NHS staff deserve a much better deal

Last week I tripped over my own two feet and fell flat on my face. Banged my head a bit and bruised my hip but worst of all was the incapacitating pain of a severe groin strain.
By Chris Adam Smith
Published 28th Mar 2019, 17:30 BST
Updated 28th Mar 2019, 17:31 BST
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I could barely walk and stairs were only climbed on my hands and knees and descended upon my bum like an eighteen-month-old babe.

Misery for an active person, no walking, no birding, no jiving, pretty much a big no to everything except sitting in the front of the television with the cat on my lap watching quite enjoyable film noir movies and Audie Murphy westerns.

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On a good morning perhaps some really old retro movies featuring Will Hay or reruns of ancient B-westerns in which the bad guys really did wear black hats and the singing heroes donned posh white Stetsons which stayed glued to their heads no matter what action they were involved in.

Touchwood, my familiar, has emerged from his winter hiding place, good to see the old boy!Touchwood, my familiar, has emerged from his winter hiding place, good to see the old boy!
Touchwood, my familiar, has emerged from his winter hiding place, good to see the old boy!

Passable entertainment for a while but one which becomes less passable with every passing day. Relief came when a kindly neighbour loaned me a pair of stylish Swiss crutches and from then on, I was away.

Mastered the stairs in no time, the shower was a little more remote though. Hobbled my way down to the local surgery to make an appointment in case I had damaged my hip, and was told there wasn’t one available with a GP for four weeks!

I am already on a very long waiting list for an appointment in July to see an ENT consultant. Staggered in more ways than one. The paramedic nurse who dealt with my head wound also took on my hip problem and I was cared for and sorted in no time.

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The front-line folk, the paras and the ambulance service, make do with very little it seems and yet they rise above it and are deserving of a much better deal.

I make very little use of the NHS being fairly fit for my age and so I had no idea it was in such a sorry state when it comes to seeing your GP. Something is very wrong somewhere...

WOW! I’ve been writing the Whispering Smith Column now since March 2012, that’s seven years this month and never once missed a deadline, proud of that fact.

My thanks go to the readers who not only enjoy the column but also help to provide the ‘whispers’ that have made the job so interesting.

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Related topics:NHS