"Wonderful caring compassionate staff"

I recently attended the Emergency Department with an extremely high heart rate. I was seen immediately. It was the Triage Nurse Nat who quickly arranged a bed for me and called a MET call. All the medical staff who tended to me were calm, caring and clear in communicating with me about what was happening with me and what they were going to do to help me.  

Nursing staff Janny and Nicola were fantastic giving me a lot of assurance. Dr. Michael soon identified my heart was in Atrial Fibrillation a condition I had never experienced before. I observed how the whole team in the ED appeared to professionally juggle a large number of other patients in the cubicle as well as many people in the waiting room. Shinu a nurse who told me it was his first week at CGH was, I felt, so gentle and caring.  

After a lot of monitoring I was transferred to the Critical Care Unit (CCU) for the night. I felt nurse in charge Paula and her student nurse were again so caring, reassuring and frequently communicating with me about what was happening. At no stage did I feel worried about the level of care I was receiving.

Throughout the night in my cubicle, getting next to no sleep due to the noise and environment, I could hear the nursing staff tend to other patients in CCU with, I felt, so much unconditional care and compassion. I believe their professionalism was exemplary, something the health services should be proud of.

I believe that when there was a handover to the next shift the care and compassion did not falter. In my opinion, nurse in charge Courtney and all of her colleagues were fantastic. Dr. Howard and Dr. Michael were very clear in the care I required post-discharge. Witnessing the diverse community members who seemed to come with some very challenging conditions that the staff have to provide care for in both the ED and CCU, was an affirmation to me about how lucky I think we are in Wellington. A sincere thank you to all.