Improve A&E and Meddoc services in Medway

Currently many of us struggling to get a pre-bookable appointment with our GP within 3-4 weeks. Appointments are given out on a 'first come, first served basis' at 8 a.m. Monday to Friday and clearly there's not enough to go round because if you are lucky enough to get through on the phone, then most of these appointments have gone by 8.30. In addition to this our local walk in centres have been closed.

So what do you do if you are unlucky enough to fall ill outside of designated hours? Be prepared for a very long wait! If you phone 111 you are directed either to A&E or meddoc. Recently there have been several accounts of A&E triaging patients straight across to meddoc (even some of those taken in by ambulance) with those patients suffering severe consequences and in some cases nearly dying, as they get bounced backwards and forwards between a&e and meddoc. On one occasion whilst we were waiting with my daughter to be seen by meddoc, a man collapsed in front of us and the crash team had to be called. He had just been triaged by a&e and sent across to meddoc! Sadly this isn't an isolated incident either.

Many people in Medway have experiences to tell of their loved ones nearly dying because of inadequate care and resources. This includes stories of cardiac arrests, sepsis and brain injuries. Staff work flat out but there just aren't enough of them and they are trying to meet unrealistic targets set by the government. Those that actually make it through triage and are deemed serious enough to not be referred to meddoc can then expect a 12 hour plus wait on Lister ward, where doctors and nurses are run off their feet and there isn't so much as a water machine for patients. I experienced this myself with a suspected pulmonary embolism four days after a total knee replacement operation. I can tell you that spending 12 hours trying to sit with your knee bent or stand for hours after a total knee replacement is excruciating! On that occasion there were many elderly and disorientated patients needing care that were simply left on chairs (if they were lucky) in a cramped, airless waiting room or in dark corridors, with no access to water.

This is becoming a desperate and untenable situation. I for one am genuinely afraid that should one of my family fall ill and need emergency care that they may too end up being in the middle of the meddoc waiting room with a crash team around them, simply because there aren't enough doctors and too many targets to be met. It's time for this currently flawed and failing system to be reviewed and effective strategies put in place. We need our current government to listen and do what Boris Johnson promised the public over Brexit, which was to invest much needed funds into the NHS.