I Can't Stand Bureaucracy!

I work for the NHS so I see bureaucracy at work every day and it makes me mad.
Well this weekend I completely had my fill.

Murron came off of her bike on the way home from a friends house on Friday afternoon.
She's managed to break her thumb in several places and has also lacerated it right to the bone.
We went to Bedford A+E at 4pm and ended up being told that she needed to be seen by a 'plastics' team.
Unfortunatly Bedford don't have a plastics team so we had to go to The Lister Hospital for 9am on Saturday.

We turn up at Children's Ambulatory at 8.45. Murron has been nil by mouth since midnight. We eventually get assessed but told the surgery wouldn't be until mid afternoon so Murron was given food and a drink and then we were taken up to the ward to wait for surgery. 
At lunch time Murron is given dinner because she has been bumped to early evening because of an emergency.
Come 8pm she is told to go home and come back on Sunday.

We arrive at 7.30 and again Murron has been nil by mouth since midnight.
She gets into a gown and a nurse even arrives on the ward to take her to theatre........... only to be told that Murron should have some breakfast because she has been bumped until mid afternoon.
Come mid afternoon, we and several other patients that have been lining up over the weekend, get told that we have been bumped again and will probably not be going to theatre until around 9pm.
At 8.30pm we are told that the surgery will not be happening again and that we should come back for 7.30 on Monday!!!!!!!!!!! 

To say I was a little pissed off is an understatement and the poor consultant got all barrels.
It turns out the hospital has been running with just one theatre for the weekend. More and more serious emergencies kept coming in and bumping everything else.
Don't get me wrong, I work on a children's ward I know how this all works and I totally understand that More serious injuries get priority.
What I don't understand is why they wouldn't just open up another theatre to help with the backlog.
There were 6 patients alone on the children's ward and heaven knows how many others elsewhere in the hospital.
These backlogs are going to have to be seen on Monday and some elective surgeries may have to get cancelled and all because they simply wouldn't open another surgery.

What a complete waste of time and resources and how many people are going to get cancelled and have to re-arrange their lives all over again.

We were lucky. My Mum was available to take Marjorie and Dharma for the weekend but we still had to fork out for three trips to Stevenage and as of 7.30 tomorrow morning we will have spent £18 on car parking, not to mention about £20 on food and drink.
What about people who don't have family backup or transport or are running on benefits and can't afford petrol and parking and food every day?

The consultant said, get back for 7.30 and 'hopefully' she will be first on the trauma list.

HOPEFULLY!!!!!

I think you can guess my reaction to that little statement.
Anyway, I think a trip to the PALS desk is in order tomorrow. They are going to get a serious complaint about all this and I will also be complaining to Bedford Hospital.
What are they doing referring people to a hospital over a weekend when that hospital quite obviously can't handle it.

All this hassle for us and 5 other families and all they had to do was open another theatre.
It's not as if the surgeons weren't available because they were! all there ready to work, just frustrated because their surgeries kept getting bumped! 
They can't say it's a matter of money because keeping all these bumped patients and rearranging elective surgeries must surely cost an arm and a leg.

Anyway, It's nearly midnight and I have to be up at 5am to get a shower at Mum's before we have to leave.
(Martin still isn't finished replacing the bathroom)

BUT THAT'S ANOTHER STORY..............