I am a nurse currently employed by Southend Hospital as an
Deputy sister in critical care and as an outreach nurse my role is to
assess Deteriorating patients throughout the hospital and attending all cardiac
arrests. I frequently go on transfer to specialist hospitals such as Basildon
and London hospitals However these patients are first taken to southend
to stabilise them as many cases for example stroke patients emergency treatment
is time critical. This will not happen if the current plans go ahead.
I've seen the proposals and only one of them has southend as
a specialist emergency dept.
I've gone on many transfers and even with a blue light
travelling on the 127 or A13 can take a long time to get to the destination and
trying to give treatment in the back of an ambulance is very difficult and I
don't believe it can be sustained for a long period of time.
As for emergency obstetric and Paediatric cases going
to Broomfield it is utterly ridiculous and will put many lives at risk.The
present system for emergency Paediatric cases is to admit them to southend
stabilise them and wait for the CATS retrieval team to arrive if need be we
will admit the child to Critical Care to await transfer.
Finally how do they expect relatives to get to Basildon or
Broomfield in an emergency situation. We have an elderly population who do not
drive, and for those who can drive our roads to Basildon and Broomfield are
always busy and will take some considerable time to get to their loved one's
who may possibly die before they arrive.
I am not against specialist hospitals but patients need to
be assessed and stabilised before transfer.
On seeing the proposals it appears that Southend will
continue with its excellent cancer services but other than that it will be
downgraded to the old cottage type hospitals of the 60' and 70's. I do believe
the ultimate aim will be to have a Monday to Friday 9 to 5pm A&E of course
denied at present.
I have seen many changes throughout my 40 yrs of nursing but
as always we spend lots of money making changes with more and more managers
rather than putting the money into patient services. These changes no doubt
will go ahead against the will of local people. As always with the N H S
at a later date it will also be shown not to work and back to the drawing
board as is the case at Whipps Cross and London hospital.
The only answer to the NHS crisis is money for social care
to discharge patients, better mental health care and generally more money Into
the NHS by increasing national insurance ring fenced for the NHS. Also shortage
of nurses will get worse with the removal of the bursary why would you train to
be a nurse when you can get bursary for teaching or an apprenticeship
scheme for other forms of employment
I would be happy to sign any petition or help with the
campaign if needed.
Thank you for your time. Angela Meads
Three weeks ago I was taken by ambulance (blue lights) to Southend Hospital with a suspected heart attack. It was brought on by stress. I had exceptional care from my GP, Nurses at the GP Surgery, Paramedics, Consultants and Nursing staff at the Hospital. I could not have asked for better care and treatment.
ReplyDeleteI am single Mum and carer to my 21 year old Son who is autistic and epileptic. I have no family to care for him should anything happen to me. If I should experience this unfortunate incident again and I am transported to a hospital further away, I will hold the NHS fully responsible for my health condition should I suffer irreversible damage or should I die.
To get to Basildon Hospital from my GP Surgery can take anything from 30 minutes to an hour, which means that critical time is lost. To Southend Hospital it takes 8 minutes (I counted).
I am scared. Very scared.
Quite what is expected to be achieved by this re-shuffle is beyond me.
All emergency patients will be put at unnecessary risk and the pressure on Nursing staff will be immense (as if it isn't already).