New research shows that hospital emergency waiting times are increasing and NSW has the longest, apparently more than 4 hrs. – really?
Problem is that hospital emergency rooms are no longer used for ’emergencies’, i.e. a life-threatening accident, injury or severe illness. All those who present to emergency rooms with ‘common ailments’ should immediately be redirected -OUT of the hospital. Now, I don’t know about you, but I would only go to a hospital if I was sick, ill and dying – and even then I would think twice! They are horrible places and here are some of the reasons you do not want to go to a hospital:
- Smelly
- Especially dirty these days
- Swarming with bugs, some of which cannot even be identified
- Lots of very overworked, stressed staff, who cannot always manage a warm empathic smile
- No guarantee of being properly assessed (due to young, inexperienced, overworked, stressed staff)
- No time to ‘listen’ to each presenting story, so many things get missed
- Close encounter with other peoples’ bugs
So I wonder what people actually want from a hospital?
Each of us need to take responsibility for our own health. Listen to your body, know and understand about your mind/body and how it reacts to different situations.
Trust your own instincts. Imagine if the hospital was closed and you had no access to medical care. What would you do? A large majority of people would work out their own solution, in time, and feel so empowered as a result. Let’s reserve the hospital visit for true emergencies so the expertise of staff can be better utilised.
