A and E admissions

Soutra. I am so sorry to hear what you and your DH have been through last night. I sincerely hope a bed does become available soon or indeed has already happened.

A night in resusc is certainly not conducive to a much needed nights sleep.

Take care and try to get some sleep. Thinking about you both.

We have just spent the evening in A&E as DH's haemoglobinnhad dropped to 6 and he is to have a blood transfusion-2 units tonight and 2 tomorrow. We got ther about 6 on instruction from our GP A after DH's blood test this morning. Triage was an hour later then we settled down to wait for another 2 hours. . . . I saw some patients who definitely looked as if they might have injured themselves, but others didn't seem much of an emergency and at least one was kindly but firmly directed to the walk-in unit on the other side of the hospital site. We were lucky- later I am sure there will have been drunks, RTAs or overdoses but when I left around 10 although the waiting room had filled up, the atmosphere was still calm. Staff were friendly and helpful and all I regret is that as there were no beds DH will stay on a "proper" bed but in a bay in Resusc for his first units or until a bed becomes vacant in the course of the night (unlikely) so he won't get much sleep as Resusc is very very noisy.

More on the subject here this afternoon.

1 local surgery to me does. Very good. And very handy.

It is interesting that surgeries don't do minor surgery any more - this must be contributing to the problems in A&E. My OH was a GP and used to enjoy a bit of stabbing and stitching as a change from all the coughs and colds.
Our surgery used to and I think still does. I have had thrombosed piles lanced (ouch!) and a tumour on my tongue cauterised by the GP. There are also practice nurses on tap who do some of it.

apricot: my post was prompted by yours, but in my haste I forgot to say so.

A few weeks ago, my adult son went to his GP's surgery after slicing into his knuckle with a saw (he really must buy a smaller Christmas tree next year!) He was told that he needed stitches and would have to go to A&E as they no longer do such things at the surgery. He was given 7 stitches in A&E, but it was hardly a serious injury. Why can't surgeries do such things any more?

I raised four children and have never in my life been to an A&E except once when referred there by the GP's surgery. I thought I had glass in my finger and the surgery wouldn't even look at it.
GPs used to deal with small accidents, ours refuse to see any so that's another load of people at A&E, 12 miles away. Our minor injuries unit was closed years ago.

I have just read the consultants letter and quite frankly am horrified. Just by coincidence DGS has had his first visit to A&E today. He hurt his arm falling off a see-saw.
On the way there (half hour journey) the doctor talked through ways of making him more comfortable and on arrival all his patient notes were available. He had 2 general but thorough checks, an A&E doctor consultation, an X-ray, 2 A&E pediatric consultations, a sling and painkillers and the paperwork sorted out. They were back in the car to go home within 2 hours. He has to go back tomorrow as they could not see what damage had been done.
Needless to say this did not happen in the UK but in Beijing and the paperwork was the insurance document. I am not advocating that we should all have to buy expensive insurance but surely it can be better than it is at the moment if only the politicians accepted that there is a problem.

I am tempted to copy and paste the consultant's letter to an email to my GP. Perhaps we should all do that.

A long story, but I have just had to go and wait in my GP centre for a prescription which my GP forgot to give me.
While I was in there, I read the moving notice board which tells me this.

www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/11677157.Urgent_care_centre_to_become_minor_injuries_unit/

Shotley Bridge hospital was the one where Simon Stevens started working and where he was photographed walking down the corridor when he gave his first interview. I would be very surprised if he told the staff that this was going to happen.

The A&E at Durham Hospital is always busy, but they are suggesting sending more patients there, instead of having a doctor at Shotley Bridge.
The interesting sentence in this article is that some people could be sent to their GPs instead of going to urgent care, IF THERE WERE APPOINTMENTS AVAILABLE. But there are not. That's why I have to wait for over ten days to see my GP.

No.

Soontobe did you listen to the broadcast about Prof Mildred Warner's work on public vs private?

Eloethan's post has made me realise something.

I used to be totally in favour of private enterprises.
When nationalised industries were privatised back in the 70s and 80s [my recollection of history may not be entirely accurate], I was all for it. May be not for absolutely everything, but private to me represented more efficiency and savings than public ownership.

But I think "private" has changed somewhat.
Particularly where "private" now seems to be to mean "owned by ex politicains and giant possibly suspect corporations".

This is not a fully thought out and thought through post though. So I am may be ble to be swayed one way or another by others' posts.

No, soontobe, I am not able to vote for an NHA candidate. Here is the list of candidates so far and the constituencies they are standing in.

nhap.org/candidates/

rose, my mother used to save me DM articles, and they were not in favour of Labour. She loved starting political arguments with my husband and me.
I've had decades disputing DM claims, so that letter was a refreshing change. I am sure they will revert to type closer to the election.

Thanks for the links to the article posted by the People's Assembly - very powerful, and - having watched Andy Burnham waffling on the other night - I think it is spot on. Also for the letter from the A&E doctor - I'm more inclined to believe people like him at the sharp end than Jeremy Hunt who, with an election coming up, knows that he must try and blame everything but himself and his party for this mess.

People are reluctant to vote for one-issue parties but they may do so out of frustration or for strategic reasons. My husband intends to campaign for the NHS candidate in Chingford because it is a fairly "safe" Conservative seat and any vote taken away from Ian Duncan Smith is a vote well cast as far as he is concerned.

But although the issue of the NHS is perhaps uppermost in many people's minds, I personally feel that it should not completely overshadow other issues. The destruction of the NHS is a manifestation of the Conservative Party's stated wish to shrink the role of the state and replace it with private, profit-driven, providers. Without a halting of the privatisation agenda in all areas of public service, establishing radical controls on the finance sector and an overhaul of the tax system to ensure that individuals and companies pay the proper amount of tax, the huge gap between rich and poor will widen even further.

I think people who take up hospital time arising from an their illegal act or omission should be charged the full cost of their treatment. If a drunk needs hospital treatment and is above an appropriate level of blood alcohol then the hospital charge should be imposed and collected via the courts. Victims of assaults should have the cost of their treatment charged to the perpetrator.

Oh yes, that'll be it...

It's possible that the DM is now realising the affection in which the British hold the NHS and are jumping on/creating a bandwagon. If that is so, we can only be grateful.

djen - a link from the DM?
Perhaps now people will realise that they do run campaigns for the public good and some are anti-Tory!!

thanks durham - people do give the letter a read.

is the, not isa. Yikes.

That isa the trouble when a group goes into the political arena. Everything becomes a whole new ball game.

I cant remember if you said that you are in a constituency where you can vote for the NHA durhamjen?
Did they field candidates at the last election? How well did they do?
Dont worry if you dont want to answer that. I could google, but cant be bothered.

Do hope so, Mishap. I am not sure if the NHA is a good thing or not, because people dismiss them because they have now made themselves political. However, nobody would take much notice of them all as individuals.