"Fantastic service, would like more clinics."

My dad was transferred to the OPAT service at Monklands Hospital after a 7wk stay in Hairmyres hospital. This meant my dad was able to get home and travel to Monklands to get his IV antibiotics administered each day.

This fantastic service allows patients to return to their home comforts sooner and start getting back to normal life. We were happy to bring my dad every day as he was still quite weak and tired after discharge from hospital and hadn’t walked further than the toilet in the 7wks of being there.

We were also offered a taxi service back and forward if needed, and we noticed some people using the patient transport ambulance so there are different options depending on the needs of the individual patient.

The staff based in the OPAT clinic were first class, Sarah, Cheryl, Rose, Bernie and Ashley were all very welcoming and friendly and had a wee chat every day with all the patients and their family members while carrying out their duties in a professional manner at all times. It was great to see fantastic team work each day and showed that everyone enjoys working here.

My mum did attempt to do 5 days training at the OPAT clinic to be able to give the antibiotics at home herself to my dad to try and save him having to come every day but she found it all a bit overwhelming trying to remember everything and had been under a lot of stress herself in the previous weeks due to severity of my dads illness. We thought it best to let the experts continue to do it and this also meant my dad was being checked daily when he attended, blood pressure, heart rate, oxygen, bloods taken weekly also, and the nurses asking how he was feeling each day too and this reassured us all.

Although this is great service offered at Monklands as it is allowing for patients to get ongoing care while at home. I do feel there is a need for more clinic options closer to home for Cambuslang / East Kilbride / Blantyre / Hamilton residents.

This would make it a lot easier for patients who are recovering from serious illness and also for the families doing the caring duties as it was a 20mile return journey each day for 6wks.

The parking at the hospital is awful too, most days I had to drop my dad off and let him come up himself as no spaces anywhere. The car park is full of disabled spaces which is great and we do have a badge but so do most people attending so the spaces are very difficult to come by. There are also parking attendants every day ticketing patients and relatives trying to attend their treatment which I think is shocking and I have followed this up with the local councillors. I witnessed people parking outside the Lanarkshire Beatson and clearly going in for treatment and a parking attendant then putting a ticket on the car.

The parking at this particular part of the hospital needs to be addressed, the OPAT service is also a timed appointment for people to receive treatment daily and the added stress of parking is not acceptable when people are already very ill.

I would like to thank the Senior Charge Nurse Michelle, OPAT nurse specialist Blaine and ward Pharmacist Rebecca. I have really appreciated the last few weeks going as smoothly as possible for my mum and my dad.

Thank you.