Care Opinion

Heath failure while travelling in Northern Ireland

Posted By Grateful Traveller

"Heath failure while travelling in Northern Ireland"

About: Daisy Hill Hospital / Emergency Department Daisy Hill Hospital / High Dependency Unit (HDU) Northern Ireland Ambulance Service / Emergency ambulance response

(as the patient),

I am a gentleman in his 80s who has a weak heart.

When traveling in N.Ireland in November this year, I lost my heart medication and went into heart failure, becoming very ill quite suddenly. My wife called an Ambulance, which got to our Hotel within 30 minutes, quickly identified the problem, put me on oxygen and got me straight in to A&E at Daisy Hill Regional Hospital near Newry.

I cannot speak too highly of the care I received, firstly from the Paramedics in the Ambulance and afterwards in A&E and in HDU in Daisy Hill.

While in A&E, the Doctor obtained the list of my medication from our surgery, continued oxygen, inserted a catheter, started with diuretics, took blood samples, organised a chest X-ray, an MRI scan and an ultrasound Heart examination, before having me transferred to HDU (high dependency unit) which is the highest level of care given at Daisy Hill. How fantastic is that?

Care continued in HDU, with hourly blood-pressure monitoring and gradual medication and oxygen. I spent 6 days there, getting gradually better. As I improved, I began to take note of the excellent teamwork under pressure. Staff work 13 hour shifts and move at double-pace between giving skilled and thoughtful care to some very ill people.

By Day 4, I was coming off oxygen and had the catheter removed. Imagine the delight and relief of spending a penny the normal way again. Staff were still trying hard to find the balance between hydration, diuretics and blood pressure, right up to my final day in HDU.

On day 5, I was told that I was well enough to be moved to a ward, but my bed was not needed, so my discharge took place from HDU.

Even the food at Daisy Hill HDU was tasty (and I was occasionally allowed a bigger teacup!!).

We have good medical care where I live, but I thought that Daisy Hill and the teams there were super. I felt cherished throughout and I am sure that the town of Newry and the District is very fortunate to have such a hospital.

Preparations for my discharge seemed perfect.

I was given an ECHO Heart Scan and Echo Report (estimated 25% LV)..

Medication was provided and fully explained. A taxi was called and, being alone, (as my wife had returned home) I went back to our Hotel for a couple of nights to normalise before flying home.

My grateful thanks are due to all in Ambulance, A&E and in Daisy Hill HDU for their wonderful patient care. It saved me and restored me to being as good as I will ever be.

You were all marvellous!

.

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Responses

Response from Lisa Small, Ward Manager ED / Short Unit, Daisy Hill Hospital, Medicine and Unscheduled Care Directorate, Southern Health and Social Care Trust 3 months ago
Lisa Small
Ward Manager ED / Short Unit, Daisy Hill Hospital, Medicine and Unscheduled Care Directorate,
Southern Health and Social Care Trust

Submitted on 16/12/2024 at 17:16
Published on Care Opinion on 17/12/2024 at 08:03

Thank you for taking the time to share your positive experience. Your feedback is invaluable to us as we strive to provide the best possible care to our patients.

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Response from Hannah Shields, Deputy Sister, High Dependency Unit, Daisy Hill Hospital, Medicine and Unscheduled Care Directorate, Southern Health & Social Care Trust 3 months ago
Hannah Shields
Deputy Sister, High Dependency Unit, Daisy Hill Hospital, Medicine and Unscheduled Care Directorate,
Southern Health & Social Care Trust

Submitted on 18/12/2024 at 11:49
Published on Care Opinion at 12:45

Good afternoon,

Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful feedback about your time in High Dependency. We are all so glad to hear you are doing better and have returned home safely. We really appreciate the time you have taken to share the details of your experience and I will ensure to share your positive feedback with staff. It is great to hear such a great review of our ward and whole hospital so thank you once again.

Kind regards,

Hannah Shields

Deputy Sister

HDU DHH

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Response from Maggie Hamilton, Experience & Involvement Facilitator, Quality, Safety & Improvement, Northern Ireland Ambulance Service 3 months ago
Maggie Hamilton
Experience & Involvement Facilitator, Quality, Safety & Improvement,
Northern Ireland Ambulance Service

The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS) Experience and Involvement Facilitator is responsible for developing and delivering high quality, effective services and processes for NIAS Service Users, Carers, their Advocates, the Public and NIAS Staff across Northern Ireland (NI) to facilitate and enable them to fully contribute to and participate in experience and involvement in relation to the NIAS.

Submitted on 18/12/2024 at 11:54
Published on Care Opinion at 11:54

picture of Maggie Hamilton

Good morning Grateful Traveller,

I am grateful to you for taking the time to share your experiences of the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service. It was reassuring to learn how quickly the ambulance arrived and how highly you speak of the care you received from the Paramedics. As an organisation we are committed to consistently show compassion, professionalism, and respect for the patients we care for.

I wish you the best with your recuperation.

Kind regards,

Maggie

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