About my stay in Sheffield's Northern General Hospital (1)

I returned home last Friday after 4 weeks and a day as an in-patient in the NGH.

It is difficult and tiring for me to type this because I am having to use my left hand to do it, and I am right--handed.

I had a fall at home very early in the morning of August 30th (middle of the night, really) and broke my right arm and rang 999 and an ambulance came very quickly and took me to the A and E dept. - The 2 ambulance men - George and Steve - were excellent.

The fracture - in the upper arm near to the elbow - was not straightforward, so could not simply be set. I was told that I would need an operation, and so a backslab - a sort of splint - was put on my arm, along with a sling/collar and cuff, and I was given a bed, awaiting my op.

I'll try to write some more about this tomorrow.

Proposed reforms of A and E could put lives at risk.

A & E reform could put lives at greater risk - Sunday Telegraph

Extract:

"Patients' lives will be put at risk by a major shake-up of accident and emergency departments, a secret report by senior doctors has warned.

The professional bodies representing A & E doctors say the new system - which could see casualty departments operating without back-up services such as intensive care, paediatrics and surgery - is too dangerous.

Desperately sick children taken to casualty by anxious parents could fall victim to the system's reliance on a "drive-by" ambulance policy, under which 999 crews are instructed to take callers to the "right" hospital, not necessarily the nearest."