"I was admitted as an emergency via A & E..."

What I liked

I was admitted as an emergency via A & E, the paramedics were exceptional with me. The A&E staff were the only ones who I felt did not act in my best interests. I had to ask my daughter to call the Respiratory dept and get a doctor to me to help me further. I felt they could have done more in the 31/2 hours I was there. I had a severe asthma attack which was not being kept under control. I know my asthma and i should have been having back to back nebulisers and oxygen. I was very distressed and my blood pressure was very high. Once the doctor from respiratory arrivedshe got me transferred to MAU which actually really didnt help much as i was now at the point of needing a lot more help.

They didnt really help me and and had to ask my daughter to get the doctor to sort me out asap. She got me transferred to the HIgh Dependancy ward E6 and this is where i felt finally someone who knew what they were doing could help me. I had the most excellant care back to back nebulisers 5 in all with oxygen and all the other nessesary equipement. The nurse stayed with me and reassured me all the way through. The ward was well equiped and I felt safe and looked after.

I was in a area of my own with almost one to one nursing with the position I was in I felt so safe. Being on High dependency was a good experience for me and one I have spoken about with others in high regard.

I spent 10 days in hospital 8 days on high dependency as I had 2 further relapses which all were dealt with profesionalism. The food was excellant the wards were clean the nurses and doctors and consultants were fantastic.

I have come away feeling confident and safe whilst in QA, and my after care is still being continued with Ihave no complaints what so ever.

The only comment I will make is that I felt the A&E dept were too slow in dealing with me and I felt very frightend and needed a lot more care than originally thought. The operator when I dialed 999 was fantastic.

What could be improved

The staff in A&E did not seem to be on top of my condition i felt they should have moved me to specialist care a lot sooner. I was very distressed and frightend whilst in A&E and I knew my asthma was very bad and i needed more than they were doing for me.

Anything else?

I would like to say that from the operator when I dialed 999 who was fantastic in trying to understand me in my distress state, the paramedics were brillient they kept me as calm as they could whist trying to get me out of the house. The care in high dependancy is second to none and i feel confident if i ever went through that again i would be in the right place.

However I do not want to be admitted to A&E again i would want to go straight to the correct ward.