"Outstanding service at Minor Injuries Unit"

My son injured his ankle during a rugby match.

I phoned 111, and was advised to take him to hospital for assessment and X-Rays.

I opted to take him to the minor injuries unit at Deal Hospital, rather than my local A&E at QEQM.

When we arrived, my son was checked in immediately and shown through to a clean, comfortable, well decorated waiting room.

With 5 or 6 minutes, we were called through to the main treatment area where my son was assessed straight away.

He needed an X-Ray.

The Nurse Practitioner provided him with crutches, ensured they were the correct size for him and that he knew how to use them, so that he was able to walk to the X-Ray department in comfort.

When we arrived at X-Ray, my son was called through within 5 minutes to have his X-Ray done.

By the time we returned to the Minor Injuries Unit, the staff already has his X-Ray up on the computer screen and were assessing it.

They even invited my son to look at it with them, and showed him what was what.

Luckily there was no fracture and it was only a soft tissue injury, so after another coaching session on how to use the crutches properly, he was discharged.

We were back home again within a couple of hours of me calling 111 .... we would probably still be sat in the waiting room had we gone to QEQM.

The hospital at Deal is extremely clean and in exceptionally good decorative order considering the age of the building, and all staff are friendly and helpful. As a former staff nurse, I couldn't help but notice the happy atmosphere among staff of all disciplines, as well as among the members of the public in attendance there. It is a hospital to be very proud of.