THE Alexandra Hospital has had a great deal of bad press in recent years, resulting in threats of closure and downgrading.

However, having been a resident of Redditch all my life, I can honestly say my experiences at the hospital have been reassuringly pleasant.

My most recent visit has left both myself and my wife very proud of the service that we have in Redditch.

On Sunday, June 1, my wife and I were preparing for our daughter’s first birthday party when my daughter had quite a nasty fall and banged her head. We rushed her to A&E and we were seen to straight away.

As you can imagine, my wife and I were devastated but the staff in the A&E department were amazing and they helped us by calming us both down and were very reassuring.

One nurse in particular, Gemma, dedicated a lot of her time sitting with my wife and ensuring her that our daughter would be fine, as my wife was in serious shock over the incident.

Gemma also gave us a little cuddly toy as a birthday present to our daughter, which was very touching.

Our little one is now fine and up to her usual tricks as an energetic one year old.

I just wanted to take this opportunity to say that the staff at the Alex are a credit to our society and we should be proud of the service that we have.

Paul Burgess Redditch