Bed blocking or, " for the want of a nail, a shoe was lost" etc

The hospital wanted me to stay in until the following morning when he would see me on that day's round.
Hahahahaha - That is so stupid - you'd likely have been called a bed-blocker then.

Bed-blocker is such a ridiculous term, it's not as if anyone just parks themself in hospital and refuses to leave .

I wasn't worried about that, the problem was an abscess where there was a remote possibility it could have been a symptom of something else, hence the emergency admission. The minor surgery confirmed that I merely had an abscess and no more, so the chances of it re-occurring were negligible.

I have been referred to the same hospital for other unrelated tests since this event, without any problems.

I do 't know if the system has changed Flick but it used to be the case if anyone discharged themselves they were refused any treatment in the future.

Soutra, what a terrible story, I do hope your DH is now recovering.

However your story doesn't surprise me. Several years ago I was admitted to an emergency Surgical Unit for a minor procedure that my GP who sent me there said was day surgery. 24 hours later they still hadn't got round to doing the op and one nurse described me as a bed blocker. When I offered to discharge myself and return to my GP, the problem that needed the surgery was sorting itself out, they had me in theatre within 30 minutes.

I was then moved to another ward to recover. Nobody told the surgeon I had been moved so he didn't see me and sign the discharge form the following morning before going back into the operation theatre for the day. The hospital wanted me to stay in until the following morning when he would see me on that day's round. Needless to say at that point I did discharge myself.

Soutra, what a tale of woe. I do hope your husband is feeling better and that you've somehow managed to get a bit of rest

To make matters worse re staff shortages, I have just seen ads in my local paper asking for nurses and doctors to work for a new company which has been given the task of PIP assessments. It's all over the country, and they are offering £32,000. I can imagine quite a few nurses going for those jobs.

There is a problem of staff shortages overall in hospitals although when they talk about a lack of bed they probably mean there is not enough staff to safely manage another patient. As for working long hours my DD sometimes does whole days approaching twelve hour shifts.

A new electronic rota system now means that DD who went part time when she went back after maternity leave,now has to work some shifts on days when DGS is not in nursery.

She now takes DGs around to her MILs and tries to catch just a couple of hours sleep after a night shift while he is minded by Grandma. Grandma cant lift him as she has mobility problems. I live an hour and a half away. DD looks exhausted a lot of the time.

Basically more staff are needed but recruitment vacancies for nurses midwives and I think doctors training were reduced several years ago and we are now seeing that shortfall. There is a good possible solution put a2pence increase on income tax by to support the NHS and train more staff.

How is he feeling? Are the transfusions working?

Exactly, and (all due respect to them) doctors are paid more than shop assistants.
Anyway, DH started his last unit of blood around 9 so he should be done by 1 ish. Hope he gets some sleep after.

Are we being particularly stupid Soutra to think that it's actually more important to be able to see a doctor on a Sunday than to be able to buy a tin of baked beans on a Sunday? All hell breaks loose if shops are closed for a day, why isn't it the same with health services?

No doubt someone will order a massively expensive new computer system to sort out these kinds of things – which it won't.

Communication within hospitals is often a big problem - right hand does not know what the left hand is doing.

A friend had to take her mother in on Friday, and at admission spoke to a lovely nurse who was still there yesterday when she went back to check on her Mum. She had been there all night and had done 16 hours, had no idea when she could go home, all leaves cancelled to cope.

Very good point Soutra. Health v Retail Therapy, beggars belief.

What a rigmarole for 4 units of blood. Is it any wonder there is a shortage of beds?

Maybe some of the cock-ups happen because staff are fatigued by the pressure. Not a happy thought.
Glad your DH is getting help, if slowly, Soutra

I didnt see all the Gerry Robinson programmes, but he seemed to be making a lot of sense in the bits that I did see.

Yikes Soutra. The system where you live is not working at all well.
I hope it all goes well from now in.

BTW if shops can operate 7 days a week by using a shift system, why can't our public services?
<naive question>

Hurray he has just started his third unit! Apparently due to a weekend cockup mix up the blood allocated to him today was sent back to store and the whole process had to start again.
<sighs>

5 day working in NHS has a lot to answer for. People need help 7 days a week. Rotas should reflect this. Gerry Robinson showed how this could work sensibly. A colleague tried to introduce this approach in her hospital but met with massive resistance. All credit to hard pressed staff but NHS needs to work smarter and reflect modern patterns of need.

I do hope that your H will be home and feeling better soon. It is failures in the systems rather than failures by individuals that causes these problems - these poor souls working in the NHS must just tear their hair out.

I do identify with the discharge delays caused by paperwork hold-ups and waiting for drugs to take home.

Appalling I agree but sadly this is how things are these days. Hope you DH is home soon.

Sorry. Meant to type soutra that description does not sound as if it is coming from a modern, functioning healthcare system in the developed world. Frightening. I am appalled that it took the GP so long to return your husband's call. Hope he is out and better soon.

*

My friends DD has a reoccurring problem which necessitates frequent I.V. antibiotics. The last flare up she had she saw her GP who wrote a letter for her to be admitted via A&E. Two hours waiting in the reception area, another hour on a trolley to be told they didn't have a doctor to treat her and could she go home and come back tomorrow !!

soutra I hope your husband is home and feeling much better soon.

Sorry to hear your DH is still in hospital Soutra. I fully understand your anger.

In the situation whereby patients were dressed, sitting waiting for discharge, their vacant bed was freshly made up for the next patient. What a pity if common sense hasn't prevailed to continue with this procedure.