"Thanks from the bottom of our hearts"

3 years ago my son had the most awful experience as an in-patient in hospital through lack of compassion, lack of understanding and a few judgemental staff, as a result he took a long time to get his confidence back and his self-esteem was badly affected, but close working with the school we managed to build it back up again but took around a year to do so. However, he was admitted with suspected appendicitis which turned out not to be on 2 occassions last week and his experience was by far, a completely different one. You really would have thought we were in a different hospital!

From presenting at the GP to being referred into the Assessment Unit and transferred onto the ward, he was cared for and supported through his journey. Nothing was too much hassle, despite the place being very busy.

The GP, the Assessment Unit nurses and doctors, the childrens ward nurses and nursing assistants, the medical students, the day shift surgeons, the orthopaedic doctors, the porters, the housekeeping staff, and even the hospital teacher Lizzie. My son's experience in his own words was "Mum, I was scared people wouldn't believe me like last time but they really did do everything to help make me feel better..." Now that is progress, definitely a different environment to be a patient in.

I would also like to mention the support the student nurses appear to get in the children's ward, as a by-stander, the nurses were encouraging and supporting the students, they were not doing all the mundane tasks, they were part of the team which was great to see. One student really stood out for us, Fiona, she was so caring, had time for both the patient and the parent and will make a fantastic nurse.

A lot of staff were involved with our son and it would be unfair to name them as I am sure I would forget to name someone. Thanks from the bottom of our hearts, you changed our sons negative view of the childrens ward to one where everyone matters regardless of their condition. Being at the age he is, it was really frustrating for him as we couldn't find a definitive reason for his pain, most likely muscoloskeletal, but the tests were repeated and no stone was left unturned.

I just wish everyone had as good an experience as we did recently, despite being exhausted and anxious.