In Praise of Health Care Assistants

February

10

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Southend Lib Dem Neil Monnery had to visit the Acute Medical Unit at Southend Hospital on Saturday…

Well Saturday didn?t go quite as planned. I was woken up at around 4:45 by my body coughing and eventually I was able to hack out a blood-ball from my throat. Not pretty in prose let alone in reality…..

Doctor and senior doctor came down around 5 o?clock and said I was an extremely healthy young man. The key thing was my lungs looked in perfect shape and the issue was with my blood. However it wasn?t an issue that concerned them too much, not enough to keep me in anyway. Basically they think my body is still battling whatever infection it started fighting three weeks ago…

After this Neil adds:

….One other thing I want to write about though is the staff. I have been involved in Hospital Radio for several years, so I see a window into what the staff have to deal with but on Saturday I was a patient and saw first hand for several hours everything thrown at them. I was treated thoroughly and both the doctor and the senior doctor were truly first rate. The nurse who admitted me and did all my initial tests was great as well and I didn?t really have any dealings with any other staff. However I did watch the HCA?s closely as they get a lot of stick in the press for not being nurse?s and this one young HCA didn?t sit down between the time I was admitted at around 11:45 to the time she went for her lunch at around 2ish. She genuinely did not sit down once, not even for a few seconds.
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I was extremely impressed by her considering the job she was doing was certainly not glamorous in any way shape or form. It included helping people to pee and poo as well as then clean them up. I didn?t see her roll her eyes once. I thought that was a miracle in itself. I know if I had to face some of the issues she faced in those five or so hours that I watched then I?d not be able to take it at all. So for all those rubbishing HCA?s for not being nurses then I think they should go and watch an HCA for a shift and I firmly their opinions will change mightily quickly.
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As for me, I?ll live. I?ll heed the advice to basically only do essentially talking until I have been cough and phlegm free for a good week or so.

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