"Thank you"

We've been to the out of hours GP, Children's A&E and subsequently stayed on Starfish ward a few times since our son was born in June 2016. Staff have been nothing but amazing. We have always been able to make an out of hours Dr appointment within a few hours, who have always been great and very thorough with examinations. A&E does have long waiting times, with Dr's prioritising when you arrive at A&E over the severity of the sickness of the child. For example, my 3 month old had suspected meningitis, and a 4 year old with a sore wrist was seen before us. That was a little frustrating. However, after being pushy because I knew something was seriously wrong with my child, we were seen by a couple of extremely knowledgeable paediatricians, who also identified a skull problem with my child (it had previously been picked up on by HV, but nevertheless I was pleased that they also noticed this despite it having nothing to do with why we were there). Starfish Ward is amazing. We were there when I was just getting to grips with BF my son between 2 and 6 days old. They came and offered BF support whenever I needed it and we were given our own private room with bathroom for privacy as they understood I had just given birth. They asked questions about ourselves and made us feel so comfortable. The nurses were great. Everyone we met was so friendly, especially the student nurses. It's such a shame the NHS are under such pressure as they do such amazing work considering. That was the only down side. Consultants are extremely rushed and often don't have time to hear and understand fully the issues with your child etc. however there is no more the people can do. They are rushed off their feet and do the best they can. We were especially helped by two members of staff who I must say are a credit to the ward.