Care made anxious time bearable

Wendy Janse Van Rensburg was impressed by the care her son Noah, 7, received at Wanganui Hospital. Photo/Bevan Conley

When 7-year-old Noah Janse Van Rensburg fell over and seriously injured his elbow, both he and his mother were upset and traumatised.

What reassured them both was the treatment Noah received at Wanganui Hospital.

Wendy Janse Van Rensburg was so impressed by her family's experience at the hospital that she wanted to speak publicly about it.

"Wanganui gets so much bad publicity, but I believe we have a gem in our hospital."

During the last week of the school holidays, Noah fell off a bench on Great North Rd and landed directly on his elbow, breaking it on the hard concrete footpath.

Scared and in pain, Noah was taken to Wanganui Hospital's emergency department.

"We were at the hospital for seven hours that day, and during that time I got to see a lot," Mrs Janse Van Rensburg said.

"The emergency department was extremely busy with some very serious cases, yet the staff were constantly checking on us to make sure we were all right.

"They had so much care and empathy for us."

What particularly stuck with Mrs Janse Van Rensburg was a nurse's concern for her.

"This nurse talked to me calmly, asked me if I was all right, and even offered me a cup of tea."

Mrs Janse Van Rensburg was even impressed by the seven-hour stay at the hospital.

"The staff were unsure just how badly injured Noah's elbow was, so they were really thorough in doing lots of tests. The orthopaedic surgeon was doing an operation when we came in, so we had to wait until he had finished.

"They could have just put Noah in a cast and sent him home, but they wanted to be very thorough."

Mrs Janse Van Rensburg said the staff continued to be professional and yet maintained a sense of humour. "They are humans doing their job, but they do it well."

The Janse Van Rensburgs moved to New Zealand from South Africa about 18 months ago. "We would never have had this standard of care in a public hospital in South Africa - this is what you'd expect from private health care in South Africa," Mrs Janse Van Rensburg said.