Yesterday, a 14 yr old, left in the care of Pembrokeshire Health Board, died of 'neglect' in hospital. Her name was Sarah Bernard, and the brief news item reported that the Health Board was 'investigating the circumstances'. They also said "Sorry", in the manner of an inert eraser that had just removed 14 years of a beautiful past and decades of a beautiful future for Sarah and her loved ones. We'll let you know when more details emerge.
A 34 year old research scientist, Kathryn Ann Howell, was found hanged on October 31st 2011 in her room in Whitchurch Hospital. Her brother discovered her harrowing suicide letter on her Macbook Pro Laptop days later. A nursing assistant, supposedly carrying out hourly checks on Kathryn failed to confirm the checks, with her signature, in accordance with hopital procedure. These checks should have been carried out by a qualified nurse at the very least. However, the jury of four men and six women concluded that "Whilst recognising there were procedural failures, we don't feel that the outcome would have been any different". Well, we'll never know, will we, because nobody cared enough to look after Kathryn properly ! I'm still waiting for the empty apology from the Universally Inept Health Board, along with their reassurance that "procedures have been reiforced to enure that this can never happen again". This is the same crap spouted out by a health board or Trust whose first thought is to absolve itself of any responsibility for these needless deaths, like "all ligature points have been eliminated....." and "staff have received re-training on the treatment of 'at risk' patients." (Yeah Right ). Every time there has been a death at Whitchurch, that's all we've heard - empty, insincere rhetoric that serves only to cover-up their neglect of patient care.
Another court, presided over by Mary Hassell, decided that a mentally ill pensioner, Ann Cole , 69.had died of 'natural causes'.after weeks of neglect that resulted in this poor lady being found in old clothes, in a urine soaked bed. The pathologist said that "She died of multiple organ failure caused by longstanding pneumonia in both lungs and an abcess on the diphragm that had not responded to antibiotics ! It's incredible that a patient with such longstanding physical health problems was denied the proper care, simply because she was an inpatient of a mental health unit - Llanfair Hospital, a stone's throw away from Llandough hospital where Anne Cole could, and should, have been given proper care, much earlier on when symptoms must have become obvious. There are no excuses for allowing Mrs Cole to die in such circumstances and the empty words of the Health Board's Deputy Chief Executive are as insulting as any could be, "The Health Board is committed to fully investigating these concerns ( expressed futily by family members on many occasions ) and has already spoken to the family and provided them with personal contact to discuss these concerns. We would once again like to offer our sympathies to Mrs Cole's family and offer any help we can". Well 'Bully for you' I say,....' as it's way too late to do anyone any good' - especially Anne Cole. Mary Hassell failed to record a narrative verdict that would have permitted further investigation. Clearly, a coroner determined to get at the very roots of these tragic stories of death amongst the mentally ill - (yeah right - this being the third time I have seen her 'cop out' of her responsibilities.)
The problem is, the mentally ill receive the poorest care of any speciality. They are stigmatised by everyone, including the Health Board. A Mental Health unit does not have a doctor on site to care for any physical ailments. Good management practices are non-existent, as is evidenced by the high number of these cases which show that the mentally ill are at the bottom of the ladder of good, holistic healthcare. It's become a demarkation issue, with no union to defend them. Patients are regularly discharged too early for 'Care in the Community' that is woefully inadequate ( if in place at all ), resulting in high numbers of re-admissions and yet more poor care and treatment.
My opinion is that people should be diagnosed with 'Health' problems, and not deliberately segregated as being 'Mentally ' or 'Physically' . If somone is ill, they deserve the very best care and treatment that the NHS in Wales should be offering, regardless of the perceived ailment. Incidentally, the mentally ill are not covered by our so-called 'Equality and Equal Opportunity' legislation. It's enough to make you puke ! R.W.
Wednesday, 25 April 2012
Monday, 23 April 2012
NHS Failing to learn from mistakes (Guardian)
Firstly we hope you like our new layout. We thought it was time for a bit of a 'Spring clean' in here, dust away the cobwebs and put a fresh face on it. I love it!
The content remains the same though, so be prepared for more posts from Robin and I on all things health.
This week I am drawn to an article in the Guardian newspaper with the headline; 'NHS failing to learn from mistakes, says ombudsman Dame Julie Mellor'.
When I first saw the headline I thought 'well that's not going to be of any interest to our readers because I'm sure Dame Mellor is the parliamentary and health service ombudsman for England'. Indeed she is, however, the story she is referring to is from Aberystwyth - must be bad if England are getting involved eh!
The Ombudsman for Wales, Peter Tyndall, was asked to look into a case involving an 81 year old male patient with diabetes who died whilst in hospital.
Upon review of the case it seems there were a number of holes in the charts for the patient, including blood sugar monitoring, which begs the question as to whether the monitoring was even carried out in the first instance. Worrying.
I want to quote a couple of paragraphs because I think they are important points:
Tyndall's report said Joseph had a hypoglycaemic attack, caused by low blood sugar levels, to which the hospital's failings contributed. The attack had an "unspecified causal effect" on his subsequent cardiac arrest and deterioration, that left him needing 24-hour nursing care. He died, aged 81, in April 2009, days after being discharged to a nursing home.
Joseph's (the patient) daughter, Rowena Jones, a nurse at another hospital governed by the Hywel Dda health board, said: "I've worked in the NHS all my life. I love the NHS but I'm not prepared to defend poor record-keeping, poor nursing, poor management and lying."
This patient died in 2009, which means that, in order to get to the point of having a verdict from an Ombudsman, this family have had to wait 3 years. That's a very long time, in my opinion, to realise something so straight forward and fundamental led to the death of an elderly man, reliant on the care of others.
It seems that the Ombudsman thought it was an unacceptable period of time to wait also as he fined the Health Board £1700 for the time taken to pursue their complaint.
A few weeks back I wrote a complaint to Cardiff and Vale Health Board relating to a hospital stay I had, whereby the staff had failed (among other things) to write in my notes from 8.30am to 4.30pm, despite monitoring my BP and urine ketone levels. I was told by some anonymous reader that my complaint was trivial, however, I think this post highlights the importance of regular record keeping.
I suppose, to finalise this, I should put in the quote from the Health Board, all things being fair:
"The health board takes seriously any allegation of breaches of professional standards and will always investigate these as it did with the previous case. All nursing staff have been reminded of the professional standards expected of them by the health board and their professional body, the Nursing and Midwifery Council."
And look - another HB blaming their staff!
Lynnette Spragg
The content remains the same though, so be prepared for more posts from Robin and I on all things health.
This week I am drawn to an article in the Guardian newspaper with the headline; 'NHS failing to learn from mistakes, says ombudsman Dame Julie Mellor'.
When I first saw the headline I thought 'well that's not going to be of any interest to our readers because I'm sure Dame Mellor is the parliamentary and health service ombudsman for England'. Indeed she is, however, the story she is referring to is from Aberystwyth - must be bad if England are getting involved eh!
The Ombudsman for Wales, Peter Tyndall, was asked to look into a case involving an 81 year old male patient with diabetes who died whilst in hospital.
Upon review of the case it seems there were a number of holes in the charts for the patient, including blood sugar monitoring, which begs the question as to whether the monitoring was even carried out in the first instance. Worrying.
I want to quote a couple of paragraphs because I think they are important points:
Tyndall's report said Joseph had a hypoglycaemic attack, caused by low blood sugar levels, to which the hospital's failings contributed. The attack had an "unspecified causal effect" on his subsequent cardiac arrest and deterioration, that left him needing 24-hour nursing care. He died, aged 81, in April 2009, days after being discharged to a nursing home.
Joseph's (the patient) daughter, Rowena Jones, a nurse at another hospital governed by the Hywel Dda health board, said: "I've worked in the NHS all my life. I love the NHS but I'm not prepared to defend poor record-keeping, poor nursing, poor management and lying."
This patient died in 2009, which means that, in order to get to the point of having a verdict from an Ombudsman, this family have had to wait 3 years. That's a very long time, in my opinion, to realise something so straight forward and fundamental led to the death of an elderly man, reliant on the care of others.
It seems that the Ombudsman thought it was an unacceptable period of time to wait also as he fined the Health Board £1700 for the time taken to pursue their complaint.
A few weeks back I wrote a complaint to Cardiff and Vale Health Board relating to a hospital stay I had, whereby the staff had failed (among other things) to write in my notes from 8.30am to 4.30pm, despite monitoring my BP and urine ketone levels. I was told by some anonymous reader that my complaint was trivial, however, I think this post highlights the importance of regular record keeping.
I suppose, to finalise this, I should put in the quote from the Health Board, all things being fair:
"The health board takes seriously any allegation of breaches of professional standards and will always investigate these as it did with the previous case. All nursing staff have been reminded of the professional standards expected of them by the health board and their professional body, the Nursing and Midwifery Council."
And look - another HB blaming their staff!
Lynnette Spragg
Wednesday, 18 April 2012
Another 'NEW' PLan from the UIHB - even more nonsensicle ( for the patient)
Thanks to my friend and colleague for taking the time to write such a brilliant post - Lynnette is now ( officially ) my 'partner in crime' in keeping our blog going. I know I'm early 'posting', but my news couldn't wait !
By stealth ( again ) the Uiversally Inept Health Board have altered the hospital referral system. Now, all Vale patents who are referred to hospital by their G.P. HAVE to ring Barry Hospital in order to get an appointment at one of three hospitals. This brilliant move emasculates the GPs and puts the important referral to some helpless ( and overworked ) administrator. NOW, the GP gives you a telephone number for YOU to ring in order to get your much-needed hospital appointment. Presumably, this will be known (henceforth) as 'Triage by Telephone' , enacted by some poor minion, not qualified for the task. Needless to say , this will add time on the poor patient's wait for the hospital appointment, but who cares ? Certainly not the UIHB, who place the care of the patient as their absolute last priority. The old joke used to go like this, "What is the lowest form of life in a hospital ?" Answer - "the Medical Student." Now it's "The Patient" who, supposedly, is the very reason for the existence of the NHS, who is at the bottom of the heap, just below cleaning out the seagulls. So, there you have it - if you want fast treatment from the NHS - become of seagull ! .
I can't cope with such stupidity, so I'll let Llinos have the next word. R.W.
By stealth ( again ) the Uiversally Inept Health Board have altered the hospital referral system. Now, all Vale patents who are referred to hospital by their G.P. HAVE to ring Barry Hospital in order to get an appointment at one of three hospitals. This brilliant move emasculates the GPs and puts the important referral to some helpless ( and overworked ) administrator. NOW, the GP gives you a telephone number for YOU to ring in order to get your much-needed hospital appointment. Presumably, this will be known (henceforth) as 'Triage by Telephone' , enacted by some poor minion, not qualified for the task. Needless to say , this will add time on the poor patient's wait for the hospital appointment, but who cares ? Certainly not the UIHB, who place the care of the patient as their absolute last priority. The old joke used to go like this, "What is the lowest form of life in a hospital ?" Answer - "the Medical Student." Now it's "The Patient" who, supposedly, is the very reason for the existence of the NHS, who is at the bottom of the heap, just below cleaning out the seagulls. So, there you have it - if you want fast treatment from the NHS - become of seagull ! .
I can't cope with such stupidity, so I'll let Llinos have the next word. R.W.
Tuesday, 17 April 2012
Universally Having a Laugh Board
Thanks to Robin for keeping checks on me, I have been poorly but also busy with a toddler. Anyway, back at the job at hand.
I really wish that the UK public would be more proactive about complaining. I am sure that the above statement is so far from the truth. We've seen so many stories about baby deaths, ward closures, bed shortages, staff shortages, parking charges.... shall I go on? These people have families, friends, people who are going to be equally annoyed that their loved ones have had to go through this. I would think their numbers would be quite high. Do David Francis or Jan Williams have figures to back up this sweeping statement? If yes, I want to see them!!
'But they admit that mistakes and lapses do happen in a busy hospital.'
Ask yourselves why UHW is so busy? Is it because the Health Board have spent the last few years moving EVERYTHING POSSIBLE to the UHW site? I should point out that these are 'educated' people, and despite the plethora of inadequate decisions they make, they're not as dumb as they appear.
They write: "We are only as good as the weakest link in our chain and, as the NHS is the ultimate “people business” – we employ more than 14,000 people – it is inevitable that, sometimes, errors of judgement, mistakes or lapses in standards occur...
"When things go wrong, we encourage staff to identify the problem and to do everything possible to put things right. Our policy is not to excuse the inexcusable, but to be open and to explain what has happened to the patient or family."
This just leaves me speechless....
If my boss were blatantly blaming me and my colleagues for all the inadequacies and complaints in the hospital I would not be happy! Why do the Health Board think morale is so low? They're pinning the failures on the very people who are working around the clock on the floor. Unlike the Health Board, the nurses, doctors, physcians, cleaners etc work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The Health Board largely work 9-5 and certainly not on weekends! What a cheek!
Right, I'm going to have to stop there because I am getting really annoyed and stress is something which brings on my sickness. I shall endeavour to catch up soon, I just know there'll be plenty to write about!
Lynnette Spragg
This title caught my eye today: 'NHS admits 'below standard' level of care led to baby's death'.
Is it me or do they make it sound like that's completely acceptable? 'We accept full responsibility, have a nice day'. Makes me so sick to think that a service which is paid for by every single NI paying citizen is failing us in a very obvious way, and if that wasn't enough, they know it and don't seem to care!
Now I obviously haven't seen the report so I don't know whether the midwife, Julie Louise Richards, was indeed at fault, or whether it had more to do with the long hours, shortage of staff, low morale etc that we frequently talk/hear about in UHW and beyond. I should imagine that it's easy to pin it on one woman and ruin her entire career than to admit that you have failed, as a Health Board, to properly manage staffing levels and patient numbers.
This is my favourite line in the article because I think it shows that us 'mere mortals' on the streets have more of an idea what's going on a ground level than the stuck up, highly paid, snobs in suits sitting around the coffee table once a month: “It wasn’t an accident; it wasn’t a mistake; Noah died because people didn’t care enough to do their jobs properly.”
When did this start? Maybe when education rules were changed, and suddenly you could become a midwife on 5 GCSE's and a 3 year degree but compassion wasn't a necessary addition. That's not saying that ALL midwives coming through the degree programme are the same, but I certainly think that those midwives who have worked their way up the ranks, cleaning bedpans and wiping the floors, have more reason to be thankful for the elevated and privileged role of 'midwife'. These people know how precious life is and want to be a part of the entire experience, not just 'deliver your baby'.
Another newspaper headline:'Cardiff's University Hospital of Wales apologises for mistakes and pledges to provide best possible care'
I'd like to add the above was written on March 2nd, 2012, and, while I don't expect change overnight, I did have shocking treatment (reported on here) a few weeks after this article was written!
This is one part of the story, previous to this paragraph it is stated that a letter has been written directly to the SW Echo from the Health Board. 'In their letter today, Mr Francis and Ms Williams say that such cases "are not representative of the experiences of the many thousands of patients who pass through our doors every year"'.
I really wish that the UK public would be more proactive about complaining. I am sure that the above statement is so far from the truth. We've seen so many stories about baby deaths, ward closures, bed shortages, staff shortages, parking charges.... shall I go on? These people have families, friends, people who are going to be equally annoyed that their loved ones have had to go through this. I would think their numbers would be quite high. Do David Francis or Jan Williams have figures to back up this sweeping statement? If yes, I want to see them!!
'But they admit that mistakes and lapses do happen in a busy hospital.'
Ask yourselves why UHW is so busy? Is it because the Health Board have spent the last few years moving EVERYTHING POSSIBLE to the UHW site? I should point out that these are 'educated' people, and despite the plethora of inadequate decisions they make, they're not as dumb as they appear.
They write: "We are only as good as the weakest link in our chain and, as the NHS is the ultimate “people business” – we employ more than 14,000 people – it is inevitable that, sometimes, errors of judgement, mistakes or lapses in standards occur...
"When things go wrong, we encourage staff to identify the problem and to do everything possible to put things right. Our policy is not to excuse the inexcusable, but to be open and to explain what has happened to the patient or family."
This just leaves me speechless....
If my boss were blatantly blaming me and my colleagues for all the inadequacies and complaints in the hospital I would not be happy! Why do the Health Board think morale is so low? They're pinning the failures on the very people who are working around the clock on the floor. Unlike the Health Board, the nurses, doctors, physcians, cleaners etc work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The Health Board largely work 9-5 and certainly not on weekends! What a cheek!
Right, I'm going to have to stop there because I am getting really annoyed and stress is something which brings on my sickness. I shall endeavour to catch up soon, I just know there'll be plenty to write about!
Lynnette Spragg
Monday, 16 April 2012
Lynnette and 'Women's Things'
With all the recent cock-ups in women's and maternity services, I had hoped that my friend and colleague, Lynette Spragg, would have made some appropriate remarks, such as "I told you so....", and "Why don't you listen to the women for once ?" Unfortunately my friend has been rather unwell, so I am making an Interlude that will help to build up the heralding of her return to the keyboard. UHW has not fulfilled its' promises with regard to improving women's services, which is a bitter disappointment after the document "What Women Want" ( Ha, bloody Ha ! ). A baby is born brain damaged and dies, and all the Universally Inept Health Board can say is "Sorry", after an investigation showed deliberate negligence on the part of a midwife. I'm sure the parents and family of that poor baby will find little comfort in that word 'Sorry' - so inadequate and insincere as it undoubtedly was. Then, we read of a shortage of beds, with one expectant mum being sent to Taunton, all the way from Cardiff, because the Head of Maternity Services couldn't plan a P.... U. in a brewery, much less the care of an expectant mother in need of a bed ( or even a stable manger, for that matter ). What a complete mess has been made when 'planning' ( Ha bloody Ha ! ), the completely unnecessary relocation of these services from Llandough to a new, £14m ( min. ) unit at U.H.W.. With such incompetent planning, it is appropriate that the timing coincides with the 100th anniversary of that other planning masterpiece, The Titanic. Our NHS services may not sink, but they certainly are 'All at Sea'. Over to you, Llinos...... R.W.
Saturday, 7 April 2012
"Nye Bevan would spin in his grave" - Prime Minister Cameron, 05.04.2012
Under the damning strap-line, 'Prime MInister criticises Labour-run Government's record on the NHS and education as he visits Echo office', David Cameron said, I think Nye Bevan would be pretty upset if he saw what was happening right now where the U.K. Government specifically singled out the National Health Service and said, "We are not going to cut the NHS; we are going to increase investment in our NHS" but the Labour government decided to cut the NHS. "So, Wales gets the extra money through the Barnet formula because we are investing in the NHS in England, but it chooses to single out health and cut it by half a Billion pounds over the coming years. I think that Nye Bevan would spin in his grave if he could see that today". The Conservative leader defended his right to intervene on subjects for which the Welsh Government was responsible and said it was part of the "Respect Agenda" between the two administration. He said, "As Prime Minister of the United Kingdom I have a perfect right to look at what's happening in terms of healthcare and education and pose some difficult questions."
Insisting he had "no reservations" about criticising the record of another government, he said, "when you see standards slipping in education and healthcare - where since the last election the number of people waiting for their operation in Wales has almost trebled, whereas in England it's actually gone down by a third - these are real problems."
In my opinion, it's about time someone in Westminster spoke out about the neglect and mismanagement of the budgets for Health and Education. The poor patients in Wales have had to bear the consequences of the savage cuts to their health service for the past twelve years. Now we all know that inadequate, inaccessible services are the result of deliberate policy made by the incompetent members of our elected government. Criminal ? - maybe ; Fraudulent ? - almost certainly ; Deliberate misrepresentation to the electorate in their manifesto ? - Absolutely 'bang to rights' - and we are the stupid berks who elected, and re-elected, the self-serving, dishonest swine !
So, how does it feel to be conned by people you trusted ? Pretty galling, isn't it ? And we are expected to suffer these poorer standards of living in order to help cover-up the incompetence of our Welsh Government. So, how does this reflect on the consequences of Devolution I'd say that the devolving of powers over health and education to Wales has been an unmitigated failure - wouldn't you ? So, let's demand a referendum on the subject, in order put the government of our mismanaged country back to Parliament where it should have stayed. And what do we have to say in reply to the protestations of Assembly Members Jenny Rathbone and Lynne Neagle who claim that 'last May, the Welsh people backed Labour's vision for the NHS.........? "Cobblers !" - We haven't been consulted on anything - fairly and properly - ever since the start of the Welsh Assembly, and the promised 'Openness and Transparency' is still a pipedream of the deluders of the Welsh people. In response to my question about their duty to represent the interests of their constituents, my Labour representative said "Our first loyalty is to the Labour Party - we owe the Party everything.".
So, there we are - living proof of the old adage "politicians will say anything to achieve power - that is their one and only prioroty". But let me reassure politically minded devotees that - while we are having to pay at least 20% more for our essential supplies, and even more for fuel, fares and utilities - your elected representatives are still living 'high on the hog' and putting two fingers up to us at the same time ! Happy Easter, all. R.W.
Insisting he had "no reservations" about criticising the record of another government, he said, "when you see standards slipping in education and healthcare - where since the last election the number of people waiting for their operation in Wales has almost trebled, whereas in England it's actually gone down by a third - these are real problems."
In my opinion, it's about time someone in Westminster spoke out about the neglect and mismanagement of the budgets for Health and Education. The poor patients in Wales have had to bear the consequences of the savage cuts to their health service for the past twelve years. Now we all know that inadequate, inaccessible services are the result of deliberate policy made by the incompetent members of our elected government. Criminal ? - maybe ; Fraudulent ? - almost certainly ; Deliberate misrepresentation to the electorate in their manifesto ? - Absolutely 'bang to rights' - and we are the stupid berks who elected, and re-elected, the self-serving, dishonest swine !
So, how does it feel to be conned by people you trusted ? Pretty galling, isn't it ? And we are expected to suffer these poorer standards of living in order to help cover-up the incompetence of our Welsh Government. So, how does this reflect on the consequences of Devolution I'd say that the devolving of powers over health and education to Wales has been an unmitigated failure - wouldn't you ? So, let's demand a referendum on the subject, in order put the government of our mismanaged country back to Parliament where it should have stayed. And what do we have to say in reply to the protestations of Assembly Members Jenny Rathbone and Lynne Neagle who claim that 'last May, the Welsh people backed Labour's vision for the NHS.........? "Cobblers !" - We haven't been consulted on anything - fairly and properly - ever since the start of the Welsh Assembly, and the promised 'Openness and Transparency' is still a pipedream of the deluders of the Welsh people. In response to my question about their duty to represent the interests of their constituents, my Labour representative said "Our first loyalty is to the Labour Party - we owe the Party everything.".
So, there we are - living proof of the old adage "politicians will say anything to achieve power - that is their one and only prioroty". But let me reassure politically minded devotees that - while we are having to pay at least 20% more for our essential supplies, and even more for fuel, fares and utilities - your elected representatives are still living 'high on the hog' and putting two fingers up to us at the same time ! Happy Easter, all. R.W.
Thursday, 5 April 2012
Target NHS Wales - The Five Day Week
After reading Lynette's complaint letter about her recent stay in hospital, I am at once not at all surpised but still ruddy angry. It is clear from recent changes to admissions policy that patients are to be jammed into 'assessment' wards, in the hope that they'll get fed up with waiting for treatment and leave. Certainly, every Friday is 'Clear Out' day, to rid the hospital of its Duty of Care to patients that have been sent into hospital, by their GPs, because they need secondary care. The changes to NHS policy over the past eleven years have made care harder to access, with patients requiring beds put on a low priority. Now, the policy is : treat the symptoms - in assessment if possible - and send the patient home without addressing the root cause of the need for admission.
I experienced this last September, after collapsing in a hotel in Cardiff. I was taken by ambulance to UHW, with an initial diagnosis offered as being Bradycardia ( slow Heart Rate ). This was on a Wednesday evening during which time, I saw one doctor, who nodded at me and said "Stop his Atenolol and Clonazepam". No examination, just, "stop his pills". I spent the night with no food or drink and only the shouting of drunks to sing me to sleep. The following afternoon I was despatched to a Links ward, where I asked to see a cardiologist, because I have unstable Angina and possible Arryhthmia - a not unreasonable request, I thought. By the next day, and a Tuna sandwich later, I was visited by a junior doctor and informed that I was being sent home, and that I had to see my GP to get a referral to my Cardiologist. When I dared to question this, I was informed that 'a nurse had spoken to the Cardiologist and that, as my heart rate was now normal, I was being discharged.' Four months later I saw a Cardiologist who, after a failed Treadmill test, told me that I needed an Angiogram. Meanwhile, I was to get plenty of rest until my appointment arrived two months later. The Angio showed that I needed an Angioplasty 'in about a month's time', meanwhile I was to rest and use my GTN spray ( the universal cure for all heart conditions, lol.
Anyway, to cut a long story short, it is now quite obvious that the NHS in Wales is on a Five Day Week - unless your inconsiderate enough to be in danger of dying over the weekend ( it being your fault entirely that you made yourself ill in the first place, as per 'The Jewell theory of medicine' ). Have you tried getting an out of hours doctor to see you at the weekend ? Have you waited for hours for an ambulance that is stuck outside A & E, waiting to discharge its' patient, and all this due to the Five Day working week brought into force by the Universally Inept Health Boards, aided and abetted by Dr Tony Jewell and the rest of our uncaring government.The NHS mission statement is 'We attempt to offer patient care that is fit for purpose, but from centralised, smaller hospital bed units, this care being made available for five days a week only'.
As Tony Blair once said ( and many fawning Ministers afterwards ) "We offer the best health care in the world". I do hope the ghost of Aneurin Bevan wasn't listening. My advice ? - move anywhere else in the European union where, even in Prague, you will receive much better health care. R. W.
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/christina-patterson/a-
crisis in nursing - six stays in hospital and six first hand experiences of care that doesn't care enough.
I experienced this last September, after collapsing in a hotel in Cardiff. I was taken by ambulance to UHW, with an initial diagnosis offered as being Bradycardia ( slow Heart Rate ). This was on a Wednesday evening during which time, I saw one doctor, who nodded at me and said "Stop his Atenolol and Clonazepam". No examination, just, "stop his pills". I spent the night with no food or drink and only the shouting of drunks to sing me to sleep. The following afternoon I was despatched to a Links ward, where I asked to see a cardiologist, because I have unstable Angina and possible Arryhthmia - a not unreasonable request, I thought. By the next day, and a Tuna sandwich later, I was visited by a junior doctor and informed that I was being sent home, and that I had to see my GP to get a referral to my Cardiologist. When I dared to question this, I was informed that 'a nurse had spoken to the Cardiologist and that, as my heart rate was now normal, I was being discharged.' Four months later I saw a Cardiologist who, after a failed Treadmill test, told me that I needed an Angiogram. Meanwhile, I was to get plenty of rest until my appointment arrived two months later. The Angio showed that I needed an Angioplasty 'in about a month's time', meanwhile I was to rest and use my GTN spray ( the universal cure for all heart conditions, lol.
Anyway, to cut a long story short, it is now quite obvious that the NHS in Wales is on a Five Day Week - unless your inconsiderate enough to be in danger of dying over the weekend ( it being your fault entirely that you made yourself ill in the first place, as per 'The Jewell theory of medicine' ). Have you tried getting an out of hours doctor to see you at the weekend ? Have you waited for hours for an ambulance that is stuck outside A & E, waiting to discharge its' patient, and all this due to the Five Day working week brought into force by the Universally Inept Health Boards, aided and abetted by Dr Tony Jewell and the rest of our uncaring government.The NHS mission statement is 'We attempt to offer patient care that is fit for purpose, but from centralised, smaller hospital bed units, this care being made available for five days a week only'.
As Tony Blair once said ( and many fawning Ministers afterwards ) "We offer the best health care in the world". I do hope the ghost of Aneurin Bevan wasn't listening. My advice ? - move anywhere else in the European union where, even in Prague, you will receive much better health care. R. W.
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/christina-patterson/a-
crisis in nursing - six stays in hospital and six first hand experiences of care that doesn't care enough.
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