"Sutherland Hospital Emergency Department"

Recently my husband was experiencing stomach pains and sweats and felt extremely unwell. He is due to have open heart surgery soon and we were very worried as his pulse was racing.  We presented to the Emergency Department at Sutherland Hospital.  It only took about 10 minutes to be seen for triage and the nurse took all the details and his vital designs.  He was immediately moved to the critical care section and to a bed as he was in severe pain and the vitals were not good.  The care and attention he received could not have been better.  Even though the nurses and doctors were flat out, the care that they showed and their professionalism could not be faulted.

I was appalled at the conditions they had to work under - there was a patient who I believe had obvious mental issues who screamed and abused the nurses and security guard all night, including punching and biting anyone who got close.  The staff dealt with that patient with caring and patience.  Another patient kept complaining that they weren't being seen - even though this meant that there were people more seriously ill - I felt they were horrible - but the staff were still lovely to that patient and treated them with the respect I didn't think they deserved.

My husband received every attention, pain relief, x-rays and scans and was admitted  - the good news is that they diagnosed a kidney stone which fortunately was passed within 24 hours.  They also found an infection which they treated.  We even had a call from one of the doctors today at home to see how he was going.

We'd like to pass on our thanks to everyone at Sutherland Hospital, especially those in the Emergency Department who have to put up with so much but still are professional, caring and all worth their weight in gold (and also a pay rise).