I picked up a free London Lite newspaper on my way home last night because my other preferred free Metro had gotten slightly soaked in the pub mopping up a drink. I came across a rather shocking ‘article’ with the headline “Ambulances get £38 to NOT go to hospital.� It claimed that the London Ambulance Service is to be paid a £38 ‘bonus’ for every patient it doesn’t take to the hospital. I found this quite shocking but with it being a free paper, and being a subsidiary of the Evening Standard (which is, in my opinion, only one step above a typical UK tabloid such as the Sun or Daily Mirror), I decided to do some investigation.
I couldn’t find anything on my trusted Guardian website to do with this but I did find an item on the Evening Standard website. It has the headline Ambulances will only go to 10 per cent of 999 calls. I also had a look at the London Ambulance Service (LAS) website because of my opinion of the Evening Standard (trying to be well-rounded here). I found this explanation of how 999 calls are responded to. (Oh, for those living in the US, 999 is the equivalent of our 911) What disturbed me was the fact that the information given to a 999 operator is entered into a computer which then identifies your ‘priority’ and, thus, how badly you need an ambulance. I have not been able to locate any similar organisation or information on American ambulances to compare so this is entirely my opinion of the situation.
The LAS may send a paramedic before an ambulance and he/she will assess the situation and decide whether or not you should go to hospital. The point of all of this is to avoid patients going to the already over-stretched hospitals. I’m sorry but I find a lot wrong with this whole situation. Take me for example: if Tim were to cut himself badly while cooking I am not yet able to drive his manual car and I don’t even know where the nearest hospital with an emergency room is (because, guess what? They don’t all have them). I would call 999 in a heartbeat and they would then send someone out by car or motorcycle to assess Tim. Granted his injury might not be life threatening but let’s say he needs stitches. I would feel much more comfortable with him going to the hospital and having these done in a sterile environment rather than my living room or kitchen. I’m not saying they would do the stitches at home but with what I’ve read, how do I know that for sure?
My point with this post is to point out what I feel to be a serious problem with the National Health Service, but then again they have so many. It just worries me to no end should I ever, God forbid, be put in a situation where Tim or I need an ambulance.