"Excellent care"

I recently arrived at the Ipswich Hospital Emergency Department at around 2:30am in significant pain from a musculoskeletal complaint which was making breathing painful. I was assessed by the triage nurse on duty, Catherine and asked to wait for the treatment room to become available for further investigation and treatment. Whilst I doubt this was an overly busy night it also was not empty and there were between 10-15 people in the waiting room, though not all requiring care. I suspect this was a typical night and it made sense to me that I would need to wait to be treated. Over the next 1-2 hours it became clear that Catherine was doing an exemplary job and deserves high praise for her work. Some of the things about Catherine that stood out to me:

• Considering the time of day, most people's energy levels are understandably diminished; Catherine appeared fresh and on point

•Showed fantastic empathy and went out of her way to really understand each patient

•Calmly handled patients that were upset

•Respected each and every patient regardless of how large or small the complaint or how believable their complaint might seem

•Showed tremendous patience in situations where other people (including me) might have found the conversation frustrating

•Kept people at ease by developing a genuine rapport with a good sense of humour where appropriate

•Communicated well and provided updates to patients whenever possible

In short my experience while uncomfortable, painful and longer than I had hoped was made that much easier by knowing staff of Catherine’s capability were doing their best to ensure everyone was getting the treatment and attention they needed as quickly as possible. Thank you!