IN THE HANDS OF BRITAIN'S NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE. PART 2.

The overall experience of us accessing medical intervention, under the National Health Service, was one of reassurance that it was there to be accessed as we needed it. Having called the ambulance, the paramedics responded promptly and provided an efficient initial response. Having gotten our relative to the Emergency and Accident Department of the local hospital, again, the initial response was timely, in terms of her being booked in, allocated a cubicle and being hooked up to the relevant vital signs monitor. The blood sampling for tests was carried out, but could, if more staffing had been available, have been carried out much sooner than it was.

Similarly, the CT Scan and X-Ray could have been carried out much sooner than they were, had it not been for staffing shortage problems and the number of patients and complexity of their condition.  Although the staff were busily and courteously doing their job and trying to be as helpful as they could, under the circumstances, they simply were not able to perform as efficiently as they, doubtlessly, would have wanted to do. The net result is that, as appreciative and patient as the patients and those accompanying them might have been, there was a palpable atmosphere of dissatisfaction and resignation with the excessively long wait in completing the assessment and processing of the patients.

The feeling of frustration was not helped by the fact that it was a very hot and humid day and night, and the only drinks dispensing kiosk in, at least the A & E Department, was out of order.; adding to the risk of patients and visitors becoming dehydrated. This simply should not have been allowed to happen, and the company managing the drinks dispensing machines should have been required to attend to the problem as an emergency.

The problems which our relative and us were confronted with in this hospital are not unique to it; they are common to hospitals within the National Health Service, which is and will continue to be affected with significant staffing problems, increasing cost, and political manipulation, in providing existing services. As well as the cost of the NHS, there is also the added costs to families and relatives who are having to spend more time with their sick patients in Accident and Emergency departments, as the process of assessing and processing patients become extended.

More consideration needs to be given to how all stakeholders can work together to improve a situation which, much of the evidence seems to suggest, is likely to get worse, before it could become better.

In case you are wondering what has become of our sick relative, she has now been moved to another hospital and has had her operation.

It is clear that the NHS is not what it was in the past, but it is still something which the British people should treasure and nurture. There are many countries that would love to have what they have.