Only you, so adept at weaving threads of the ordinary with the extraordinary; the mundane with the magical; past and present; and the best and worst of our humanity with the spirit that infuses all of us; only you could weave together a piece about harvesting turf (a practice of old) and the shortcomings of hospitals (modern mayhem). I thoroughly enjoyed reading every bit of this and look forward to the next instalment.
I have no experience of cutting turf but plenty of the hospital system through my parents. It seems to me, the staff are so tied up in red tape and tick-box exercises, many of them, especially the nurses, who are the most visible face of the system, have neither time nor energy even to look at the people awaiting their attention. 'Patients' must be processed with due diligence to avoid litigation and in the processing, humanity is lost.
My most recent experience with my dad taught me that the doctors now, are often the ones who are most caring but they only arrive many hours after the the 'patient' has been through a whole swathe of nurses asking the same questions over and over despite the fact that they're all compiling the answers to the same questions digitally. I imagine in this era of I.T. that it is possible to centralise inputs but apparently not.
I had to control myself when my dad, who was feeling extremely sick and weak, was made to answer the same questions eight times in total with different nurses and one doctor over a period of six hours. The doctor in the hospital where I brought him first, seemed caring and compassionate but A&E was closed there and so he gave a referral to another hospital, where more nurses asked the same questions and barely looked at him as they tippety-tapped, paying closer attention to their screens. When I intervened to answer the questions, I was told he had to answer for himself. The last time, I snapped a bit as my dad sagged ever-further into the seat and I told the nurse he had already answered the same questions multiple times. She replied that this was 'protocol' and she was just doing her job.
A doctor finally came after midnight - lovely young man who had obviously benefited from the 'bedside manner' training now applied for doctors. He asked the exact same questions as the others but this time, he, at least, held eye contact with my dad. Out of all the staff my dad had seen / spoken to, this young man was the only one he remembered the next day. The only thing he did differently was to treat my dad as a human being, not a 'patient'.
Like all big career bodies, respect is not gained by the cogs in the machinery - it seems the peripheral role takes precedence, it's a sought after role as it doesn't have a serious level of responsibility and it involves loads of meetings where the peripheralant (new word - thanks) gers performance opportunities to shine in front of keyholder experts.
BTW - are Irish nurses the best in the world ? Correct me if I'm wrong.
In order to get attention in A&E you have to groan loudly in pain (and I mean loudly) until someone comes. If you just lie quietly on your trolley you'll be ignored.
Great observation about HSE Emergency department. Load a staff milling about but lack of focus on priorities. May be that's a bit harsh , not knowing the realities of working there , but I often feel if we applied the work ethic and business like approach of a Aldi or Lidl , the vulnerable would get looked after much quicker.
Only you, so adept at weaving threads of the ordinary with the extraordinary; the mundane with the magical; past and present; and the best and worst of our humanity with the spirit that infuses all of us; only you could weave together a piece about harvesting turf (a practice of old) and the shortcomings of hospitals (modern mayhem). I thoroughly enjoyed reading every bit of this and look forward to the next instalment.
I have no experience of cutting turf but plenty of the hospital system through my parents. It seems to me, the staff are so tied up in red tape and tick-box exercises, many of them, especially the nurses, who are the most visible face of the system, have neither time nor energy even to look at the people awaiting their attention. 'Patients' must be processed with due diligence to avoid litigation and in the processing, humanity is lost.
My most recent experience with my dad taught me that the doctors now, are often the ones who are most caring but they only arrive many hours after the the 'patient' has been through a whole swathe of nurses asking the same questions over and over despite the fact that they're all compiling the answers to the same questions digitally. I imagine in this era of I.T. that it is possible to centralise inputs but apparently not.
I had to control myself when my dad, who was feeling extremely sick and weak, was made to answer the same questions eight times in total with different nurses and one doctor over a period of six hours. The doctor in the hospital where I brought him first, seemed caring and compassionate but A&E was closed there and so he gave a referral to another hospital, where more nurses asked the same questions and barely looked at him as they tippety-tapped, paying closer attention to their screens. When I intervened to answer the questions, I was told he had to answer for himself. The last time, I snapped a bit as my dad sagged ever-further into the seat and I told the nurse he had already answered the same questions multiple times. She replied that this was 'protocol' and she was just doing her job.
A doctor finally came after midnight - lovely young man who had obviously benefited from the 'bedside manner' training now applied for doctors. He asked the exact same questions as the others but this time, he, at least, held eye contact with my dad. Out of all the staff my dad had seen / spoken to, this young man was the only one he remembered the next day. The only thing he did differently was to treat my dad as a human being, not a 'patient'.
Like all big career bodies, respect is not gained by the cogs in the machinery - it seems the peripheral role takes precedence, it's a sought after role as it doesn't have a serious level of responsibility and it involves loads of meetings where the peripheralant (new word - thanks) gers performance opportunities to shine in front of keyholder experts.
BTW - are Irish nurses the best in the world ? Correct me if I'm wrong.
In order to get attention in A&E you have to groan loudly in pain (and I mean loudly) until someone comes. If you just lie quietly on your trolley you'll be ignored.
Great observation about HSE Emergency department. Load a staff milling about but lack of focus on priorities. May be that's a bit harsh , not knowing the realities of working there , but I often feel if we applied the work ethic and business like approach of a Aldi or Lidl , the vulnerable would get looked after much quicker.
Can you please explain to those of us not from your country what the turf harvested is for?
got it, Working on the bog, cutting turf in Ireland, YT,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExI9MYTcKaA
Hmm not sure about those machine cut lines of turf ...
That sure is hard work. Well done. A&E is an extermination camp.
Lovely writing about the bog, Gerry. God help the poor woman in A&E with her outstretched hand.
Thanks Gerry.
In bog and mule , the slow hours keep their vow, and patients wait on hospital trolleys, learning the now.
A lovely rendition of both a day in the bog and the trenches of the HSE. Thank you.
"The trenches of the HSE" - VG
Thanks Ruth.