I AM grateful to have the chance to write in your columns, as have done many before me, to sing the praises of Poole General Hospital, and all who work there, be they volunteers, domestic staff, porters, nursing assistants, nurses, trainee doctors, technical staff, consultants, and so on.

The list is endless, and I would pay particular tribute to the catering staff, and how they manage to produce such a variety of meals to so many is beyond me.

I was a patient on three occasions last year, but one memory will be with me for ever.

I was transferred up to the dizzy heights of A Block in the early hours, by a very cheerful young porter on his night shift, but I didn’t have much conversation apart from a few wheezy words.

Eventually we reached the gloom of the long A4 corridor, but it was gloom that was completely dispelled at the far end by the shining smile of a lovely nurse.

This lady was so welcoming, so reassuring and caring, as good as any medicine.

For me it was a real ‘Florence Nightingale’ moment, never to be forgotten.

After forty six years in Poole my wife and I have now moved to Banbury, where there is another excellent general hospital, ‘The Horton’, but should we need their services they have a lot to live up to.

JONATHAN TAYLOR

Banbury