I pronto soccorso sono “in grossi guai” perché la “cura dei corridoi” si sta normalizzando, dice il capo medico

Hospitals are routinely operating at >100% capacity because we have unprecedented levels of dependent elderly people and a social care crisis. A&E is just the most prominent symptom of this.

Been in hospital a lot this year over some health problems. Hours waiting for an ambulance with a broken leg, spending time in the corridor and, even when I was in a ward, hearing treatment happening just outside my room.

None of this is the medical worker’s fault, of course. It’s chronic lack of funding and various efforts to privatise our healthcare system–which, if I’m honest, is the only thing in this country that makes me genuinely proud.

My grandmother recently ended up in A&E after briefly passing out at home, having been told by 111 to attend.

The reception area was staffed by three people. In front of them sat a substantial queue, advancing at the reliable pace of roughly one person every twenty minutes. All three staff remained present at all times, mostly talking to one another. How three people, a desk, and a queue combined to produce a single interaction at a time remained a mystery. As someone in management myself, albeit not in healthcare, watching this level of inefficiency caused an eye twitch that persisted throughout the visit.

Despite being ninety and having recently passed out, my grandmother was required to stand for close to forty five minutes. Everyone else was as well, including several people who appeared to be in significantly worse condition. Standing seemed to be a core part of the process. After each (single) person was finally served, the three behind the desk regrouped to resume their conversation, presumably to debrief.

Once at the counter, the questions were refreshingly concise. Were you dead. Were you dying. Could you go home and ring 111 instead.

An incredibly bizarre experience. Even with what appeared to be an abundance of staff, none of them seemed to be deployed to address the most immediate and obvious need, the queue in front of them. That, at least, was my observation.

In other news, Archduke Franz Ferdinand has been assassinated.