[Margaret Pilkington]

Jaysay, the Patient Departure Lounge (what a misnomer that is!) was instigated to relieve the pressure on beds, just before I retired........it was fraught with problems then and it still seems so. Many of the problems occur because departments like pharmacy are snowed under with requests for take home mediciations that all come in to be done at the same time........I didn't know what the answer was then and I am sure the place has got busier so the problems will have worsened I'm sure.......but the only way to get things changed is for people to keep plugging away at those who make the policy decisions to implement such schemes........surely there must be ways to anticipate when patients are going to be discharged and get their medications in advance........failing that why don't they issue a script that can be made up by an outside local chemist and get them to deliver it to the patients home?
Ambulance transport was another bugbear, and patients could have seriously long waits for transport to their homes. Emergencies make ambulances unavailable for taking patients back home. You can't argue with the fact that the emergency need is greater.....but again there must be ways around this.......and they need to be used.