Katie Hill walked into her small kitchen carrying a large cardboard box. Inside are all the drugs she needs to survive.
There are many drugs. Katie explains what each medication does and how it helps her cope with each of her health conditions.
The two most important conditions are brittle asthma and non-epileptic seizures. Last month, Katie needed emergency treatment at the hospital after a seizure.
(LR) Katie and her partner Jamie were traumatized by how long they had to wait in A&E
She told me, “I was very, very short of breath. White and uncomfortable. And that was scary. That’s when you couldn’t breathe properly, it felt like your breath wasn’t going in or out. It makes you extremely shaky. You don’t feel like you’re in your own body. It’s very scary.”
Katie and her partner Jamie called an ambulance. After an hour of waiting and not knowing how long it would take, Jamie called Mark’s father-in-law to drive them to the hospital.
She described the scene as they arrived at the hospital: “When we arrived the parking lot was full of cars, police cars and trucks.”
She said: “There were three ambulances lined up in three rows of four, all with patients inside. It was so overwhelming, so many people there, you also start to panic, if you don’t get a look. see soon.”
Upon entering the emergency department of Great Western Hospital in Swindon, Katie braced herself for another long wait. The scene was chaotic, she said. Her father Mark said it looked “like a war zone”.
“You have people sitting everywhere, there’s no space between them. You have drunk people, people screaming. The corridors are full of patients on trolleys. Ambulances are lined up outside with sick people. core.”
Kate was treated after an hour and the doctor warned her that the hospital was full.
“I asked them ‘how much longer, wait at A&E’ and he was very honest. He said ‘look at me don’t know. It will be late in the morning. There is no bed. There is no space on any ward to take you. “
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NHS is facing record waiting times
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A record 6.5 million people are waiting for treatment at a regular NHS hospital in the UK
More than 1,000 people wait more than 12 hours in A&E every day, figures reveal
Katie waited for eight or nine hours lying in a stroller in an emergency compartment until it was decided that she would be safe to return and continue treatment at home.
This experience left Katie and her partner Jamie traumatized. Jamie waited for Katie all night and had to sit on the floor because there were no chairs.
Jamie said: “I know we are still in the midst of a pandemic and it’s been two years and people are trying to live as normally as possible but the NHS is struggling and it’s worrying because people are going to lose their lives because of it. .. “
The Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust apologized to Katie for her long wait to receive treatment and said it may have been the case they were busy as they treat patients urgently.
