Apathetic & Emotionless. Is this really what our A&E staff have become?
If there’s a story about A&E in the news, it’s usually something about horrendous waiting times, or the latest grim failure in performance targets. Worryingly, I’ve recently noted the emergence of stories highlighting instances of poor attitude and behaviour from A&E staff. Channel 4’s recent Dispatches program, “Undercover A&E”, talked about “disgusting care” from “compassionless staff”. Some newspaper journalists have shared their own A&E experiences, describing “dead eyed staff” with “a frosty demeanour”. As an A&E doctor myself with 16 years’ experience as an NHS consultant I find this deeply troubling. Undoubtedly the most disquieting point in the media is the implication that the A&E staff simply don't care about the suffering of their patients. Pain and distress are overlooked. Indignity goes unnoticed. So, what is going on? How can those in whom we put our trust to help at a time of crisis and pain be so indifferent to our need? It wasn’t...