There’s a famous line in the film A Streetcar Named Desire where the character Blanche Dubois says: “I have always depended on the kindness of strangers.”
I was reminded of the truth of this last weekend when my oldest sister was rushed into hospital.
We mostly hope never or to seldom need the NHS and other care services.
But when we do, and we see them close up caring for those we love, it can be a humbling experience.
My sister, fourteen years my senior (I’m the bairn of the family with my brother thirteen years older and my other sister ten years my elder) has sadly been in care with dementia for the last four years.
Last weekend she had a fall in her care home and had to be taken by ambulance to Ninewells.
It was obviously a distressing time since the nature of her dementia meant she couldn’t communicate with doctors or nursing staff.
But it was obvious that she was in some real pain and discomfort.
Hanging around A&E for an afternoon is no one’s idea of fun but it’s a real eye opener into a day in the life of our NHS staff.
Their calculated calmness under pressure in difficult situations gives you confidence when it’s most needed.
‘Those who care for us’
Everyone becomes an amateur when removed from their own field of expertise and in such situations we’re at the mercy of the experts to assess the problem, to communicate it, and to hopefully give some comforting news.
The consultant, junior doctor and nursing staff were informative and kind, and swiftly diagnosed a fractured hip.
Plans to operate on the Saturday or the Sunday morning were thwarted as greater emergency situations sadly presented themselves, and while frustrating, it put our family situation into perspective as some other poor souls faced life-threatening situations.
The operation went ahead on Sunday afternoon and with a bit of luck she’ll be back in her care home shortly.
There she will be at ease with faces she recognises and which are a comfort to her.
But they say no experience is wasted, and while being a squeamish sort when it comes to hospitals, and someone who’s been fortunate not to have spent too much time in them, it’s been a timely reminder of the incalculable value of those folk who care for us in times of deep despair and danger.
‘Priceless qualities’
My sister was accompanied to hospital in the ambulance by one of her care workers who stayed with her the whole afternoon, without ever taking a break for a meal or a drink, and until she was safely ensconced in a ward.
Such workers don’t earn huge wages, and they perform tasks which many of us would find very difficult to do, yet in my experience of visiting my sister over the years they have a deep well of kindness and humanity.
Those are qualities which are priceless.
Despite their low pay and the stress and hard work which their job entails, they also in my experience manage to maintain a level of good humour in a very challenging occupation.
And in Ninewells and other hospitals throughout the country frontline workers maintain one of the most essential bedrocks of our civilised society in the NHS.
Free at the point of need and looking after us from cradle to grave and which – despite its occasional faults – won’t bankrupt us, as can be the case in America for want of an insurance policy or inadequate cover.
It remains, in my eyes, our finest achievement as a nation.
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