Dispatches: Undercover Ambulance - NHS in chaos

I don't think so Farzanah. I think there is going to be a revolution.

It makes you wonder how much we are prepared to put up with……..it seems a lot at this rate.

There are still many who are in a comfortable situation and not prepared to stand up for those who aren’t it strikes me.

Farzanah, most people choose to escape from reality all the time.
It takes a personal event to shake most people out of apathy.

I didn't watch the tv programme last night, although I do remember a similar one filmed in London. A call came through for assistance for an ambulance to attend an elderly lady suffering chest pains. Unfortunately, the ambulance was diverted to a building site in the City, where a fight had broken out between the Eastern European workers. Spades and other tools had been used, and resulting in serious injuries.
The ambulance eventually arrived in the middle of the night to attend the lady who, luckily, had recovered and gone to bed. In this case, immigrant workers were the cause of the delay.

Last night it showed a 90year old who fell outside at 1 am and was in the cold for 4 hours until ambulance came. Don’t know why she was outside - may have been confused but she was suffering hypothermia when they came.

That was a quick response on average. It’s the long wait for A&E admission which is a major problem.

I wonder if many MPs or relatives will suffer similar?

The ambulance service has been run down like most of our NHS. The Tories would prefer us to pay for our health care and many are doing that rather than wait years for treatment.
This divides the rich from the poor even more as many can't afford to pay.
I have heard of people having to call a taxi to get to the hospital in an emergency as the wait for an ambulance could have been fatal for someone who was struggling to breathe.

Yes. Many excess deaths have been attributed to this AGAA4
As I mentioned, those who are ok seem complacent about the rest.

The Tories know where their support base lies.

The Guardian reported today over 500 people died as a result of ambulance delays. It's disgraceful and entirely due to this uncaring and incompetent Tory government having been in office for 13 years. It will take years to rebuild the NHS after the Tory cuts just as it will take years to regain a flourishing economy after the Brexit disaster. We need a Labour government to stop the rot.

Ambulance services cuts affect everybody, even people who can afford private health care. As far as I know, no private hospitals have an Emergency Room. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

I watched the programme and thought it was sad that such a good, caring young man handed in his resignation.

Recently my DH fell in the bathroom after being discharged from hospital three hours earlier. He had to lay on the floor for 10 hours waiting for the ambulance.

I’m waiting for the government apologists to pitch in who believe insurance is the way to go, too many time wasters in A&E, too many managers in NHS, fees to see the GP, nurses are adequately rewarded, and government can’t afford to maintain present NHS., and so on, all opinions I’ve seen previously on GN.

We should be fighting for our NHS.

Bumping this as I hope people remember this awful situation when they go to vote.

mayisay

I didn't watch the tv programme last night, although I do remember a similar one filmed in London. A call came through for assistance for an ambulance to attend an elderly lady suffering chest pains. Unfortunately, the ambulance was diverted to a building site in the City, where a fight had broken out between the Eastern European workers. Spades and other tools had been used, and resulting in serious injuries.
The ambulance eventually arrived in the middle of the night to attend the lady who, luckily, had recovered and gone to bed. In this case, immigrant workers were the cause of the delay.

Why is the nationality of the workers involved in the fight of any relevance mayisay? Do British workers never scrap? I'd say the cause of the delay would more accurately be ascribed to the categorisation of priority of calls.

They’re the cause of all that’s wrong in the country at the moment Calypso, and are useful as a diversionary tactic.

It’s worth knowing that according to the NHS website there are at least 5,500+ Romanians working in the NHS at present.

Calipso and mayisay
That particular ambulance diversion is not really that surprising I suppose but the fact that ambulances cannot get patients into A&E means that there are too few ambulances available at any one time.
This is the real issue.
The ambulances are invariably "stuck" trying to hand-over at the hospital.

I know this first-hand. It affected my family waiting for help with a stroke. I was later sent the statistics for the evening in question by the ambulance service following an email asking why this happened. One ambulance on our "patch" waited 10 hours outside A&E on the day we complained about - instead of (I think) the 20 mins allocated. The ambulance staff are desperate to help but cannot get on to another job.

This is NOT knocking the overwhelmed and overworked staff in A&E who no doubt couldn't find ward spaces for their existing patients.

For too long we have not supported the NHS and now everyone is at breaking point.

- for info, we tried calling private ambulances and they were all out "with the NHS".

Farzanah

They’re the cause of all that’s wrong in the country at the moment Calypso, and are useful as a diversionary tactic.

It’s worth knowing that according to the NHS website there are at least 5,500+ Romanians working in the NHS at present.

I'm sorry Farzanah, I don't understand your post?

6 months ago my life was saved because I got a taxi to hospital rather than wait for an ambulance.
I have COPD, and suddenly became very short of breath which was not relieved by my inhaler. my heart rate was 130 and my oxygen sats were 70per cent (normally 94). Suspecting this was more than a bad flare up,I decided I needed to get to hospital.I was alone in the house, my DS who has a vehicle was at work but something in my head told me to get a taxi rather than an ambulance. The taxi came in 10 minutes, another 10 mins to the hospital with me gasping for breath and feeling terrible.
The driver shouted for help in the hospital grounds, two security men got me into a wheelchair and into A and E.
It turned out I had a large blood clot in my right lung which was spreading to the left one. After four days I was allowed home am now on daily blood thinners but am still alive
If I waited for an ambulance I would not be typing this now.
The taxi ride cost me £10 but it saved my life.
If I could not have afforded a taxi I would not have been so lucky as was told that I could have waited hours or an ambulance.

If you can't get into a vehicle even with help a taxi is not enough.
Glad you ate OK pinkprincess

Sounds as if your presence of mind saved your life pinkprincess and good that you had a positive outcome but as you say not everyone would be in a position to do the same, and some clearly have died.

It is so sad that it has come to this, and it doesn’t have to be so. Why aren’t people out in droves protesting? I can’t understand the complacency, we as a nation are so compliant and uncomplaining. Do we just look the other way if it doesn’t affect us……..yet?

Calipso.Sorry that my post wasn’t very clear. I meant that the government is so busy trying to divert us from the catastrophe happening in the NHS by focussing on repelling “boat people”.

There was mention up thread of an ambulance diverting from a sick patient because a fight between “Eastern Europeans”.

Demonising Eastern Europeans, who now seem to be fair game is unfair because many are happily settled and working here. Romanians were just an example.

A large part of the problem is that so many people go to A and E when they don’t need to, clogging the place up and preventing ambulances from unloading patients.

It is so sad that it has come to this, and it doesn’t have to be so. Why aren’t people out in droves protesting? I can’t understand the complacency, we as a nation are so compliant and uncomplaining. Do we just look the other way if it doesn’t affect us……..yet?

Those most likely to suffer the consequences of the failing service are the elderly, disabled and chronically sick - apart, obviously, from those involved in RTAs (and we never think it will be us) - who's going to rage and protest for them? The families are too busy with caring duties and I don't think people care that much about issues that they feel won't affect them.

And social media is now an outlet for protest - it consumes mental and emotional energy that maybe once would have propelled people out on to the streets.

It's not simply caused by people attending A&E who don't need the service because they get triaged down the list as more urgent cases appear and then find themselves waiting a long time. The real issue is bed blocking and underfunding which the Tories could solve it they really wanted to.

I am not protesting but I have written to MP, my local hospital and the ambulance service.
The ambulance service will be able to use my letter to lobby for support. But you are right that we are in a dreadful state.

Somewhere (sorry can't remember where) one of the NHS trusts have set up a triage and sort-of "1st contact" emergency room. They are finding it very useful to filter the A&E and keep things moving. Another area I believe is building a centre with more beds because the hospital is full.

We need this sorting. It should be a cross-party endeavour too in my opinion so it doesn't keep chopping and changing.