I accompanied my elderly father for his regular outpatient appointment at University Hospital Limerick.  We were expecting it to be a quick check up and update his meds.  However the Clinical Nurse Specialist wanted to refer Dad to another team as she felt his condition had deteriorated.    Both Dad and I were very surprised and a bit worried about this as it was unexpected.  As we left the appointment, the Nurse gave me her number and told me to ring her if I had any questions.  Dad is quite deaf, it’s hard for him to take calls. 

After speaking to my family about the appointment, I phoned the Nurse as I had some questions.   She was very helpful and really put me at ease by explaining to me again the reason for her decision and what was going to happen next.  I was then able to relay this to my Dad and the rest of the family which really helped to calm our fears.

A few days later the Nurse rang to check that we’d had heard from the other team she’d referred us to, which we had.  It was a really thoughtful gesture that meant a lot to us, it felt like very individual care and it was great to see the interest that she had taken in my Dad.

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