I've just seen the details of desperation and despair from an Emergency Doctor that was shared today. Sadly I have been a regular visitor to various NHS hospitals over the last 6 years and we really have seen all the good the great and the terribly sad due to the whole system bursting at the seems. This is not criticism of staff per se, I'm supporting them. Its not an 'opinion' but its what I have seen and I will share to help, a patients recent perspective I think adds weight to what that disastrous situation the doctor is describing.
In the last two weeks we have needed to attend A&E and I want to share what I witnessed.
Two weeks ago I went in the morning. I was completely blown away. It was packed. I thought I was queuing up at a turnstile for a sports event. Once we were checked in, we tried to find a seat but there wasn't any. It was very enclosed and lots of cold and flu symptoms and especially sad to see so many children. This is bang in the middle of the Strep A crises adding more pressure. I counted around 100 people in this local area. New people keep arriving and this is causing tensions in the queue. Some people think they can just jump it and this is causing aggravation. The security guy actually did a good job of directing people to the queue, regardless. People are giving up seats to some clearly in a worse state or with physical problems so we shuffled around trying to find a gap and we end up near to where people check in. Of course this is not nice because like it or not, we can't help hear everyone's concerns. It really is a case of leaving your dignity at the door. I found it incredible that one thing was clear, was the vast majority needed a GP and perhaps either haven't got one or can't get to one. So many of the cases there were GP level and they were called out and sent to the GP separately. Some now stood in the only gap left which was buy automated doors. That's where I seen the 1st frustration from the staff. A nurse came through and told the people off for standing there. But, there is no where else to stand. Added to this the Police were dropping off people in desperate need of mental help, so the numbers just keep going up. We stood for another 3 hours, of course, totally understanding that others have priority but I unfortunately did see some of the frustration in the staff leak over to patients. Not all, I seen a nurse scanning the room, she looked heartbroken, like scanning a battlefield. There was a lady with her friend opposite, maybe 50/60's, the lady looked so sick, but they were sharing a seat and eventually ended up on the floor because the pain was too much to even sit in the chair. Another lady arrived in a wheelchair pushed by her two adult sons. They were ushered next two us and the mother was unconscious. They looked terrified and were frantically calling relatives. They asked how long we were there and so we got talking. They're mother was seen by a stranger in the town centre, slip and fall and bang her head. That person called for an ambulance and was told it would be 6 to 9 hours. They managed to trace the sons and they of course went to get her, now in A&E with us waiting. A member of staff then took over at reception. She came out and gave everyone a dressing down as a welcome. I'm not exaggerating, it was a telling off. "If I call your name and you don't come forward, i'll take you off the list". Wow, there's people in a daze out here, I just thought it was unnecessary, most intelligent people can look at this and see that the staff are not the problem, but also, despite the odd plank moaning, it's not the patients fault either. Shout at members of the government who are ignoring this disaster. She went to say "Also, anyone new coming in, you have to wait outside". I checked my phone, it was -6.
Then last night, unfortunately we were back at A&E. We tried to avoid it by seeking the requirements via 111 but they suggested we dial 999. They booked an ambulance. 10 minutes later we got a call, they can't come out for 5 hours, its too risky to wait, so at gone 10pm we were heading for the other hospital near us. It didn't look as busy and warzone like as the other week. So, hopefully this wont be too long. Either way, one thing I won't do is be that person, the one up asking how long and pestering the staff. I'd seen at least one ambulance with a child who was fast tracked and rightly so! So, it turned out we were in for a different kind of night, this one that gave the insight as to what the staff perhaps get on a regular basis. We seen the triage nurse about 1hr 40 mins after arriving. Then we realised we were in for the long haul as the hours ticked by. One patient was quite loud, very vocal to everyone about how long he's been waiting. But things were about to get worse. A guy arrived, very loud, immediately confrontational. Shouting at the reception staff saying he wasn't going to give them his name. They should know it. He was demanding to see a doctor and wanted to know how long it would be. BTW, this emergency was knee pain. He was dishevelled and although didn't seem drunk, clearly had a lot of issues. He boasted that he's well known for his behaviour, quite proud. He had a large stick that he was using as a makeshift walking stick. He came to wait in the waiting area and sat near us. This put me on alert. His behaviour was erratic and irrational. He was huffing and puffing. Swearing at the security guard that was now watching him from the other room. He emptied the rubbish out of his pockets and dropped on the floor. He than started dragging the seats around, they were connected in 3's and 4's and he manoeuvred his around, towards us, we got up and moved. He had a weapon and clearly had no issues with his knee because i'd seen him skipping to the toilet. He then seemed to be focusing on people that were not white and making comments to them. Then, dragged the seats over to a woman who he made feel very scared and people began moving away from him. He was deliberately trying to get a reaction from innocent sick people and alarmingly, the "security" were not intervening to my surprise. He was called into Triage and then people confirmed that he had been racially abusing two different set of people. There was also a young lady brought in by the police and she seemed really vulnerable, she had ticks and could see she had become very scared, he was banging his stick on the floor at her to try and intimidate her. We said that this poor nurse was now stuck in a tiny room with him and the weapon he was claiming was a walking aid. There were raised voices and the brave nurse who perhaps sadly is hardened to this asked him to leave. In doing so, he now went into a tirade of abuse and also switched the light off in the room which must have been terrifying. At this point, he was now shouting vile abuse aimed at the nurse but the security stayed behind the locked door. Incidentally, we were not separated by a door. He took his vile backside out to reception and another security guard arrived and eventually he left the building.
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| Surprised I didn't see this last night. |
My own experience over recent years of regular contact is that the majority of people working in it are great. Equally, most patients are good people also who wish they didn't have to use it. No one goes to hospital for fun. But I have seen at times the two parties lose patience with each other, we we shouldn't. All the patients that know what the NHS's staff has done for us should stand with them. Equally we should stand up for them and support them when they are abused by planks like I witnessed last night. Hospital bosses also need to look into they're security teams and they're effectiveness, protect your staff! Or get out of your bed and witness what they are facing on the front line! We (NHS STAFF and PUBLIC) have to stick together against those that abuse the system and most of all, those that created the environment that these poor people have to work in. They are the ones to blame.
I have deep resentment for people like that guy I witnessed last night. The sense of entitlement, not contributing to our system yet to abuse it so severely and simply walk away with no consequence. I have the same resentment (if not more) for the people at the very top that have manipulated tragic situations for personal gain for themselves, friends and family. Enough is enough we are the majority, forget your political persuasion, the NHS is sinking and if your thinking clapping them is helping then you may as well think that throwing a deckchair off the titanic could have saved it.
@antmccool7