tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4905080602885676490.post4833178525747876399..comments2024-03-27T20:34:09.464+01:00Comments on zmkc: Doctors and Nurseszmkchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08972549292961948240noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4905080602885676490.post-14181476421425600202017-08-08T12:39:03.466+02:002017-08-08T12:39:03.466+02:00But I should add that I think many modern problems...But I should add that I think many modern problems are created by the increased managerialisation, if that's a word, of so many thingszmkchttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08972549292961948240noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4905080602885676490.post-24472913402250771792017-08-08T12:37:35.394+02:002017-08-08T12:37:35.394+02:00By the way, in my mother's local town there is...By the way, in my mother's local town there is a small hospital, (constantly under threat of closure). It is wonderful and works really well. If there was a will, I'm sure it would not be impossible to return to that model for a great deal of treatment, but managers like big centralised organisations, I think. I also think too much money is spent on management in hospitals - the managers are usually not medically trained or experienced in dealing with the problems that arise in wards, so I don't understand how they are qualified to make decisions.zmkchttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08972549292961948240noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4905080602885676490.post-77620418832183860312017-08-08T12:35:24.517+02:002017-08-08T12:35:24.517+02:00Thank you so much Carolyn. As I say, there were so...Thank you so much Carolyn. As I say, there were so many, many great people taking care of my brother; they were let down by lack of continuity of superb care. The hospital system is ill served by a few; assessing who works in a hospital should not involve only qualifications but also less tangible things, most important a demonstrable empathy for suffering human beings.zmkchttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08972549292961948240noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4905080602885676490.post-43909642696370469632017-08-08T12:32:31.607+02:002017-08-08T12:32:31.607+02:00I am so sorry such truly terrible things happened ...I am so sorry such truly terrible things happened to your family. I think it is impossible not to be haunted by these kinds of events. One of the things that makes me particularly sad is the way what we hoped for dwindled away - the narrowing of possibilities. I was surprised by the strange compromises my mind could make, or perhaps I mean the way my perspective kept shifting, so that a prognosis of nine to twelve months at first looked horrifying, but, before I knew it, it had vanished and seemed like a wonderful lost possiblity. When my brother was first admitted, I thought within a week I'd be driving him down to my mother's farm to convalesce; as time went by the wished for outcome became a smaller and smaller thing, until eventually we understood that he was never going to leave the hospital again, not even get outside and across the road for a cup of coffee and a moment in the outside world. Then he was gone. zmkchttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08972549292961948240noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4905080602885676490.post-36625728290155464162017-08-08T12:24:14.449+02:002017-08-08T12:24:14.449+02:00You are doing such a good thing - I hope you are s...You are doing such a good thing - I hope you are supported by others and that your mother shows her appreciation. It can be hard otherwisezmkchttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08972549292961948240noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4905080602885676490.post-57294541220376655562017-08-07T22:06:32.602+02:002017-08-07T22:06:32.602+02:00Thank you Zoe - so much craziness, so little money...Thank you Zoe - so much craziness, so little money. Appreciate that you've taken so much time to write this excellent article. I've been taking care of my mother's health for years, and whilst fortunately she hasn't been in a critical condition, the good, bad and ugly you write about has been evident. tandahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06797922231435894446noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4905080602885676490.post-8018501472786445482017-08-07T17:46:02.817+02:002017-08-07T17:46:02.817+02:00Yes, something has gone wrong with the modern hosp...Yes, something has gone wrong with the modern hospital. Instead of a ward of long-established nursing staff, ruled with a rod of iron by a matron, hospitals now seem to have a transient population of agency nurses, some of whom speak poor English. My father-in-law died after a couple of agency nurses decided to give each other an unofficial break during the nightshift in a critical care ward. When he couldn't breathe, there was nobody around to give him a lifesaving tracheotomy and he was brain dead before anyone noticed. After the official enquiry and public apology, the hospital changed its procedures, but I wondered how they had got to a point where post-op patients had become so vulnerable.<br /><br />My father also died as a result of NHS negligence and was kept in conditions that, under different circumstances, would have counted as torture. I'm still haunted by it and wonder if I could have done more, but I felt largely impotent in the face of a large, bureaucratic organisation. <br /><br />But in spite of this, I also saw many dedicated, caring and very professional staff who coped with the most awful situations with humour and stoicism. I felt that they were let down by a system that had become obsessed with economies of scale rather than patient-centered care. I'm not sure what the answer is and I expect some of my views have been formed during repeat viewings of Carry on Nurse. I have a sentimental attachment of the idea of a cottage hospital and appreciate that this isn't practical. However, it would be good to see a return to the continuity and intimacy of a traditional hospital. Steerforthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07627936539372313828noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4905080602885676490.post-92138958615267080522017-08-07T01:09:55.411+02:002017-08-07T01:09:55.411+02:00Thank you for writing this, so eloquently. Our fam...Thank you for writing this, so eloquently. Our family's experience is sadly similar but we had the benefit of a sister who is a very competent nurse. She helped us navigate the system, have the courage to speak up when things didn't look right and semi trained a few of us to give some additional nursing care. I pity those who do not have an advocate to assist and protect them when they are so vulnerable. <br />Carolynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14375039086889188605noreply@blogger.com