[kj] O/T Thanks for the messages

[Brian Whitehead]

Thanks for all the mails of sympathy.


A rant:


My dad (88) was in and out of hospital 3 times over the last few weeks
because as soon as was discharged he went straight back in. He’d had a heart
attack just before Christmas which he survived which resulted in him having
a pacemaker fitted.


At his last hospital stay: I went round to visit him last Friday at around
3:30pm and as I walked into the ward I saw a forlorn figure slumped in a
chair in the waiting room in front of a TV with kids TV on surrounded by his
bags and belongings – my dad. They were discharging him again!!!!! It was
just a case of waiting from his medication to arrive from the hospital
pharmacy and then they’d get an ambulance to take him home. He’d been there
since around 1pm and they had not contacted me or my sister to let us know,
they had absolutely no idea of his circumstances at home, whether he had
food in or even if he had a key to get in.



I sat with him until 6:30 when his medication finally arrived and by which
time he was getting very desperate and just wanted to lie down. There is no
way I could put him through another couple of hours sat in that chair
waiting for an ambulance to take him home so I grabbed a wheel chair and
pushed him through the maze of the hospital and to my car on the car park.
It was a massive struggle as it was cold windy and rainy but I eventually
managed to get him home and sat in his favorite chair. I was just about to
getting the heating sorted out when he started to complain of chest pains –
his heart was giving in again. Long story short – called 999 and within a
hour of arriving back home he was back in the hospital battling for his
life, which he eventually lost around 12 hours later.


In off the reord chats with staff they tell me that the pressures on the
helath service and to free up space is even greater with the cuts. So if I
hear another politician use the phrase "We're all in this together", when
certain sections of commerce are earnig huge profits again, I'll explode.


Do I sound bitter...yes, good.


Rant over


Brian.
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