Posted on 08/21/2010 2:04:18 PM PDT by wagglebee
As a hospital cleaner, Margaret Cummins dedicated years of her life to the Health Service.
She would keep the buildings spick and span - and go out of her way to help the sick and reassure those in distress.
But if she expected a little respect in return when she became a cancer patient, she was very wrong.
Instead, the 74-year-old's family were told that she could not have a vital scan because that particular unit was closed at weekends.
The locum doctor said: 'We'll do it on Monday - if she's still here.'
That crass remark was among 36 criticisms levelled at Northampton General Hospital, where Mrs Cummins spent 24 days.
The grandmother died in a hospice just two months after being diagnosed with a lung cancer that had been deemed treatable.
And Mrs Cummins's family claim that her appalling treatment in hospital contributed to her death.
Her daughter Julie Fordham said: 'Mum dedicated much of her life to working for the NHS. She wasn't high-profile, simply back-room, going about a menial but important job with spirit and a sense of pride. She loved the patients.
'She always believed the NHS was marvellous, but in this case its standards fell sadly short. We feel she was left to die.' The family's claims prompted the chief executive to apologise for 11 failures in her care.
Those included her walking frame being moved out of reach so she fell out of bed, being unable to ring a bedside alarm for help because it was out of reach and being left on the floor for 15 minutes.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
bump
I know this kind of crap will be epidemic but I don't expect to read about it in the MSM. And once the nazis gain control of the internet I don't expect to read about it anywhere.
Richard Matheson wrote a short story called “The Test,” published in 1954, that serves as a strong warning against things like Obamacare. I wish it was online, but it’s not public domain. The jist is that a man’s father, now in his sixties, has to go before a panel to prove his mental competence and his ability to continue contributing to society. Failure means death. It’s worth looking for. I think it’s in the Incredible Shrinking Man collection, which has a lot of great stuff, particularly the title story. Stay away from Matheson’s recent junk, however.
The poor thing.
I know in our local hospital, everybody who works with a patient has to document that they left the call light within reach. It seems like a very simple thing, even though falls can never be prevented 100%.
I think in the article it says it was a scan of her lungs, not an actual “cancer scan.” The doctor was sure her breathing problems were being caused by the cancer and saw no reason to rush the scan. But it wasn’t the cancer, it was a collapsed lung which may have been treatable.
Helps explain why the Brits die so much sooner than Americans from cancer.
btt
The last time I was in a hospital (outpatient cataract surgery) everyone, absolutely everyone I came into contact with on the hospital staff were kind, considerate, polite, and caring, far beyond my expectations. This was for a routine procedure with a very high success rate. If I ever need serious treatment for something life-threatening, I want that same level of care, not this miserable let-the-elders-croak and stop costing us money approach.
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