"Excellent service from professional,..."

What I liked

My Father was under the care of the Oncology Consultant for 18 months prior to his admission via A&E to Melly Ward. Dad had multiple problems and saw various Consultants. The care he received was always excellent. Each member of staff involved in my father's care from the most senior doctors and nurses to secretaries, receptionists and domestic staff showed empathy, kindness and understanding both to my Dad and the family. We were all involved in the decisions regarding his care from the onset of his illness and everyone ensured that we understood the choices available and the likely outcomes. We were kept fully informed and involved at all times. The staff were willing, cheerful and gave unstinting care. Dad sadly passed away on Melly Ward, during his last days we were welcomed to stay with him all the time, we felt in control and yet fully supported by the staff at all levels. I cannot imagine how Dad could have received better care at any time during his illness. I feel very proud of George Eliot and its excellent staff they helped us through an extremely difficult time and we shall always be grateful to each of them.

It is difficult to maintain high standards of care in such a busy environment but somehow they managed to with good humour, dedication and kindness, nothing was too much trouble for the patients.

What could be improved

I could see that the efforts of the staff were what made the service excellent. I did notice that they were very, very busy and felt that the pace they were working at was very fast to maintain the care of the patients. In my opinion they were a little understaffed although this did not impact on the patient care at all, rather on the medical staff who must be very tired at the end of their shifts. Its sad to see such dedication so poorly valued and rewarded.AdmissionsCheerfulPatient careStaffing LevelWardOncologyConsultantsDoctorsNursing staffSupport staffDedicatedServiceEnvironment