I’m so grateful for the NHS, but at every level it is in crisis. The staff are working so hard doing what they can, but it’s firefighting.
When our ten-month-old was unwell, we tried three pharmacies before we could get antibiotics. Our GP told us that if he got worse, to take him to hospital, which we ended up having to do at 10pm. We waited in A&E for over eleven hours before being seen by a doctor.
We are so glad our baby didn’t deteriorate in that time. But we saw other children become extremely sick while waiting. One became a medical emergency after having a seizure in the waiting room she had already been in for four hours.
At 4.30am emotions started to spill over. An off-duty paramedic waiting with his son questioned why no one was being seen, explaining he would miss his shift, further adding to the shortages. The receptionist answered there was no doctor on the ward.
During the night, the children’s A&E shares doctors with adult services, and they had higher-priority cases there. No one was seen at all for three hours.
It wasn’t just doctor shortages. I noticed the department stats showed they have five nursing and three healthcare assistant vacancies.
Despite saying they would take regular observations, no one was checking on us. At 6am I became really worried, my son was burning up.
I tracked down a nurse to take his temperature, which turned out to be really high. I burst into tears, exhausted from a long night, worried about our son and anxious that, despite doing everything we had been told, he was getting sicker and no staff were in a position to help us. It was a further five hours until we were seen by a doctor.
This was just one night in one small emergency department. I never want to step foot in that place again, and I’m sure many of the staff often feel the same.
The need for a fight to restore NHS services is clear. Supporting the NHS workers’ strikes is a vital part of that.
Not the first time this has happened to us
Juliette Fogelman, Enfield and Lea Valley Socialist Party
Parents are being warned to be vigilant about Strep A and Scarlet Fever. So when I noticed my 16-month-old son had a rash and fever, I called the GP.
After being in the call queue for 35 minutes, there were no appointments. Then I waited 45 minutes on 111 to be told somebody would call back. Two and a half hours later I was told I should get him seen within 12 hours. But I had to call back the GP, which was now shut, to tell them this.
If the GP won’t see us, then we need to call back 111 at 6pm, for an out-of-hours appointment, which you can’t pre-book. All feels ridiculous!
It’s not the first time something like this has happened to us. And it’s not surprising considering how underfunded and understaffed the NHS is.
