Gary's views

Gary's weekly views

Each week an article by Gary has appeared in the Plympton Plymstock and Ivybridge News in South West Devon. The articles are published here

WHAT’S WRONG WITH OUR HOSPITAL?

Last Friday I had an hour’s meeting with the top brass at Derriford Hospital. It was one of a regular series of briefings, but just happened to coincide with our hospital making the national press twice in the same week, and not for positive reasons. First, we had the bizarre revelation that ordinary dessert spoons are used in some operations and just a few days later we learnt an operating table had collapsed during a complex heart operation.

I know from my own advice surgeries and postbag that your experience has varied greatly over the past few years and of course some waiting lists remain stubbornly high. To be fair, many of you also praise the hospital to the hilt.

Given the importance to all of us of this massive medical centre, I have tried hard to get to the bottom of its recent run of poor publicity. We all know that the doctors and nurses and support staff are working very hard under enormous pressure. And although it is fashionable to bash the bureaucrats, I have to tell you that the senior executives are also impressive people who are clearly committed to producing a centre of excellence. So what is going wrong?

It largely comes down to capacity. Most hospitals operate at about 85% capacity level – i.e. running along nicely in third gear. So when a crisis comes along there is some slack in the system to cope with it. Derriford however pulsates at a capacity level of over 95% every day - sometimes over 100%. That means that it is running close to over-stretch all of the time. Unless we can solve that core reality, we will never get off the back foot.

Happily there are firm proposals in the pipeline to try and relieve the strain. A state of the art cardiac unit is to be installed in the next two years. Plans are well advanced for a new diagnostic and treatment centre on an adjoining site to deal with much of the routine surgery. There is talk of more local care centres scattered around the city so that many day patients will no longer even have to go up to Derriford. Each of these three schemes will divert patients away from the existing facility and help reduce the sheer intensity with which our angels of mercy struggle on a daily basis.

It should even reduce the pressure on that dreadful car park. And wouldn’t that be a prize worth having!

posted by Nigel on Tuesday, March 11, 2003