How covid-19 unleashed the NHS
The pandemic has brought forth a wave of innovation
ACCORDING TO SHELAGH O’RIORDAN, a consultant in geriatric medicine, patients often experience the National Health Service (NHS) as a conveyor belt. “You feel ill, you call this number. This number calls an ambulance. That ambulance tells you that you should go to hospital. You go to hospital. And then, if you’re frail, you might not come out.” Her job, as she sees it, is to help people off the conveyor belt, and even on a quiet Sunday morning the telephone keeps ringing. Most calls are from nurses, paramedics or care-home workers. After a quick chat, each is given a set of instructions about the care of the patient to whom they are attending.
This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “Unleashed”
Britain December 5th 2020
- How covid-19 unleashed the NHS
- The judgment in Keira Bell’s case upsets trans groups
- Brexit talks inch towards a last-minute deal—but it is not done yet
- Britain assembles a new cyber force of soldiers and spies
- Eastern European migrants stop coming to Britain
- The fates of Arcadia and Debenhams point to retail’s huge problem
- Introducing Dan Rosenfield, Boris Johnson’s organisation man
From the December 5th 2020 edition
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