The whole team on the pre-assessment unit at HRI are our latest peer to peer Star Award winners for the care they showed a struggling patient.
The team were nominated by General Manager, Ruth Lush, after she received positive feedback from a patient who had recently attended the pre-assessment unit. Here is a snippet of what the patient said about the care they received:
"I am disabled, but also have sensory issues, and it is not uncommon for hospital environments to trigger me into having a panic attack and / or migraine, which can be very distressing and debilitating.
"I had a migraine and panic attack in your department at my last appointment. When I realised I wasn’t going to be able to control them without help, I went to ask if there was somewhere I could sit away from the strip lights, and staff reacted really kindly and practically. They:
- Turned off the strip-lighting in one corridor so I could sit there
- Offered me a drink of water
- Within minutes, took me into a room by a window with no artificial light
- Brought staff to me to do the blood tests (rather than making me go to them)
- Were universally very kind and gentle with me, rather than disapproving or disbelieving
- Two of them shared their own experiences of migraine, offering sympathy, and making me feel understood and respected.
"This meant that my panic attack and migraine subsided to manageable levels, and I could get in and out of the place that was triggering my sensory problems more quickly and with very much less stress. I recovered well enough to function (and get home) in just an hour.
"Your team shows how things can and should be done. If there was ever a “good practice example” of how to respond to someone in sensory overload, or experiencing migraines or panic attacks, or even “just” general distress, your team provided it on Tuesday!
"So, I would like to pass on a big thank you to everyone involved. You made a real difference to my quality of care, and that is much appreciated."
Pictured at the front holding the Star Award are Healthcare Assistants, Kirsty Bryce (left) and Diane Tattersall (right) who helped the patient on the day. They said: "We could see she was suffering and it was just natural to help. We both suffer with migraines, so we knew what it felt like and we couldn't just leave her. We had to make sure she was as comfortable as possible in this environment."
Ruth added: "The entire team have faced considerable challenges over the last few years but despite this it's impressive to see that they still go above and beyond to meet the needs of each individual patient."
