Tuesday, October 04, 2005

NHS News

Me no understand doctor. Gordon Brown has increased health spending to record levels. And all the NHS primary care trusts are running out of money.



Remember the joke about the out-of-hours call to the doctor always resulting in the prescription "take two aspirins and see me on Monday if it's not better" ?

It's actually two paracetamol. And it's not funny.

"A grieving father broke down in tears yesterday as he listened to a tape of his daughter pleading for a doctor to visit her, hours before she died of meningitis.

The first day of the hearing was told that when Miss Miah first called, she was told to take a couple of paracetamols and call back if her condition worsened.

In the middle of the night she began vomiting, complaining she had pins and needles in her arms and legs and saying her neck and legs were sore. Miss Miah, in another phone call to the helpline, was told that doctors only did home visits "if it is an emergency".

When a doctor eventually arrived at the family home, Miss Miah was screaming in pain and unable to speak. She was rushed to hospital by ambulance where she died later in the day."

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