NHS User Verdict: ‘Reasonable’
As i said on Tuesday morning, I underwent surgery on my hip on Tuesday. The procedure itself was a success and my consultant seemed pleased with what he had done. I’ll have to wait 6-8 months before i know whether it has been a complete success or not.
My brain was not really functioning whilst in hospital due to the painkillers i was being fed, but nevertheless I did make a few observations. First, the way the NHS seems to be dealing with infections is by sending you home as quickly as possible. If you develop an infection once home it isn’t the hospital’s problem and presumably ore importantly won’t appear in their statistics.
The care i received cannot be faulted and the staff were pleasant and very caring. The condition of the hospital was a bit dated and clearly needs to renovations, which I’m told are in the pipeline.
I do have some concerns about this ‘chucking ut’ policy. The problem is that before you would spend several days in hospital after an operation. There is evidence that says people recover quicker if they are home as they are in more comfortable and a familiar surroundings and that cannot be ignored, but I cannot help but see the real reason they don’t want you hanging around in hospital is partly to do with infection control and partly to do with waiting lists.
labour will trumpet declining waiting lists. Whether the stats prove it or not, you have to look at it from the patient’ perspective. Surely it is better to wait a little longr for treatment, but then get treated properly in the end rather than being sent home in a semi conscious state where you are barely able to move. Apart from trips to the bathroom I have not left my bed since returning home on Wednesday evening and that will probably main the case for several more days.
In light of recent headlines about the NHS, misunderstood or not it is important to not forget that we are fortunate to have a health system that treats all regardless of the income. I am not pretending that the NHS is a perfect system as it is far from it, but a system which cares for the population is essential. The only problem is that over the last decade, funding in the health service has doubled, but we aren’t getting double as good service. Clearly money is being wasted somewhere.
Anyway, at least for now my hip appears to be fixed a bit. Here’s hoping the pain ceases soon and I can then get back to a normal life.
