I READ with interest your article on West Middlesex Hospital. I have been to West Mid as both an out-patient and in-patient.
I can only praise the staff for the hard work they do, often with their 'hands tied behind their backs', limited by lack of resources, and a general lack of co-operation by patients and visitors.
In 2007 I was taken to West Mid where I witnessed first-hand what goes on at A&E in the two-and-a-half hours I waited to be seen.
A lot of patients waiting did not have serious or life-threatening injuries. Many were rude and abusive to staff, and this on a Tuesday lunchtime, not after the pubs close on a Saturday night!
Several 'injuries' were self-inflicted, I remember one woman complaining bitterly about the wait and said next time she would call an ambulance. She had, apparently, hurt her back, yet was quite able to walk to the desk and be extremely abusive to receptionists.
I am perhaps, slightly biased in my opinion as I worked for the NHS for several years, so I've seen both sides of the coin, as employee and patient.
The NHS is not a charity, though some members of the public seem to think it is.
It's not without fault either, no large institution is.
Some of the funds available to the NHS could be put to better use if it wasn't bogged down in the bureaucracy imposed on it.
The NHS aims to give affordable treatment to all. Prior to its formation 60 years ago, most of the population could not afford to see a doctor for any treatment, they just died! Perhaps a visit to a hospital in another country would put things into perspective, and it wouldn't need to be a third world country either.
Before jumping to conclusions, it might be worth publishing how many hundreds of thousands of people are seen at West Mid each year compared to how many 'incidents' there are. I would be willing to bet the failure rate is less than 0.01 per cent.
What we need are ideas on how to improve on 99.99 per cent success, as the avoidable loss of one patient, is one patient too many.
Laura via e-mail
