Out of kit, out of nurses, out of beds

On 1 December 2011, The BBC quoted a resignation email sent by David Goodier, an orthopaedic surgeon at the Royal London Hospital.

Dr Goodier wrote:

"The supplies situation is dangerous. WE ARE REGULARLY OUT OF KIT, OUT OF NURSES, AND ALWAYS OUT OF BEDS. We have become so used to this situation it is no longer seen as a crisis, IT IS THE NORM.

I did an operation last week on a fracture that kept getting bumped by more urgent cases. It was three weeks down the line and healed in a bad position. THERE WAS NOTHING I COULD DO FOR HIM.

I look patients in the eye and tell them they might sit around for five or even six days of starving for an operation that might get cancelled at the last minute. I HAVE BEEN COMPLICIT IN A POOR STANDARD OF TRAUMA CARE AND AM GUILTY OF NEGLIGENCE BY ASSOCIATION. I can no longer stand idly by when patients are at best having their human rights breached, and at worst PHYSICALLY HARMED BY THE CARE THEY RECEIVE."

Professor Norman Williams, President of the Royal College of Surgeons, said there had been an ‘APPALLING DETERIORATION’ IN THE QUALITY OF CARE,' adding:

"Clearly there are concerns about the care some patients are receiving, particularly on the emergency surgical side. It worries me and it would worry any caring surgeon.”

The BBC added:

“The BBC understands STAFF HAVE BEEN RAISING CONCERNS ABOUT TRAUMA PROVISION FOR FOUR YEARS… The resignations, which all happened in recent months, mean almost half the hospital's 12 orthopaedic surgeons have now handed in their notice…

A medical professional currently working at the hospital said infection rates on complicated leg operations were between 70% to 80% instead of the expected 30% to 40%. He said:

‘They simply don't fund enough theatre sessions. Patients get fantastic treatment for the first few hours - but then THEY ARE LEFT TO FESTER WITH AN OPEN WOUND. This can go on for weeks… When we finally get into theatre the wounds are mucky looking. It means THERE IS A RISK OF LOSING THE WHOLE LEG… PEOPLE HAVE BEEN LEFT WITH WORSE OUTCOMES THAT HAVE AFFECTED THEIR WHOLE LIVES’…

Another medical professional at the hospital said: ‘When we've raised our concerns, WE ARE SEEN AS THE ENEMY - THEY [MANAGEMENT] ARE A BUNCH OF BULLY BOYS. DANGEROUS THINGS ARE HAPPENING BUT THEY DON'T CARE. They just say look at the spreadsheet - IT'S ALL ABOUT THE MONEY.”

The way we live now, eh? The kind of amoral automatons imposed upon us by the Camerons, Cleggs, Milibands, Browns, Blairs and Thatchers really does defy belief. When you consider what we were, in the decades leading up to and following WWII, and what we are now, the legacy of this traitorous breed is beyond criminal, beyond treachery.

Our own stupid complicity in this great betrayal, as we continue to vote for those who so despise us, defies any rational explanation.