'd like to thank the following teams / staff. The doctor who examined me at your A and E department on Saturday 27 Dec 2014 (approx 11:00 PM). Although I had to wait 5 hours on an uncomfortable chair to be seen , the doctor's examination of my vision problem (double vision) was thorough and his diagnosis of viral meningitis seems to be what subsequent doctors think I had. He was a friendly, warm and caring person as well. Thank you to him. He advised me to forget about work for the time being, to have plenty of rest and hydration. This doctor referred me on to your eye clinic. On Monday 29 Dec (2.00 PM) I visited the eye clinic and was seen by two consultant opticians, who fitted a temporary prism to my glasses which resolved the double vision. However, they were concerned the cause of my double vision may be something more serious so one of the opticians referred me on to Ambulatory Care that evening to get me checked out. I was really impressed with Ambulatory Care because everyone there was so nice to me (junior doctors, receptionists, nurses, who were friendly and calm, and two consultant doctors. As with every other departments, the quality of care was excellent and it seemed to me no stone was left unturned by undertaking various tests (blood tests, MRI scan, lumber puncture) to ensure the cause of my double vision was not caused by something more serious. I always thought MRI scans were reserved for really serious cases so I was thankful to have such cutting edge technology! The MRI scan showed small dots of inflammation, in particular in the PONS region, which the consultant explained was the cause of my double vision and the hope is the inflammation will get better in time and my eye sight will return to normal. I'm impressed that a discharge summary will be sent to my GP in a day or so, which I think is really good. DThe consultant said he will be writing to my GP which will take him a couple of days, which again is a very efficient and prompt service indeed. I need to visit my GP so I ideally need a summary of my hospitalisation to be sent to my GP as soon as possible. The staff in this department (as with the others) seemed to me to be very professional indeed. The junior doctors were very attentive and professional. I had to make a few trips back and fourth to the hospital during my illness (most of which was because I didn't want to stay overnight) however I feel so blessed that I live only 5 minutes drive away. I used to live in Horsham with the nearest hospital a 40 minute drive away (East Surrey in Redhill). Thank you for all your care throughout a difficult time. Keep up the excellent level of patient care. I'm really impressed. Adrian Horsfield