2 hour wait for an ambulance

[Freddyfruitba...]

[Ste]

Anyone can see a doctor without registering.

You don't need documents to show you're in the country legally to register with a GP.

It's not an issue for the NHS to address, the Boarder Force should be dealing with it.

I believe that a large part of the problem for the police is how they're not 'backed up' by the courts as it must be very demoralising to see all the soft sentences handed out. Sure, 11 properties might have been broken into in one night and there could be some evidence which links someone to one of the properties but that's not the same as proving beyond reasonable doubt that they did it. Chances are local police would be able to draw up a short list of likely suspects.

Might be thinking of someone else but grr, in a different thread didn't you say how there's been a bail hostel or something like that open nearby?

[Pjay]

You only have to walk into an A&E to see where the problem lies.
I don't even live in a very multi cultural area and my local A&E is awash with people who are obviously new to the country. Only 15 years ago, the place would have maybe 5 people on the 50 or so seats on an average midweek daytime. Now there are queues at the desk at all times.

Not opening new hospitals and closing A&E departments have turned the experience into a place where you would question if its viable to go there if you need your life saving in a rush. I'd guess that a quick flight to Portugal would be a safer bet.
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struan80 - I'll go first - satisfied tick 1

[Ste]

a&e is full of people who don't need to be at a&e.

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[Ste]

The unnecessary a&e people aren't immigrants here to use the NHS, they're people with trivial complaints or minor ailments that should ve dealt with at a minor injury unit, by a nurse (staff nurse or nurse prescriber if appropriate) at the local gp surgery or at home with some basic first aid.

I expect that there's a direct correlation between how close to a&e someone lives and how likely they are to make stupid unnecessary trips to a&e.

Sorting out immigration stuff and health service tourism can't be policed by the NHS. The boarder force are the people with the necessary powers to uphold those laws so they're the ones who need to sort themselves out.

[bhinso]

Too many people for the NHS to cope with these days.

Not just immigration, but people living longer hence more elderly dependents. This will get worse as the baby boomer generation is just about hitting the golden age of care.

Also, lots of people ringing 999 with stories along the lines of 'someone's vandalized my snowman'

I'm awaiting lots more 'NHS in crisis' headlines in the coming years.

[M.C]

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[M.C]

[Tierbirdy]

Hello, Im a paramedic.

To put things into perspective, today there will be approximately 100-120 ambulances covering the entirety of greater London. We recieve a average of between 5-6000 calls per day. You do the maths.

You want to know why the waiting times are terrible and who to blame? Its not immigrants. Its not the EU.

1. Endless austerity and budget cuts.

2. A rapidly ageing population being kept alive longer and longer by the miracle that is modern medicine, yet they're living with more complex co-morbidities and as a result spending more time calling ambulances and taking up long term beds in hospitals. Instead of dying of flu, now little old Doris is spending 8 weeks in intensive care blocking a bed with flu, before dying, or waiting another 6 months in a bed before they can find a care home space to send her to. As a result theres no beds for the ambulance to offload its patient, so we're standing in a corridor for hours til they can convert a cleaners cupboard into a bedroom.

3. The never ending amount of calls from utter morons calling 999 for the most trivial of things rather than see their GP. Today I attended to:

- A 20-something year old who was sitting IN A CAR on the street and decided to pull over and call 999 because of some abdominal pain theyve had for 3 days and apparently have no way of getting to hospital. They've not taken any painkillers, nor tried to see their GP. They also demand to go to a hospital on the other side of the city and refuse to go to any of the local hospitals (You dont get to choose where you go, unless theres a clinical reason for it - such as having a stroke and needing to go to a stroke center, you go to the nearest hospital. We're an emergency ambulance, not a taxi)

- A homeless person who called from outside the A&E department with "sore feet, unable to move", they'd already been told several times that day by the A&E doctors to stop wasting their time, theyre not having a bed for the night.

- Someone who decided because they felt a bit sad they were going to drink a whole bottle of vodka then call 999 saying they wanted to die, then spend hours with us on scene saying they didnt want to go to hospital. But we're not allowed to simply go "ok cheerio-bye then".

- Someone who has had "shortness of breath" for a year, and decided to stop taking their medication a month ago, and for the last month theyve been feeling worse. But they dont want to see their GP, or take their medication because they dont like it.

- Someone whos drunk on a bus and "collapsed, unconscious", because the driver has got to the end of his route and theyre too pissed to get off the bus.

None of these warranted an ambulance, or even a trip to A&E. But nobody wants to be the call handler who says "no youre not getting an ambulance" and then they die.

And as for the being on a "go slow" I find that disgustingly offensive. You are more than welcome to come do a Friday/Saturday night shift in inner London with me and see how "slow" we work.

We are ALWAYS on the clock, everything we do is recorded and timed by computer, we're expected to be on scene for no less than 45 minutes with a patient, 30 in "time critical" patients. You ever tried convincing a paranoid suicidal person they have to go to hospital in <45 minutes? Or stabilising, packaging and preparing to transport a pedestrian whos just been hit by a lorry and broken their everything in <30 minutes?

We're allowed 14 minutes at hospital after we offload a patient. Barely enough time to have a piss and a coffee to go from a vending machine if we're lucky.

We only get a break if theres no held calls to give to us (theres always held calls, according to my annual statistics this year I've had 6 breaks. Thats about 1 break every 2 months of shifts) The end of our shift isnt the end of our shift, it's just the time they cant send us any more calls. We then have to drive from the hospital back to the ambulance station, which if your shift ends at 6pm and you have to drive to the station in inner city rush hour traffic can easily take you an hour to do a couple of miles, then offload all your kit, clean down and hand over the vehicle to the next crew taking over. Every day I'm a minimum of 30-40 minutes late finishing.

So yes, it sucks that Little Old Doris had to wait in the cold, but it's not the ambulance service's fault. It's the Tories and the idiots who cant take responsibility for themselves fault.

I am entirely convinced that the Tories are setting the NHS up to fail by cutting it to breaking point, at which point they will swoop in with the likes of G4S and "oh look at this marvellous private hospital we'll subsidise for you... the NHS isnt fit for purpose so lets help it out a bit... oh I guess we just dont need the NHS anymore then, I hope you like having private healthcare insurance like America!" and I truly believe we will see the death of the NHS in our lifetime.

But by all means feel free to complain for all the good it will do.

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[M.C]

[Tierbirdy]

[Freddyfruitba...]

[Pjay]

[Tierbirdy]

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[andym]

[Sister Sledge]

Jumping in as someone who's been in and out the hospital system for decades - I'm quite complicated I'm told..

Ambulances have genuinely been good for me over the years. They come when they can and do what they can - a bit like the police they have their problems. For me as an ambulance patient I hit problems once I get to hospital - they don't want patients. The reality is I'll be dragged back to hospital within 12 hours and perhaps I'll be kept in hospital. That's an extra pointless trip by ambulance drivers when they've better things to be doing.

The police? Never liked them and despise them now. My brother hung himself 3 months ago. Sis in Law was in pieces (too much family tragedy in her own life) and police were instructed to travel 4 miles to see myself and my Dad - my brothers dad too. The police didn't come. My Dad found out that one of his sons had died from someone in a town shopping street, 4 days after the event. I found out the next day. Police claimed they were too busy etc.
Like I said, I have no time for the police. True this - I had to drive into another town, scream at civilian workers at a police desk and demand that a police officer tell me if my brother was actually dead. It took officers 5 hours to come and tell me. A shift change was blamed but I know that was bollocks because I know when their shifts change.

Back to NHS.
I'm complicated. I'm only allowed to see one doctor in my practice because he knows me the best. 4 Months ago I requested some help. Doctor has not delivered. I've now had to wait 17 days to see my doctor since making an appointment (which is why minor ailments land at hospitals..) and it's tomorrow.
Tomorrow I'm going to have it out with my doctor. I'm going to demand help/treatment. If he fails to deliver I'm demanding my second opinion. If that's refused then it's chat to the practice manager. If that doesn't work then after all these years, I'm off to join another practice. If I do that then it's basically back to square one and most of my treatment will be assessed and gone over again - the NHS doesn't have time for that shite.
Apathy and overload is a huge problem within the NHS. It's real people who are suffering because of this shit everywhere.
I really hope the old lady is well.
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CCM 404 DS

[M.C]

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[Ste]

a&e departments need to be far more ruthless with triaging new arrivals.

Which political party did this that or the other and who caused what is all irrelevant when it comes to addressing problems that the NHS faces.

Ste for PM, I'll deport everyone!!!