Friday last, after not keeping any food or drink down for 2 days, The nurses at "101" said I should go to a&e. I waited 17 hours over night without food or drink . Eventually I was seen by a jnr doctor, who hadn't a clue what was wrong with me, after he tried to discharge me with just a handful of anti sickness tablets, & after I suggested more needed to be done, I was eventually wheeled around to the same day care ward. After being left there for 3 hours they tried discharging me again with just 3 laxatives. I said to the young nurse that it didnt seem to be enough, 2 minutes later I was pounced on by an older nurse who just stood there screaming at me. I was eventually given an xray which showed a fecal compaction, and was bundled off home. 2 days later with no improvement I rang the ward who told me to go back in and was kept there about 5 days. Since that first day I was never seen by any other doctor. or given any other xrays. I'm back home now and still not 100%.
That first night there was, also an elderly lady next to me, who had suffered a fall and either a fractured or broken arm, she was denied any treatment, had to miss her nightly medication and also had nothing to eat or drink, not the sort of treatment for any elderly person !
I will add that apart from that one nurse all the other nurses worked their socks off, they were dedicated, helpful and chatty in fact they were the best I have ever encountered so far...
Yes our health service is badly neglected and has been starved of funds ever since the Tories came to power, they have tried repeatedly to privatise it, but their plans have been halted by the intervention of the House of Lords. It is currently being run like a business with a bunch of financial administrators who decide who gets what, I hear from doctors that there is a lot of in-fighting between themselves and the admins over their decisions to withhold spending in various areas, causing more and more distress and suffering. Together with many nhs consultants moonlighting for the private sector is it any wonder that we have the biggest backlog in nhs history !
