NHS resources are too stretched

I was appalled to read the letter by the nurse from Lister Hospital.

To warn people that they may fall foul of community services was unprofessional, further highlighting the negligence of hospital staff to say the least. To send a person home to find that they are unable to qualify for help is appalling to read, as a full assessment should have been done prior to discharge to ensure the safety of the client.

This, I am sure, accounts for many readmissions, alongside the lack of communication informing community staff of a discharge.

As a member of the community team, my colleagues and I witness poor discharges on a daily basis from our local hospital and are embarrassed to hear the constant complaints from our clients. The plethora of reporting we do of this seems to go unnoticed as nothing is improving.

While there is a large provision of services for people at home, resources are stretched, indeed there has been a recent annihilation of district nurses due to pressure from central government for PCTs to pay back debt.

This debt has largely been accrued due to the local acute Trust overcharging for so long and failing to provide the full service for which they have been paid, thereby leaving the PCT no alternative but to pay twice with their own staff completing the care.

While we are all concerned about the bed closures, it is up to the hospital staff to find ways of ensuring clients are effectively cared for with the resources that they have, as we have done in the community for so long. There are innovative ways of working to provide a high standard of care if only the people would take the initiative. The NHS is a bottomless pit which will never be perfect, but to provoke a discussion at this level has done nothing to promote the seamless, person centred care that we should be providing.

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