With all the above you have to think, why?
I have worked on and off for about 40 years, so I have seen a lot of changes. The NHS has always been managed short term, every shade of party thinks they can do it better and most have tried.
When it worked about its best, we had managed to reduce hospital stays and increase waiting times we were as a population younger and fitter. Progress was made on cutting waste. I think there was an assumption this would continue and as a nation we seemed to be well off. Perhaps then there should have been a long term assessment of our needs, but how do you tell voters we need to cut back? because, ‘winter is coming’ when all in the garden is just about rosy. No, money was spent on extras that we now can not afford, not just in money, but more importantly in people.
Decisions about A&E are made by local Trusts. They are deciding their areas needs. I live about half way between two A&E’s, I know which one I would rather go to and wait longer to be seen. A small hospital often can not sustain all the expensive equipment needed for diagnosis and treatment. Is its better to have community centers that treat all the minor stuff quickly and send the all the majors to a well staffed well equipped A&E at a major treatment hospital?
I have worked in small hospitals, I have worked in a small hospital ITU, my children have been treated in a small hospital A&E, and I can understand why they would choose to close one. But no one wants to give up what they have.
The cut in District Nurses. Is this due to name changes? There are now Community Nurses, Fall Teams, District Nurses, Nurse Specialists , nurses in the community that handle eating disorders. Then you have Nurse Practitioners, Nurse Prescribers. If there is a hole to fill bung a nurse in it, if you can recruit one.
Please do not try blame one set of MP’s for decisions that as a country we have all walked in to. We all need to expect less and do more. If its only checking the person next door can get to the shops, or offer to watch a stressed mums kids for an hour.
