"Ward 21 Mrs Margaret Parkin"

My sister, Mrs. Margaret Parkin, aged 80, was admitted to ward 21 on Thursday 27th August 2015. She had only recently lost her husband to terminal cancer at another hospital and received the sad news that she also had gyneological cancer. Unfortunately she passed away on the 14th September, a combination of the rapid spread of the cancer and her own wish eventually to slip away peacefully and rejoin her late husband and son.

Throughout her time on ward 21 she was always treated with the greatest dignity, courtesy, respect, devotion and genuine affection by all staff at all levels, and it was comforting for her and her relatives to know that she was in such excellent hands.

As visitors my wife, Lynne, and I were always made to feel at home by everyone on the ward, and especially during Margaret's last hours no effort was spared to enable us to share her remaining time with us.

After she passed away the care and consideration shown to us by ward staff was exceptional and we felt that they had lost someone dear to them, as well as us.

I must also commend the staff in the bereavement centre for their sympathetic and caring support afterwards, especially in the practical aspect of making appointments for us to receive the doctors certificate and register the death with convenient timings enabling us to only need one visit to Gateshead for this purpose.

Also whenever we were passing through the corridors of the hospital every member of staff we passed always smiled and spoke, very commendable.

I can only conclude that while we don't wish to have to endure the sad loss of a relative in similar circumstances again I can't think that it is possible to find anywhere else where the high standards of care could be surpassed.