THE EFFORTS of a Glangwili Hospital worker, who saved his patient’s Christmas, have been recognised by the Chair of Hywel Dda UHB.
Earlier this year, Ammanford woman, Donna Lewis, praised off-duty Wouter De Kroon for giving up his plans for Christmas Eve so that he could carry out a medical procedure for her. Donna, from Garnswllt, said Physicians’ Assistant Wouter De Kroon had “saved Christmas” for her and her son Sam, 10, by troubleshooting a blocked intravenous line so that she could continue receiving antibiotics at home.
Wouter, who has worked at Glangwili General Hospital since July 2013, was nominated for a ‘Employee or Team of the Month’ award by Carmarthenshire Acute Response Team Leader, Craig Jones, after a call from Wouter’s wife – Lisa – who also works at the hospital – as he was coming into Carmarthen to pick up their Christmas turkey.
Realising that Donna would have to be admitted to hospital if she didn’t have the procedure, and would miss Christmas Day with her son as a result, Wouter picked up his turkey and drove straight to Glangwili where he swapped his shopping for scrubs.
Donna, who was also being cared for in her home by the Acute Response Team (ART), said: “I’d had a chest infection that was being treated with oral antibiotics, but I wasn’t getting any better.
“I was given intravenous antibiotics instead, but because I have bad veins I had to have a PICC (Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter) line inserted, which became blocked.
“I ended up having to go to Glangwili Hospital on Christmas Eve and I would have had to wait for treatment had Wouter not come in especially for me on his day off.
“As it turned out I didn’t need the PICC line to be replaced, but Wouter was able to fix it for me.
“When he came to see me I thanked him and he said ‘no problem, it’s all part of the service.’
“It made a huge difference to me and my son. He saved Christmas for us. I had a back-up plan for Sam to go to my friend’s house for Christmas Day, but obviously we didn’t want to have to do that.
“For someone to give up his day off, especially on Christmas Eve, was really lovely – it’s a brilliant service and everyone was absolutely fantastic.”
Wouter commented: “Fortunately, the very skilled nurses in the medical day unit were able to get the existing line functioning again, which meant I was able to see Donna and check the line again to make sure it was okay for her to home without problems arising later over Christmas.
“The fact that Donna was happy with the service made my Christmas better too! Having worked in many small hospitals in Switzerland, where going the extra mile is all part of the service, I am happy to say that I see the same patient-orientated mentality in many of my colleagues here at Hywel Dda too.”
Chair, Bernardine Rees, said: “When I read the nomination I was blown away – I believe it’s important to use every opportunity to thank people for what they do.”
Upon receiving his award, Mr De Kroon added: “I feel really honoured to have been chosen, and emphasise that it really was a team effort by all.”
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