I didn't realise how bad the NHS was until I ended up in hospital
Norma Lightfoot ended up in hospital following a car accident.
A woman said it only ‘hit home how bad’ the state of the NHS is when she ended up in hospital after a car accident.
Norma Lightfoot, who lives in Port Sunlight Village on the Wirral, was in the passenger seat when a speeding car failed to stop and slammed into the vehicle she was in. The ordeal, which happened near the village’s war memorial in January this year, left her waiting hours for an ambulance.
She said that when she got to the hospital she wasn’t offered water or anything to eat ‘for hours and hours’ and was ‘scared’. Describing the hospital as ‘understaffed’, she praised the staff particularly the ambulance crew, who made her a cup of tea while she waited in their vehicle outside.
Norma continued: “I had seen clips on the TV and heard about it but you do not realise how bad it is until you are there. There were three corridors long full of people waiting at the time. It’s probably worse now. It hit home how bad it was then, even when I saw the doctor I saw them for about 30 seconds.”
She said she later had to go back for a head scan because she had not been checked to see if she had suffered a concussion and she has only just recovered. She said the ambulance crew were also looking after multiple patients, adding: “There’s no staff. When I was in the corridor there were no staff. The ambulance staff had to look after you.”
The NHS is on Norma’s mind as people prepare to go to the polls in their thousands to elect their new MP and the next government. Like many, she told the LDRS: “I do not know who to vote for. I do not really think anyone that gets in will be able to change things quickly even for the NHS. It’s just not going to happen and the country is in such a state.”
She added: “The NHS is the main thing that needs doing because it’s horrendous. I have recently been one of those people waiting on the corridor for 10 hours. I was waiting in a queue.”
The upcoming general election will take place on July 4. Postal votes are currently being sent out and if you are planning to vote at a polling station, make sure to take a valid form of ID. You can still use an out of date ID as long as the photo still looks like you.