Patience all around is evident.

One marvels at the professional carer, and here I mean nurses. Yesterday I spent seven hours in Emergency. Lily was asleep most of the time. Waking occasionally. Very needy and anxious. And always relieved to see a familiar face. Lily is such a lovely person, she is kind to the nurses and tries to be so little trouble to everyone.
But that cannot be said for all in Emergency.
The patience and professionalism of the nurses amid many sad things is incredible.
They are the front guard in the medical arena. They assess, they organise the blood tests. They prioritise and get things organised before the doctor is available to make more decisions.
But what they have to contend with - if politicians would each spend 24 hours in an Emergency area of a big public hospital, then maybe politicians would get real about the cost and needs of health care.
From the public Emergency Lily was eventually transferred to the private hospital on the same site as this big public hospital. But amid the great many things the nurses had to do for the patients in Emergency I was in awe at their patience, calm demeanor and professionalism.
Those nurses are literally in the firing line of agitated, sometimes abusive, occasionally angry and demanding, unhappy suffering patients and their loved ones as well, at times, it seems. And so many who are impatient.
The nurses deal with things that should not be part of nursing.
Take last night.
A man who had something wrong was groaning and crying out and screaming verbal abuse at the nurses.
He said he felt sick.
They rushed a sick bag to him.
He was sick.
Then he flicked the whole contents of his sick bag over the two nurses attempting to help him. They had to be replaced by two other nurses. The nurses had to leave to change their uniforms.
Then a cleaner had to be brought to clean the floor and a bed nearby had to be remade as that too had ended up with some of his sick on the sheets.
And a security guard came and talked to the man. All that time and effort for a man who was not in any way grateful for the care her was receiving either.

Then a woman with her daughter.
The daughter appeared to be in pain and looked as if she was about twenty five years old. The daughter was very demanding of the nurses, but they stoically coped with this young woman.
This mother appeared distressed at the state of her daughter.
When her daughter was demanding 'smokes' and some matches so she could 'light up'.
The nurses told her the hospital did not supply 'smokes and matches' to patients.
And that she could not smoke in the hospital. But that if she still had any in her bag that she could smoke outside the hospital in a designated area. The young woman was clearly not happy. More abusive words to the hospital staff from the young woman. Eventually the girl's mother offered up her own packet and a lighter with some reluctance. A wheel chair had to be organised to allow the mother to take her daughter outside to smoke. The young woman's mother confided in me that her daughter was once beautiful, but was now an alcoholic and suffered from liver damage. I said to her 'your daughter is still beautiful' because one could see that the daughter was still a pretty girl. But the loss of her daughter's looks seemed very important to this mother. Sad that alcohol could do so much damage to one so young.
Then one sees the sick who are clearly very ill, But at least they are quiet and patient.

The nurses are equally kind and professional to all, even the abusive patients.

What struck me too, in Emergency, were the number of people who appeared to have psychiatric issues and were brought in by Police and then were surrounded by security personnel for the whole time they were in Emergency. They looked able bodied, except their eyes looked different. There was a wariness and a tenseness to these people. Once again politicians should have to spend 24 hours in emergency to see the problems. I think there is a case for 24 hour separate Emergency areas and public hospitals dedicated to solely these patients.
These people with what appears to be psychiatric issues are sick.
The public accepts dedicated separate hospitals and clinics for cardiac,renal, maternity and other issues.
Why not dedicated separate public emergency 24 hour facilities and dedicated and separate public hospitals for psychiatric patients. Not just a separate wing. But a whole dedicated area with gardens surrounding it to help their people restore or better manage their health. Then maybe too there would be security personnel there who are also trained in how to deal with these clients who are suffering. As are their families suffering.
But these patients can be very scary.
The nurses need better protection.
The police should not have their valuable time used to babysit these very sick people until security can take over.
I saw and mused on all this while Lily slept on and on in her bed in Emergency. I stayed beside her as I did not want her waking up alone in a strange place.

Late last night the nurses shifted Lily into a lovely room. The doctor and the nurses were very kind and lovely to Lily. And Lily knows she just has to get better and she will be home again.
Lily is a very good patient. She is quiet, calm and co-operates with the nurses in whatever they ask of her.
But Lily is safe and being well cared for,
Lily seemed better when i left her last night than how she was when she was admitted.
Lily seems scared of all her medical issues that keep happening.
She prefers being home to any other place.
My job is to encourage her, support her and help her in any way to improve her health. Whatever the doctors tell me to do to help Lily i will do.
With one proviso. Lily has told me that no matter what she wants to always live in her own home.
Come hell or high water all solutions to help Lily must be solutions that support Lily to live in her own home, as is her wish.