Re: Privatisation of NHS hospitals begins : Mon Jan 14, 2013 2:07 pm  

Dally wrote:

Not only that but if you look at the population it serves the decision is disgraceful. That closure in another town or city would be political suicide.

And even more so when you consider that, because Sidcup A&E was closed in autumn 2010, with patients from that area being channelled to the Queen Elizabeth, there are already four-hour waiting times there, so the closure of Lewisham will simply worsen what is already a far from ideal situation.

Re: Privatisation of NHS hospitals begins : Mon Jan 14, 2013 9:54 pm  

Mintball wrote:

And even more so when you consider that, because Sidcup A&E was closed in autumn 2010, with patients from that area being channelled to the Queen Elizabeth, there are already four-hour waiting times there, so the closure of Lewisham will simply worsen what is already a far from ideal situation.

Even just considering the population of the Borough of Lewisham itself, that would be around the same as Belfast and bigger than Nottingham (which has a magnificent hospital). As I said, could you imagine the outcry if those cities had no A&E?

Re: Privatisation of NHS hospitals begins : Mon Jan 14, 2013 10:06 pm  

Another way of limiting access to scarce resources? http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/artic ... l#comments

Another way of limiting access to scarce resources? http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/artic ... l#comments

Re: Privatisation of NHS hospitals begins : Tue Jan 15, 2013 7:04 am  

Dally wrote: Another way of limiting access to scarce resources? http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/artic ... l#comments No not really, just a silly health and safety story that will probably already have been resolved locally by a sensible alternative plan, which the Mail won't bother reporting on. Having recently spent the whole of one Friday night through to Saturday morning (11pm to 5am) in one of just two of our city's A&E departments I can categorically state with the benefit of my experience that the biggest waste of NHS resources during that particular shift was the inability of the majority of "customers" to control their alcohol intake to the extent that during the busiest period from around 1am to 3am there were more police officers in the waiting area than hospital staff with at least two "customers" being handcuffed and accompanied by at least one officer the whole time - not just a waste of NHS money but a waste of police money too, it would be very interesting to look at policing levels in our city on a Friday night/Saturday morning and see just how many of them are out on the streets and how many are filling the whole of their night shift sitting in A&E, I counted at least a dozen of them in there at 1am and they were still there in numbers when I left at 5am. Part of that time was spent on the A&E admisssions and observation ward as a kind doctor spotted that we were not drunk and abusive and suggested that we may prefer to wait for our test results there, we sat in a darkened ward with one member of staff looking out for around twenty beds in two bays where most of the "customers" were sleeping off the effects of alcohol - this was the type of ward that the Mail story is about, through the day it would be for temporary admissions while an admission plan is sorted out, by night it becomes a ward for drunks who can't be trusted to be released back into the city. It was a revelation of a night to me I can tell you.

Dally wrote: Another way of limiting access to scarce resources? http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/artic ... l#comments No not really, just a silly health and safety story that will probably already have been resolved locally by a sensible alternative plan, which the Mail won't bother reporting on. Having recently spent the whole of one Friday night through to Saturday morning (11pm to 5am) in one of just two of our city's A&E departments I can categorically state with the benefit of my experience that the biggest waste of NHS resources during that particular shift was the inability of the majority of "customers" to control their alcohol intake to the extent that during the busiest period from around 1am to 3am there were more police officers in the waiting area than hospital staff with at least two "customers" being handcuffed and accompanied by at least one officer the whole time - not just a waste of NHS money but a waste of police money too, it would be very interesting to look at policing levels in our city on a Friday night/Saturday morning and see just how many of them are out on the streets and how many are filling the whole of their night shift sitting in A&E, I counted at least a dozen of them in there at 1am and they were still there in numbers when I left at 5am. Part of that time was spent on the A&E admisssions and observation ward as a kind doctor spotted that we were not drunk and abusive and suggested that we may prefer to wait for our test results there, we sat in a darkened ward with one member of staff looking out for around twenty beds in two bays where most of the "customers" were sleeping off the effects of alcohol - this was the type of ward that the Mail story is about, through the day it would be for temporary admissions while an admission plan is sorted out, by night it becomes a ward for drunks who can't be trusted to be released back into the city. It was a revelation of a night to me I can tell you.

Re: Privatisation of NHS hospitals begins : Tue Jan 15, 2013 1:57 pm  

JerryChicken wrote:

...I can categorically state with the benefit of my experience that the biggest waste of NHS resources during that particular shift was the inability of the majority of "customers" to control their alcohol intake ...

I used to share a house with a radiographer, her view was the same as yours, at least in nightshift X Ray.

Re: Privatisation of NHS hospitals begins : Tue Jan 15, 2013 2:03 pm  

Drunks.
Drug addicts.
Kids having taken so called "legal highs"
Victims on drunken violence.
In certain areas, non-native Brits (largely) who wish to see a doctor but want to circumvent the GP system.

These clog up all A&E's especially Fridays and Saturdays. Something needs doing about the scale of the problem. One or two, yes but wholseale, no.

Re: Privatisation of NHS hospitals begins : Tue Jan 15, 2013 2:11 pm  

Dally wrote:

Drunks.
Drug addicts.
Kids having taken so called "legal highs"
Victims on drunken violence.
In certain areas, non-native Brits (largely) who wish to see a doctor but want to circumvent the GP system.

These clog up all A&E's especially Fridays and Saturdays. Something needs doing about the scale of the problem. One or two, yes but wholseale, no.

Broken Britain?

Re: Privatisation of NHS hospitals begins : Tue Jan 15, 2013 2:17 pm  

WIZEB wrote:

Broken Britain?

No, low-lifes.

[tb]

Re: Privatisation of NHS hospitals begins : Tue Jan 15, 2013 5:06 pm  

Dally wrote:

... non-native Brits ...

Dally wrote:

... low-lifes ...

There really are times you push it close, aren't there?

Re: Privatisation of NHS hospitals begins : Tue Jan 15, 2013 6:11 pm  

tb wrote:

There really are times you push it close, aren't there?

A guest appearance from a someone who likes to select words and put them together out of context!

I can only think that your post provides a sort of Freudian slip-like insight into your own thoughts. Disgraceful.