A Year In Redwood

I am a list person.

I know it drives some people mad, but I cannot operate without lists.

There’s the shopping list.

The housework list.

The garden list.

The ‘work’ list.

The Christmas card list.

The Wish List  (for when I win the lottery!)

So many lists.

And then there’s the list in my head, that needs to be transferred onto one of the above lists.

I use lists to get me through what needs to be done, to prioritise and to achieve an end.

There have been many conversations recently with friends about lists.  However, the list that got me most aggravated recently was a hospital list.

My Dad has been in hospital for almost 3 weeks.

An appointment was made for him to attend the hospital at 9 am on Tuesday 6th March – he needed to have a scan.  My Dad is 83 years of age.  He was left sitting on a plastic chair in A&E in a major Dublin hospital from 9 am until 9 pm, when he was finally transferred to a trolley.  A further 24 hours passed while he waited on the trolley in A&E before he was transferred to a ward.

Another week passed before the carried out the scan. Big question here…. why did they make an appointment for him at 9 am on Tuesday when they didn’t have the scan organised?

I should at this stage point out that while Dad does need antibiotics he is not really sick. Bored – Yes. Sick – No.

Another few days passed and the ‘team’ decided they needed to do another scan.  Another week’s wait while he was put on ‘the list’ for the next scan.

Second scan done, the team decided they needed to do a minor operation, and scheduled it for last Wednesday.  Wednesday dawned.  Dad waited.  Nursing staff waited.  Until it was finally discovered that someone had forgotten to put Dad on ‘the list’ for the procedure that day!!!!

Dad was furious and threatened to sign himself out.

After many phone calls, and obviously some juggling they managed to arrange for him to have the procedure on Friday.

My point in telling you all of this…. Dad has been in hospital now for close on 3 weeks, he has discovered that the daily charge is €934.00 per day (and that doesn’t include consultants fees)!  As he has said himself he could be staying in a 5 star hotel for less and have a private medical team looking after him.

What is happening in our hospitals?

Why are the charges so astronomical?

Where is all this money being spent?  It certainly doesn’t seem to be on organisation.

Why does everything shut down for the weekend?  They still have to have nurses, catering and doctors on duty over the weekend, so why not make use of this time to clear some of ‘the lists’?

Am I being naive in my thinking?

I am sure Dad is not the only person in a situation like this.  The consultant actually has said to him, he is better to stay in the hospital and keep the bed, because otherwise they don’t know when they would be able to fit him in again!  This is just ridiculous.

Our money is being blatantly wasted.

Rant over!