Hospital Emergency Problems and Road Blocks

I was going this morning to an hospital appointment. I set off early enough but it seems there has been an accident on the motorway,

After trying to find various routes to get to Oldham Royal out of Milnrow I gave up and there was no way I was going to be there on time. Complete grid lock around Milnrow due to heavy traffic.

Why am I telling you this?

The NHS have got it all wrong about closing the Accident and Emergency department down in Rochdale and reducing other services at our local hospitals and moving them to other towns.

So if I need to phone an ambulance due to say someone having an heart attack at home. Due to the road being blocked with heavy traffic how does the ambulance get here in the time before a person dies All because they were delayed due to the traffic blocking the roads. Also they are talking about further cutbacks to our emergency services.

After what I accounted with heavy traffic this morning, do the people who want to cut back the emergency services do not see the mistakes they are making by taking the services further away instead of keeping them local. What I have seen this morning everyone from all walks of life would have had trouble getting to work this morning or any appointments they had. That would include anyone who may work at the Hospital or any other emergency service they may work for. So staff would also be delayed.

This could apply to anywhere in the country. So closing accident and emergency down at local hospitals and moving them further away is a complete mistake and the people who plan this should see the folly of their idea.

Journey times for ambulancies and for the paramedics and other medical staff to treat anyone in that vital time would be delayed but by then someone could be dead, but could have been saved if they could have been reached in a faster time.

My rant is over now but this is how I see it.

Totally agree.

This is the reality of how closing services down really does affect people well said !

Grid lock due to accidents would have an effect on your journey to any hospital, unless all were within walking distance. Ideally we could all have top notch doctors within spitting distance to treat all our aliments, but unless we want to pay more we won't get it. I heard a man on the radio yesterday, from the USA, saying that the annual health insurance for his family was $52000. An unbelievable amount of money which I'm pretty sure our individual contributions don't come close to.

Dalelad I think the point is, that when the motorway is closed there is a lot of gridlock into Oldham from Milnrow/Rochdale. But that it would be possible to get to the Infirmary. And that during these times people will die that would not if the Infirmary was open.

Dalelad I would think that life is important in the time it takes to save it. Though for some reason the people who make it up about cost cutting and managing health services do not take into account how much time is needed to save a life or at least to limit any damage as much as possible to the body in an emergency.

Though I suppose the butchers of the health service know what to do because being accountants they know how lives should be saved without the need of the real medical experts.

Though I suppose those accountants who are bleeding the HEALTH SERVICE dry are getting rich and can afford the private treatment. Though they would expect the Emergency Services to arrive quickly to save a loved ones life if the need arise, but would want a public enquiry if a loved one was to die because of a delay.

I will be there Charly and a lot more rants from me. Rochdale Observer letter pages next!

I mentioned ages ago on RO about how traffic issues and road accidents would impact reponse times to the patients and then back to the nearest A&E departments. Even more so on heart attack victims.

Its almost daily occurance at the moment that the M62 is blocked/shut etc and the roads around the area turn into a car park. And yes I have seen emergency crews struggling to get through the traffic.

Does not get better either each year chill37.

This week the traffic has been much worse because of a burst water main, and resulting huge hole, closing Middleton Road, in the centre of Royton.

Traffic is much worse around Oldham and Crumpsall since so many services and staff have been relocated away from Rochdale and Bury. I used to walk or run to work occasionally if the weather was good, or very bad, but now have no option but to drive every day because it is much further and public transport takes too long (as well as a lack of changing facilities and showers). When changes are made there does seem to be a complete lack of any consideration of the worsening congestion issues around the hospitals, with long queues every morning on the inadequate and insufficient access roads. There is a sign on one of the roads outside North Manchester General from residents saying 'Give us back our road' , presumably from residents sick of the parking and traffic from the hospital.

I have another hospital appoinment tomorrow and I hope that it was not as bad as the other day. I just hope other people do not go through the same thing because trying to rearrange the hospital appointments is absolute hell in itself.