This tale has an inauspicious start, my ambulance being cancelled twelve hours after being called (10:00p.m. Wed, 10.30a.m. Thursday). I relate this not to complain, but to demonstrate the pressure our emergency services are under. Nor would I have given the crew any grief had one arrived at any stage. I've met and spoken to some crew down the years and believe them to be great people would be horrified and embarrassed by what sometimes happens. The fact that I wasn't picked up indicates that there were other people whose need was more urgent and that, thank God, is the principle on which the system works.
I should have done more to remember the names of the people who treated me, I only know that I was triaged by a Nurse called Joan and seen by a junior (hope she won't mind me using that phrase) doctor who invited me to call her Jenna. And here's the crux of what I have to report: they were cheerful, friendly, professional, reassuring and competent throughout, as were the receptionist, the young nurses who took me to the X-ray department and the even younger-looking group of radiologists who responded to my gentle teasing about their age with a display of organisation and choreography, involving putting me in a number of positions and transferring my bulk from bed to trolley as required, to take five or six X-rays in about as many minutes..
Like everyone else, I keep hearing that the pressure on our services is intense and that morale is low. My experience confirms the former, and I accept that the latter may well be true but the way these people approach their jobs is exemplary. In spite of the waiting about on a very hot day, and the fact that I have good reason to fear it (the last time I walked into A&E was the last time I walked anywhere, in a wheelchair since then), I was left feeling nothing less than inspired by the experience. I hope the magic bullet to put all the problems right is found, but in the meantime we are in good hands.
"Cheerful, friendly, professional, reassuring and competent"
About: Northern Ireland Ambulance Service / Emergency ambulance response Northern Ireland Ambulance Service Emergency ambulance response Belfast BT8 8SG The Ulster Hospital / Emergency Department The Ulster Hospital Emergency Department BT16 1RH
Posted by indiady63 (as ),
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