Pensioner is grateful for Downe staff who went the extra mile

SIR, — I believe that a recent (happy) experience will interest your readers.

Last week, I had the misfortune to emerge from a 9.15am appointment at the Downe Hospital to discover that, without any warning, my car battery was flat. Not having a mobile, I asked the ladies at the main reception desk if I could ring the RAC for rescue.

‘No problem,’ they said, so I hung on the line for almost half an hour and then at last, success. After unbelievable questioning, posing some difficult questions due to my deafness, I sat in my car for almost two hours until help arrived.

Meanwhile, the RAC’s contractor driver from Belfast, who had apparently never heard of the Downe Hospital, rang through to the hospital desk several times for directions and every time after these calls from the driver, one of the check-in ladies at the Downe popped out to, as it were, keep me informed of the latest ETA and to keep my spirits up. I thanked the ladies each time and ‘no problem’ they cheerily replied.

What they were doing in a sense was comforting a 91 year-old who was clearly having a long, frustrating wait. That’s what I would call ‘caring for the elderly’ in action, beyond the call of duty. I would like publicly to express my sincere thanks to the ladies in question.

They were acting in the best traditions of their caring profession, from behind the check-in desk and not in a ward environment. My thanks also go to the managers and others whose training of these employees was demonstrably so effective.

It should not be necessary for me to have to reiterate what you and very many people have been saying for many years that we absolutely and irrefutably must retain our own local hospital. This has been said almost ad nauseum. Anyone who may think otherwise should count themselves fortunate that neither they nor their close family members have had to avail of the Downe’s facilities.

I should know. I have been an A&E patient and in-patient and my wife sadly has also benefited often in recent years in circumstances that could otherwise have had me worried to distraction. Living in Strangford, the Downe is barely 20 minutes’ drive away. The nearest alternative is the Ulster in Dundonald, a full hour’s drive by the time one has found a parking space. I have had to face this return trip on a daily basis for many days on end in order to visit my wife following several recent emergency admissions.

Next, we should all recognise the unceasing valiant labours of Cecil Maxwell who died last week. Nor indeed should we overlook the indefatigable work by our ex-MP Margaret Ritchie, besides so many unsung heroes who have, over many years, battled on behalf of all of us who live in the area to keep the Downe open as a going concern have been thankful for speedy attention. Tourists and other visitors have likewise benefited in emergencies. Each one of us says a big thank you to those whose foresight provided us with the hospital.

In your columns you have from time to time given the readers the stories of lives saved, from newborn babies and their mothers through to the very elderly, thanks to the proximity of the Downe. My thanks too go to the reassuring ambulance crews and to all the medical and ancillary staff who 

have done their very best in prevailing, sometimes difficult circumstances, 24/7.

Finally, the pleas of so many over the years since the Downe opened have indeed not fallen on deaf ears, since it is most gratifying to see a gradual diversification into many extra specialist treatments being offered, compared with the early days when it was apparently difficult to attract experienced senior doctors to the Downe.

I personally have no more to say on this topic so I finish by saying a big thank you to everyone concerned, not least to the originators of the concept of a local hospital and the many people who are today responsible for its administration. At times, this must pose seemingly endless problems.

May they be encouraged to continue with their lifesaving work and with no talk of penny pinching cutbacks.

Yours etc,

ALAN JOHNSTON,

Strangford