NHS Hospitals – A Question

Most days we make a point of walking into Chichester, it’s a good way to get fresh air and also a very good means of exercise.  So we set off on one of the routes we favour pick up a paper, drop into Costa Coffee and have a “Flat White” each and then set off back home having done whatever else needed doing during our venture into town.  Now I have to say that we generally avoid the town at weekends or bank holidays given the number of people thronging the streets at these times.  But on those occasions when we do venture out we invariably make our way home via our favoured route, which is through the grounds of St Richard’s Hospital.  It’s relaxing, relatively clean and tidy and it feels shorter than going around the houses.  Strange to say that on these occasions when we do use the hospital route at weekends or bank holidays the hustle and bustle, the full to overflowing car parks and the stream of doctors, nurses, visitors, patients and all the other staff that are employed at St Richard’s during the working week seem entirely absent, the place seems to be almost deserted.  Well as ever, this got me to asking some questions

• Why are there no visitors on weekends or holidays? (given the empty car parks)
• Where are all the hospital staff hiding?
• Do people only have accidents or need hospital care during working hours?
• Who is actually looking after the patients on the wards?
• Why isn’t a hospital a fully 24 hour operation/Service?

All I can say is that I don’t want to be admitted to hospital at a weekend or when there is a public holiday and nor do I want to be in one during the same times.
I think that ALL NHS staff working at hospitals should work the same shifts as the medical staff so that there is cover ALL the time and not at the convenience of the workforce!
Discuss!

Is this the latest transplant option, off the shelf?
…………and what the heck!