This Saturday I hurt my hand and I had
to spend the evening in my local Accident and Emergency.
There has been a lot of bad publicity
surrounding the NHS and specifically waiting times of Accident and
Emergency departments. However my experience was very positive
(despite the pain!) so I thought I would be nice for people to hear
about a positive experience.
In the morning, I woke up to a pain in
my wrist. I assumed that I could slept on it awkwardly and the pain
would go. However mid-afternoon while trying to lift up my bike to
turn it around, my wrist way gave and it collapsed under the weight
of my bike.
I braved it out for as long as I could
but was in so much pain that by the evening that my friend drove me
to my local minor injuries unit. As I walked into Minor injuries I
was greeted by a friendly receptionist who checked me in and seemed
genuinely concerned about my wrist.
I went to sit in the waiting area and
noticed the TV was on so I thought I would be able to sit and watch
Strictly Come Dancing. However before I was able to finish watching
the first dance I was called through. I was surprised how quickly I
was seen to.
After prodding and poking my hand and
arm, the doctor decided that I needed to be send to the nearest
Accident and Emergency department for an x-ray. The doctor then sent
me on my way with all the relevant paper work. Despite turning up
less then an hour before they closed, the staff in Minor Injuries
were lovely and professional.
Luckily I had a friend who was willing
to drive me but in the car I was worried about how long we would have
to sit in the Accident and Emergency department on a Saturday night.
However as soon as I got there I was directed straight to x-ray. I
have to wait only a few minutes before being taken into the exam
room.
After my x ray I was sent back to wait
in the reception. I noticed on a screen that waiting times where
between 1hour 15 minutes to 3 hours 15. I sat down expecting to have
a long wait. However as in Minor Injuries, I was called in within
about 15 minutes. Where I was told I hadn't broken anything (which
made me happy). The doctor understood how much pain I was in and made
sure I have enough pain killers to take home with me and wrapped my
arm in a splint.
I was really impressed with how quickly
I was in and out of both hospitals. I think I spent just as much time
getting lost in the second hospital then I did actually waiting
around. All the staff I met where lovely and helpful. Everyone even
the receptionists seemed to be always working which helped to make
the department very efficient.
Thank you to both hospitals and all the
staff who helped me and thank you to my friend who drove me to the hospital.
People may complain about the nhs, but we'd be a lot more screwed if we had to pay for health care, as most people wouldn't be able to afford it.
ReplyDeleteYou always seem to hurt your hand, this time of year - its a Christmas thing hahahah
ReplyDelete