"My stay at Ward 7 with severe pneumonia"

Dear Sir/madam

I was recently admitted through your A&E dept to Ward 7 

I would like to relay my experience before too much time passes and I end up doing nothing.

I was in A&E for quite some time and had chest xray and other tests which found a severe pneumonia in my right lung so I was told I would have a bed in the ward indicated above.

I can not say how impressed I was with the nurses and staff that looked after me in particular Pepe and Dexter who gave up unconditionally their time and care when ever it was needed.

It was a whole new environment to me and I spent a lot of A&E time laying on a temporary bed eyes closed just listening to the nurses, orderly s and medics all getting along using banter to get through difficult times and handle difficult patients. It felt like a well oiled machine and as it got increasingly busy they just stepped up a notch and kept up the unstoppable care and just coped. I felt the stress of how many cases they had to deal with but always felt safe and relieved I was there being looked after by them. A nice nurse came in and gave me my first antibiotic and explained the noises outside and that I would be soon moved upstairs to Ward 7.

On my arrival there I was yet again pleasantly surprised and immediately reassured that I was safe and in the right place. Pepe and Dexter’s care was second to none and once under their care they became worth watching even though I felt very ill I observed 2 men at the top of their game working seamlessly together with humour and mutual respect fro each other.

As the days and nights passed I enjoyed their soft gentle tones and almost sixth sense when it came to care and professionalism with us all. Nothing was too much problem and they would often be addressing more than one patients queries or demands at a time in perfect coordination. Those 2 are worth, well are priceless!

When the day staff arrived they also did not disappoint Nina particularly shone out and a male nurse I think was in charge like Nina but on a different day dark hair spoke with a South London accent I think could have been East End in his early Thirties again someone who you could tell chose this line of work like Nina who enjoyed helping people and making their stay as easy as possible.

A new nurse in white I think her name was Pauline had fantastic patience with one particularly demanding patient. But she listened every time to his queries and requests with humour and amusement. You could see she knew how to handle each situation and had adopted the right attitude to see her have a successful career in nursing showed her human side effortlessly which is what we as patients are looking for I think.

The head nurse in blue quite a tall lady was a very pleasant lady to be around and ran things with a confidence in her staff that was also reassuring. You could tell she was there to put people on the straight and narrow if they needed it but if they did not she allowed them to do what they learnt unhindered. She was a wonderfully self-deprecating jolly person with a motherly demeanour but still with a mischievous sense of humour.

There was the odd nurse there who you could tell felt she had done enough and that other nurses were doing too much and making too much of the job and this nurse was by no means a bad nurse but standing next to the ones I have indicated they just were not in the same league.

All in all it was something to be proud of and something I did not expect to come out of this experience. I do not know what I thought it would be like but I did not expect to see say Pepe gently speaking italian and humming whilst stroking a dying patient’s hand until his family came and stepping back in when they needed a break and back out again. What a man and what a job they all do...

Of course the doctors were also great and I appreciate were very busy so I did not see too much of them but when I needed one say in the night a young doctor came to me and made some good decisions as regard my antibiotics after I suffered some temperature spikes. Again I was left just feeling that I was in the right place.

Thank you all for looking after me. On my return to work next week I will be sure to pass on my praises for you all and the struggling needs of the NHS. Its such a shame that driven people like yourselves should be continually squeezed by government cuts etc.

Yours very sincerely