An emotional reunion!

Exceptional patient care is what we strive for, and recently a patient with an unusual reason for being brought to ED came in to say thank you for the care which saved his life.

It was just a normal day in the garden for Christopher York from Ashgate – before he woke up in ED having sliced through his neck with a chainsaw.

Christopher was rushed to our hospital with a severe wound to his neck by East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) after the decision was taken that he needed medical help urgently.

Normally, Chesterfield Royal Hospital would not deal with trauma cases, but the blood loss was so extreme that a journey to a local trauma centre would not be feasible.

A team of ED staff was assembled, and due to their heroic efforts, which involved the consultant stemming the blood flow with his hands, Christopher was rushed to theatre for an emergency operation.

Thanks to the speedy response of our ED doctors and nurses, the excellent work of our theatres team, and the outstanding care provided by our Intensive Care Unit professionals, Christopher made a speedy recovery and was soon discharged from hospital to continue his recovery at home with his family.

Christopher popped in to thank staff, commenting: “Because of you folks, we have a family again. Thank you for giving us our family. I believe that I wasn’t going to make it to Sheffield or Nottingham. It is thanks to all of you that I’m still here.”

A huge THANK YOU to all our heroic teams who work so hard to save lives every day!