"Please be sure to tell the medical ..."

What I liked

Please be sure to tell the medical and support staff at Accident and Emergency that they were hugely appreciated by me and other patients with whom I came into contact on Tuesday 15th September.

They all did their utmost to help and make the, otherwise tedious, experience bearable.

I would just like to say a BIG THANK YOU to them all

What could be improved

The whole operation is clearly greatly under resourced in just about every respect and only functions thanks to the resourcefulness and hard work of the people working there.

From a patient's point of view (just about everyone I met on Tuesday shared this view) It is the uncertainty about what will happen next and when someone is likely to arrive to update them which causes the most frustration. We were told that the very nature of rapidly changing circumstances and priorities made this state of affairs inevitable. Actually it is not inevitable but so long as there is a culture of assumed inevitability the there can be no possibility of change. (SEE BOX BELOW)

I assume much wil be improved by the eventual move to Pembury.

Anything else?

The NHS is sometimes criticised for employing too many managers.

I would like to suggest, however, that investing in the services of an expert in organisation and methods (possibly peripatetic) would be money well spent. There seems to be a general view among the foot soldiers that the consultants would resist being organised but I am sure that, as in any other efficient organisation , a sensitive approach could work.

I discovered that the initial impression of organised chaos was misleading and that the system worked,surprisingly well in difficult circumstances and despite the unpredictable nature of A&E Depts.

There is absolutely no doubt, however, than both staff and patients would benefit from professional help with certain organisational issues.

Tired,, overworked,, multi-tasking staff are far more likely to make mistakes- they are simply human beings after all - 12 Hour Shifts???

Finally, Again many many thanks to you all.

Arthur Cartert