Walker570 Posted August 7, 2021 Report Share Posted August 7, 2021 Today, I drove around a traffic Island near Kingsbury in Warwickshire and saw some people tending to an injured person on the centre reservation. I carefull droe by and an hour later came back down the same route and that poor injured person was still lay on the centre reservation now wrapped in silver foil. A police officer was in attendance but where on earth was the ambulance service? In my day as a serving police officer nine out of ten times we arrived after the amulance had arrived, they were so efficient. A mile up the road this Goverment ....if you can call it that... is spending millions on some 'toy train' project but cannot provide sufficent ambulances and staff to respond to an emergency. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sam triple Posted August 7, 2021 Report Share Posted August 7, 2021 Too many people draining resources and not enough people wanting to work Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
243deer Posted August 7, 2021 Report Share Posted August 7, 2021 I have a few friends who are paramedics who feel very stretched. One is a shift manager and so prioritises the 999 calls, not a job I would want for any money. Last time I had a stay in hospital I was bed blocking for nearly 6 hours after being given the go ahead in the morning to go home. As a consequence I believe the money is already there to fund services better if it was freed up by more efficient management. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisjpainter Posted August 7, 2021 Report Share Posted August 7, 2021 8 minutes ago, 243deer said: I have a few friends who are paramedics who feel very stretched. One is a shift manager and so prioritises the 999 calls, not a job I would want for any money. Last time I had a stay in hospital I was bed blocking for nearly 6 hours after being given the go ahead in the morning to go home. As a consequence I believe the money is already there to fund services better if it was freed up by more efficient management. This is the crux of the problem. If it's not life threatening, if they're breathing or not in immediate danger, then the chances are crew will be somewhere else dealing with someone whose condition is life threatening, who might not be breathing or who is in immediate danger. Somewhere there will be a person sat in a chair making that call and deliberately choosing to send help somewhere else - and then praying they'd made the right call based on the available information. What a horrible, horrible position to be in. Finite crews, finite resources. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mice! Posted August 7, 2021 Report Share Posted August 7, 2021 24 minutes ago, sam triple said: Too many people draining resources and not enough people wanting to work First part yes, when you watch 999 whats your emergency the ambulance staff are severely stretched, often for reasons that just annoy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clangerman Posted August 7, 2021 Report Share Posted August 7, 2021 at the same time i waited over a hr for a ambulance southmead hospital spent wait for it £250,000 on art that doubles as a clock which nobody can tell the time by tax payers must be overjoyed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisjpainter Posted August 7, 2021 Report Share Posted August 7, 2021 10 minutes ago, clangerman said: at the same time i waited over a hr for a ambulance southmead hospital spent wait for it £250,000 on art that doubles as a clock which nobody can tell the time by tax payers must be overjoyed Ostensibly these things sound dreadful and if this is all the story is, then that's £250k wasted. But it's not uncommon for health trusts to get grants for artistic projects and the stipulation is that it cannot be used in clinical expenditure - often sold as 'this is your chance to spend some money on a luxury that wouldn't come out of your clinical budget. Go on, you deserve it; treat yourself (on a pointless and impenetrable clock)'. The option of 'I'll buy an MRI, thanks' isn't included, sadly. So it becomes a case of 'Well we have to waste this, can anyone think of a way to waste this quickly? A stupid clock? Perfect, we'll sell it as 'brightening the place up for the emotional betterment of our patients' Plus if you spend £250k on staff, you then have to keep paying for them after the money runs out. And then you've made the funding issue worse. This is all based on it NOT being some jobsworth's bright idea, much to the face palming of everyone else in the room... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wymondley Posted August 7, 2021 Report Share Posted August 7, 2021 42 minutes ago, 243deer said: more efficient management. Is the correct answer. I know from personal experience, if it's life threatening, there's probably no better care, the doctors and nurses are fantastic, but you wouldn't believe the ineptitude of the way things are run. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchman Posted August 7, 2021 Report Share Posted August 7, 2021 i would be very interested if some bright spark...could make a "pyramid organisation work chart".......the chart would show every position in the hostipital..........then just highlight the docs...surgeons.....nurses...technicians....cleaners.........................it would be interesting to see what the ratio was of "so called support staff" to clinical staff and who they are.............. i also think the buyers are either on the make or are being shafted....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob85 Posted August 7, 2021 Report Share Posted August 7, 2021 43 minutes ago, ditchman said: i would be very interested if some bright spark...could make a "pyramid organisation work chart".......the chart would show every position in the hostipital..........then just highlight the docs...surgeons.....nurses...technicians....cleaners.........................it would be interesting to see what the ratio was of "so called support staff" to clinical staff and who they are.............. i also think the buyers are either on the make or are being shafted....... On the subject of cleaners, I remember a few years ago when MRSA was rearing its ugly head I read a story in one of the newspapers about a nurse who was threatened with disciplinary action because she was turning up early AND sometimes staying after her shift to give her areas a good scrub. In my work I am expected to clean up my area after myself! My mum is adamant the day they removed the mini Hitlers (matrons) was a big mistake. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Medic1281 Posted August 7, 2021 Report Share Posted August 7, 2021 The jobs *****d Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12gauge82 Posted August 8, 2021 Report Share Posted August 8, 2021 14 hours ago, Medic1281 said: The jobs *****d Spot on and it's not just ambulances or the NHS. All public services are being completly over stretched, with staff shortages and red tape. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon R Posted August 8, 2021 Report Share Posted August 8, 2021 Quote My mum is adamant the day they removed the mini Hitlers (matrons) was a big mistake. The Matron has sadly been replaced with God knows how many people. Office staff in hospitals dealt with appointments, records, wages etc. Now we have Chief Executives, Personnel Teams, Fund Managers and many more hangers on. I would love to know how the ratio of medical staff to non medical has changed over the years. Top heavy with management and no better for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enfieldspares Posted August 8, 2021 Report Share Posted August 8, 2021 (edited) The absence of what was called "the Matron" is a convenient hide behind for the NHS to excuse itself. Just as after WWII German Generals explaining why they, the Generals, lost as it all being Hitler's fault. The NHS (like those German Generals) was actually always "that bad". I'm sixty-three so experienced it. The old forty bed wards with big cast iron radiators and cold stone floors with but two toilets for the entire ward and no double glazed windows (where there wereany windows) were a horror. There's too much myth and rose spectacles about the NHS. Yes it was probably better before Thatcher and her "Trusts" but don't think that bringing back Matron would be a cure all. It wouldn't. Meantime while we are mentioning German Generals... Edited August 8, 2021 by enfieldspares Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nuke Posted August 8, 2021 Report Share Posted August 8, 2021 1 hour ago, Gordon R said: I would love to know how the ratio of medical staff to non medical has changed over the years. Top heavy with management and no better for it. I wonder how much time the medical staff spends on actual medical work. /Markus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old man Posted August 8, 2021 Report Share Posted August 8, 2021 (edited) 20 hours ago, Walker570 said: Today, I drove around a traffic Island near Kingsbury in Warwickshire and saw some people tending to an injured person on the centre reservation. I carefull droe by and an hour later came back down the same route and that poor injured person was still lay on the centre reservation now wrapped in silver foil. A police officer was in attendance but where on earth was the ambulance service? In my day as a serving police officer nine out of ten times we arrived after the amulance had arrived, they were so efficient. A mile up the road this Goverment ....if you can call it that... is spending millions on some 'toy train' project but cannot provide sufficent ambulances and staff to respond to an emergency. I'm afraid we just don't understand? I have given up trying to do this as it's not worth the effort of trying to understand the insane policies pushed these days? No reason or common sense allowed in the process it seems? Just a big push to privatise the NHS by the back door too and give cash to relatives and mates? No criticism of the NHS staff, who would want to be one? Edited August 8, 2021 by old man Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benthejockey Posted August 8, 2021 Report Share Posted August 8, 2021 My friend a few years back had a fall at a team chase - cross country on a horse in a team of 4 going as fast as you can over big solid fences - he turned what I like to call a real s*****r. Hes a hard bloke but he was crying on the stretcher. I had to stay with him for 3 hours in an ambulance, whilst the jolly paramedic refused to give him anything more than paracetamol because he wouldn't stop swearing, because he wasn't in a life threatening condition. Turned out he'd broken his pelvis, dislocated his hip, stuck the top of his hip through his pelvis and pretty much ripped his shoulder off, it was only held together with 1 tendon. Not only did he suffer all that when he got to hospital and they gave him enough drugs to kill a cow he then asked his girlfriend to marry him!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mossy835 Posted August 8, 2021 Report Share Posted August 8, 2021 On 07/08/2021 at 18:08, sam triple said: Too many people draining resources and not enough people wanting to work this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Medic1281 Posted August 8, 2021 Report Share Posted August 8, 2021 12 minutes ago, Benthejockey said: My friend a few years back had a fall at a team chase - cross country on a horse in a team of 4 going as fast as you can over big solid fences - he turned what I like to call a real s*****r. Hes a hard bloke but he was crying on the stretcher. I had to stay with him for 3 hours in an ambulance, whilst the jolly paramedic refused to give him anything more than paracetamol because he wouldn't stop swearing, because he wasn't in a life threatening condition. Turned out he'd broken his pelvis, dislocated his hip, stuck the top of his hip through his pelvis and pretty much ripped his shoulder off, it was only held together with 1 tendon. Not only did he suffer all that when he got to hospital and they gave him enough drugs to kill a cow he then asked his girlfriend to marry him!!! That paramedic needed reporting, as long as it wasn’t me!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12gauge82 Posted August 8, 2021 Report Share Posted August 8, 2021 On 07/08/2021 at 18:08, sam triple said: Too many people draining resources and not enough people wanting to work This is very true and unfortunately I think the root of that problem goes deep. We have a society that is now run by rules rather than morels and that has bred a culture of people who are out to get what they can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benthejockey Posted August 8, 2021 Report Share Posted August 8, 2021 1 hour ago, Medic1281 said: That paramedic needed reporting, as long as it wasn’t me!! You're not a rotund gentleman with cropped grey hair and a bad attitude are you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Medic1281 Posted August 8, 2021 Report Share Posted August 8, 2021 16 minutes ago, Benthejockey said: You're not a rotund gentleman with cropped grey hair and a bad attitude are you? I’ve not got grey hair!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fern01 Posted August 8, 2021 Report Share Posted August 8, 2021 The paramedics have to spend half their time dealing with drunks, drugies and people with mental health issues. Also they often have to wait outside A & E until their patient can be seen. Add to that all the people who should really be going to see their GP with non urgent problems but can't get an appointment for days Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mel b3 Posted August 9, 2021 Report Share Posted August 9, 2021 9 hours ago, 12gauge82 said: This is very true and unfortunately I think the root of that problem goes deep. We have a society that is now run by rules rather than morels and that has bred a culture of people who are out to get what they can. This is exactly the way that I'm seeing most of the problems in society. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vince Green Posted August 9, 2021 Report Share Posted August 9, 2021 (edited) My mother took ill at home and we called the doctor. The doctor said she would have to go into hospital for IV antibiotics because the oral antibiotics weren't working. The doctor phoned for an ambulance to transport her The ambulance arrived about an hour later but it was probably outside her flat for three hours before they drove off with her. They checked her all over, blood pressure, ECG, filling out endless forms about who her gp was, what medication she was taking, what her history was, next of kin etc It all seemed a real waste of time because the gp who knew her history had already seen her and assessed her needs When they got her to the hospital they were queuing for hours outside before she was unloaded. So there you have it, two highly trained ambulance crew, hundreds of thousand pounds worth of vehicle and equipment tied up for probably their whole shift just to transport one granny to hospital for some antibiotics Edited August 9, 2021 by Vince Green Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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