I’d like to say a big Thank You to the paramedics based at the South Molton Community Hospital and to the A&E staff at North Devon District Hospital.

My mother was staying with us over Christmas and the New Year. Last Thursday night she slipped outside our house and fell and bashed her head, which bled extensively.

My wife called 999 and the ambulance arrived within about ten minutes. The paramedics looked after her with a great deal of expertise and compassion and took her to the Barnstaple hospital.

She was seen immediately on arrival and over the course of the next few hours had blood tests, an ECG and CT scans of her head.

All the staff at the hospital were superb, especially Nurse Jonny who made my mother a very welcome cup of tea – served in china rather than plastic.

The only downside was the ambulance ride. Nothing at all to do with the driving skills of the paramedics – no complaints there – but everything to do with the crappy suspension and the not so great roads!