Tag Archives: NHS

Discharges in the dead of night

Posted on April 15, 2012 | 1 comment

NHS Hospital discharges: thousands claimed to occur overnight

The news this week has been full of horror stories of patients being discharged from hospital in the dead of night. “Where is the compassion?” they cried, “How could they, the supposed caring profession?”  The stories began after The Times discovered, via Freedom of Information requests, that 100 NHS trusts sent 239,233 patients home last year between 11pm and 6am

The immediate response of the press was to paint a picture of an army of ambulance drivers booting out frail 90 year olds; dumping them at their front doors, alone in the dead of night. This dramatic depiction fuelled discussions on various forums and news programmes. The callers on Radio 4s “Any answers” actually made me turn the radio off.

Continue reading →

1 Comment

Posted in In Between

Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

An alternative day: how technology could enhance healthcare

Posted on March 29, 2012 | Leave a comment

Real day: 

I arrive at work, and quickly check my emails on my phone before I enter the signal black hole that is the hospital where I spend my working life. The SHO is not in yet, so I persuade the ward clerk to briefly give up one of only 3 functional computers on the ward and update the patient list with the details of the 2 new patients, whose names are scrawled onto the whiteboard. I skim through their notes, and cast my eyes over them to make sure nothing urgent is required. I leave a note for the SHO requesting her to arrange some tests, before I go to the secretaries’ office to hunt for a working dictaphone and a spare tape.

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Posted in In Between

Tagged , , , , , , ,

Why I’m against the Health and Social Care Bill

Posted on March 10, 2012 | 1 comment

“Are you political, then?” I was asked by a colleague yesterday who had noticed my “doctors say stop the bill” badge fixed proudly to my dress, beside my ID badge and stethoscope. Yes I am. But you don’t have to be “political” to be against this bill. You just have to want an NHS free at the point of need; an NHS in which clinicians are making decisions based solely on your clinical need; an NHS in which you can’t buy your way to the front of the queue; an NHS in which all money goes towards patient care, not shareholders. If you believe in equality and democracy you must make your voice heard, or forever regret it.
So here is a summary of why I, as an NHS doctor, citizen and patient am against the bill. At the end are things you can do to get your voice heard.

Continue reading →

1 Comment

Posted in In Between

Tagged , , , , ,

What is the NHS for?

Posted on March 5, 2012 | Leave a comment

At a party this week I got talking to a friend of a friend who quickly discovered I was a doctor. The conversation changed from which tube lines were running and who had made the delicious chocolate brownies, to the NHS: specifically its failings. I become, not for the first time, an embodiment not only of the medical profession, but of the entire health and social care system. I was charged with defending the lack of care shown by GPs, the apparent willingness of doctors to prescribe pills for anything and everything but never to listen, the lack of a nutritional perspective from NHS practitioners and the poor funding of mental health services.

The NHS is not perfect. I have heard many stories from dissatisfied individuals, and wouldn’t for a moment dismiss their grievances. I have even been known on occasion to spend an entire dinner party lambasting its’ deficiencies. But conversations like this make me wonder about the expectations of the public of this institution of which I am extremely proud. What do they think the NHS is for?

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Posted in In Between

Tagged , , , , , ,