In the last few years I have spent more time in hospitals visiting loved ones than I had ever expected.
The hospitals ranged from The Children’s Hospital in Bristol, The Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital, The Bristol Royal Infirmary, Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton, Franklyn Hospital in Exeter, with short forays to the community hospitals in Wellington and Williton.
In that time I have come to appreciate the stalwart efforts of the staff from the lowly cleaners to the amazingly skilled surgeons. The care and compassion of the ambulance teams, the nurses, physiotherapists, dieticians and the dozens of other support staff has been present in every ward and department I encountered during my visits. I know that many of these people are stretched to their limits, and don’t get the thanks and praise they deserve.
While the staff were all doing their best, it was easy to see some of the things that make their life more difficult. The shortage of full time staff on the wards, endless waiting for deliveries from pharmacy, the knock on effect of beds not being available, the lack of simple pieces of equipment can make a busy shift into a nightmare one.
I can only hope that some of these issues can be addressed to help ease the burden on those who care for our loved ones so well.
I’m hoping that all my hospital visits in the future will be confined to out-patients appointments.
