This past week or so, like much of the country, I have been reading over and over again of the NHS Crisis we are facing as a nation and the challenges of keeping all users of the NHS in good health, be they the most vulnerable of our society, the tax payer, the 'immigrant', the rich and the poor and whatever other prefix chosen to denigrate the Patient.
I am myself a regular and highly frequent user of the NHS and I couldn't even begin to make a dent in the gratitude I feel for all those medical professionals and caregivers who have shown me their professionalism, kindness and care throughout my medical needs.
The recent reports about the "failing" NHS and in particular, experiences in A&E, have really struck a nerve with me. I am no expert, and concede that there are problems with the system that do need to be addressed, but I am a staunch defender of the NHS. There are many examples of shortcomings, but there are also many more stories of success, of survival, of resilience and of strength and none would be possible without those incredible people on the front line.
No one needs me to add my finger pointing at Jeremy Hunt.
No one needs my angry tweets at Theresa May telling her to fix it.
Instead I use this open letter to my fellow NHS users to do THEIR part, however small the contribution, because it's not staff or the NHS or the waiting time that are the subject of my sadness...
I was not upset at the four hour wait I experienced in A&E between 3-7am in the early hours of last Saturday morning, having suffered a suspected pulmonary embolism, knowing that when I was seen I would be taken care of, such is my faith in the NHS. It was:
- the young woman and her mother who came into A&E instead of returning to her GP when the antibiotics prescribed to her only days ago were "not working".
- Mr Miguel V.... with the Spanish origin sounding surname name who resolutely refused to make himself known to the triage nurse on three occasions, adding at least an additional hour to his wait, simply because she hadn't pronounced his name correctly, and then proceeded to berate her publicly about it on the final attempt.
- the chap with his drunk friends from a night out, one of which vomited on the floor and promptly fell asleep and the others who paced around the reception for hours before eventually discharging themselves and returning home and realising perhaps what they needed was a glass of water and not an A&E doctor.
- the gent who fell asleep in the corner with his musical instruments and who may or may not have missed his assessment with triage, or may have just been seeking shelter.
- the lady wanting a prescription of stronger dose paracetamol which costs hardly anything in the pharmacy but costs the NHS a whole lot more.
- the couple who came into A&E by ambulance (reason unknown) but who commented to each other that they thought they would be seen as priority if coming by ambulance, and still managed in their 'urgent' state to pack a selection of books and snacks for the wait.
- the privately run hospital pharmacy which places an in-house restriction on only providing 4 weeks of my hospital consultant's 12 week prescription (at which time I will see them again for a review) as "policy", insisting I book another interim appointment with my GP for a repeat prescription at additional burden to local resources.
These things are entirely avoidable, costly and potentially have a knock on dangerous or life threatening consequence for other more vulnerable and needy users of the NHS who are unable to access appropriate services when they NEED them.
As far as I could tell, all of the people I mentioned as examples, and all the other patients I haven't mentioned, were seen within or close to the 4 hour target during my A&E experience. However, in my opinion, some of those with greater need SHOULD have been seen sooner had there not been misuse of A&E and the overbearing 4 hour administrative target to meet in spite of priority or need.
I urge those people responsible for this erroneous behaviour to change your ways now, before it's too late to save our NHS. Please do your part, use our limited resources wisely, seek help from the appropriate services, be a proactive and engaged patient in your own healthcare and above all, please show respect, empathy and kindness to the hardworking NHS staff and your fellow patients.
Finally, I thank all of the people in A&E who provided me and my unborn baby with the care and reassurance we needed, not just within the four hour wait, but in the following days. You do an incredible job.
In the interest of balance and transparency, and to quell (or fire up) the inevitable responses as they see fit, here is my patient 'suffix':
I am a 33 year old woman, first generation British born Chinese-Thai from working class immigrants who have never claimed benefits from the system and have worked hard to provide a middle class upbringing for myself and my sibling.
I have been in good health all my life until I was diagnosed in 2015 with the autoimmune conditions Systemic Lupus Erythematosus and Sjögrens Syndrome, rheumatic conditions that are notoriously difficult to understand and diagnose, are typically identified in women of child-bearing age and can have huge consequences on health and daily life. Not so many years ago a Lupus diagnosis was considered terminal with a short life expectancy but with improvements in diagnosis and treatment many patients are able to live a fairly normal life. I suffer daily from chronic pain and fatigue but consider myself lucky not to yet have the organ damage that many others are challenged with.
I am now 5 months pregnant with my first child, and receive excellent and regular care for my condition, my complex pregnancy and the future of my unborn child who is at higher risk of congenital heart defect, neonatal Lupus and premature birth. I have given up full time work in favour of freelancing to manage my condition and am incredibly lucky to be supported by my husband who also suffers from the autoimmune gastrointestinal condition, Crohns disease.
We face our challenges head on and are very grateful for every day we have.
For more information about Lupus visit Lupus UK http://www.lupusuk.org.uk/
For more information about Crohns disease visit Crohns and Colitis UK https://www.crohnsandcolitis.org.uk/
#NHSCrisis #timeforchange #savethenhs #NHS @BBCNews @NHSmillion @butNHS @NHSChoices @LUPUSUK @CrohnsColitisUK
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