NHS Support
An unexpected second spell in hospital opened my eyes to a few things about the NHS.
Firstly the nurses and other medical personnel are a dedicated bunch of hard pressed professionals who will always do their best to make your stay as comfortable as possible. I don’t alsleep well in anything other than my own bed so apart from the two hours sleep that I got allocated by my body it gave me a real view of this medical personnel dedication. When you are in a high dependency ward you notice that the other patents are really not very well and some require constant attention. Personally I would not have been able to cope. The nurses, from conversations, are working at least twelve hour shifts and when it is at night the drain on their personal physical resources must be incredible.
Now the down side. The support services do not have the same level of dedication or perhaps it is funding or resourcing. My first and second spells on a wards required that I left with drugs to support my condition. In both cases I was given my release at around 9 am ish. On the first stay I got my drugs at around 5pm, and on the second spell I did not all get all of my drugs and it was confirmed that the balance were not going to appear at 8 pm. I ended up getting the missing medication in Boots in Woodbridge with an electronic prescription provided by the surgery. Whilst I waited the 8ish hours I was taking up a bed, although not in it, and this could not be used for anyone else. I was also able to see what happens when a patient leaves a bed. It is stripped and every part of that bed and the surrounds are cleaned. The thoroughness is very impressive.
Shottisham Blog 