"Minor Injuries Mid Ulster Hospital"

I had to take my 5 year old non verbal autistic child to minor injuries in the Mid Ulster Hospital, Magherafelt. He had fallen the previous evening and his foot remained slightly swollen so the school had sent him home thinking something was broken. 

When we arrived, the check in process was simple. We were told to wait in the waiting area and within minutes our son was called by two wonderful members of staff. I unfortunately did not get either of their names but the way in which they both dealt with our child was amazing. We explained that he was non verbal and autistic and they couldn’t have been more understanding or empathetic. They listened to what we said about making things easier for him and they processed him through minor injuries as quickly as possibly. He was sent for an X-ray and whilst we waited he got slightly distressed. Another wonderful member of staff came out to check on him and reassured us they were trying to get him his X-ray as quickly as possible. She took the time to engage with him, which I just thought so kind. 

He was quickly called to X-ray and the lady performing this was equally as lovely. She took my lead on what would work best and spent time reassuring our son and letting him familiarise himself with the surroundings. Although it wasn’t easy for her to perform an X-Ray on him, he coped so well because of her understanding. 

Thankfully within minutes of the X-Ray being completed we were back in the minor injuries department with the wonderful 3 members of staff we had met originally. Nothing was broken and we were allowed to go home. It was a really wonderful care experience from amazing staff from the very start to finish. Having experienced such a lack of understanding the previous week this was so refreshing to realise these people exist within our NHS. 

Thank you to you all - you have simply no idea how much your understanding meant to us as a family.