There are many reasons for the state of the NHS, but it’s not simply down to the Labour government in Cardiff Bay because the NHS in England is also in a mess, there were reports this week the the NHS England official waiting list figures were under recording 2m patients! Nearer home, it’s an outrage that we’re having more AM’s when the NHS is struggling - it’s mental.
I’ve spent a fair chunk of yesterday and today with an unwell relative in our local hospital. Last night the A&E was heaving, no room to swing a cat. The person I was with received prompt attention and was booked for a follow up first thing this morning - very good service.
This morning, we had the follow up process as scheduled, but after that it went awry as it took them 8 hours to find a bed for the person who needs follow up treatment. The person wasnt seen by all the people who need to see him and things will now be delayed to next week which is p@@@ poor.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the school holidays impacted on service delivery coz lots of people will be off. The care system is broken patients can’t be discharged from wards so beds are blocked, patients in A&E can’t be moved on to the wards, ambulances can’t be emptied and patients in the waiting room can’t be seen. The triage system should ensure the most unwell are progressed through the system the quickest, those who are presenting well and provide good obs readings will be at the back of the queue.
The number of beds has been dramatically cut, the number of people has increased, people are living longer, they are older and therefore need more care, medicines which costs more.
New initiatives are being introduced, such as the Independent Prescriber scheme where pharmacists can prescribe antibiotics, but the bottom line is there’s not enough money and capacity in the system.
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