Police officer ‘losing faith in the NHS’ after Lincoln A&E experience

A Lincolnshire Police officer says she is losing faith in the NHS and blames a lack of communication for problems at Lincoln County Hospital A&E.

Detective Clare Brown was taken to hospital by ambulance on Monday, staying there overnight, including having scans and a four-hour wait on an ambulance stretcher in the corridor.

After four lots of morphine the pain slightly subsided and the 34-year-old was told she had a large cyst on her ovary, which had potentially ruptured and was bleeding inside, as well as an infection.

Clare was then sent home with antibiotics and a strong painkiller, before coming back for a follow up on Thursday for further scans, when she was again sent home and told to keep taking the medication.

‘Pain and love for her job drained away’

She told The Lincolnite: “Quite frankly I shouldn’t have been packed off home in agony. The female doctor wanted me to be admitted to the ward for further tests, but the consultant just seemed bothered about discharging me, in his words because ‘I wasn’t dying’.

“I could see the pain and the love of her job drain away in her eyes because she wanted to help me but couldn’t.

“She fought with the consultant about wanting to admit me to a specialist ward, but all he seemed to care about was patching me up and sending me away.

“As I wasn’t rolling around screaming anymore (due to morphine) he felt it was appropriate to send me home. Maybe if I had caused much more of a fuss I would have been dealt with better.

“The ambulance crews from all over Lincolnshire had to run A&E because it was a shambles. They were great and without them God knows what would be happening in that hospital. Something needs to be sorted soon, this can’t carry on.

“It’s the lack of communication that’s the issue. Patients aren’t told what’s going on. I shall be taking out private health insurance after this as I’m afraid I have no faith left in the NHS.”

Lincoln hospital can’t cope

Clare added: “I spoke to one of the paramedics there Monday night who told me the NHS is stretched everywhere, but Lincoln never seems to cope well.

“They go to lots of hospitals who can adapt in some way to increased pressure, but Lincoln is at capacity permanently and there’s no rhyme or reason to busy periods there.

“Worse than that, the staff there are so used to it they don’t see the effect it has on patients and families anymore, and some days it’s soul destroying to walk in there and see conditions people are waiting in.

“It’s not all the hospital’s fault. The public has to be accounted for some of this. They take their sick child to A&E because they have a runny nose, or someone’s got their ring stuck on their swollen finger.

“Half of the people who go, bypass their GP because they think it’s easier. But this has a knock on effect.”