Our wonderful

In Issue 276 we featured from Stamford, J Jibb, a praising letter of their NHS treatment. We asked readers to tell us about other stories of great care from the NHS. Here are just a few of the many letters and emails…

i can’t praise staff enough

I read J Jibb’s letter praising our NHS and I can echo that praise. I was recently taken ill and was immediately referred for a series of tests carried out at the West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds – all done in one day. The problem was diagnosed and the next week I was admitted to Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge for the operation. The treatment was swift and efficient, while also being carried out in a kind and caring manner. Of course with the millions of people who are treated, it’s inevitable that things can occasionally go wrong. For my part, I can’t praise them enough and I will take every opportunity to do so. Your invitation to write in was very timely for me. Jill Cailes, Bury St Edmunds

Hip hip hooray for my care

I thank the NHS every day I get out of bed and can walk due to two hip replacements I had in my early 60s. Without the operation I would have had years of pain and been wheelchair bound, as my grandfather had been before me. The care I had could not be faulted. Sylvia Monk, Hayling Island

they were all so kind and compassionate

I’d like to give heartfelt thanks to all the staff I met at Chorley Hospital in June, where I little expected to be spending my 90th birthday being treated for pneumonia! The ambulance crew who assessed me at home, the team who diagnosed my condition in Accident and Emergency and the staff in the Medical Assessment Unit were all very capable, kind and compassionate. Not only did everyone keep me informed about the tests, results and treatment plans, they also sang Happy Birthday and wished me well as they moved speedily from one situation to another. Cleaners, volunteers and clinical staff were cheerful, caring and compassionate. After five days I was discharged to complete my course of antibiotics at home. Joyce Coulborn, Lancashire

the nHS at its best

One Tuesday evening last November, my right eye became red and sore, sensitive to light and painful. After using almost a bottle of eye drops, I visited a chemist when I was in town on Saturday morning. Within half an hour I had been directed to my optician and then, after a quick phone call, on to another optician, who diagnosed iritis and said he would refer me to the eye clinic at Pinderfields Hospital in Wakefield. ‘Go home and wait for a phone call’, he said. I went home to find a message on my answering machine, asking me to get to the clinic as soon as possible but not to drive as I would have drops put in my eyes. Fortunately my daughter took me, and less than two hours from my initial visit to the chemist I was supplied with two lots of drops and some cream and another appointment for the week after. Following a series of appointments, the inflammation settled down and I was discharged in February. My family has had its fair share of horror stories, but this time it really was the NHS at its best. Mary Tyler, Pontefract