Kirsty Bosley: We're lucky to have the NHS
NHS has angels and demons – but we're so lucky to have it.
Sitting in a bay at A&E with my friend, awaiting the result of a brain scan, we heard what sounded like all hell breaking loose in the bay next door.
"GET OFF ME! DON'T COME BY ME WITH THAT! YOU'RE NOT DOING IT!" screamed a frantic person in panicked tones. Me and my pal looked at one another and shot worried glances to the curtain concealing us. We were sure a furious person was set to burst in, fists flying, determined to never have to feel the sharp sting of a blood test needle. Noises of scuffling followed, along with a lot of shouting.
As the man yelled, a strong voice boomed even louder. In matronly tones, she shouted: "THIS IS A HOSPITAL! NOT THE PUB!"
We looked at one another again with that impressed look on our faces that you have when you throw rubbish at a bin from three sofa lengths away and it goes straight in. "I WON'T HAVE YOU ACTING LIKE THAT IN HERE, DO YOU UNDERSTAND?" the woman yelled amid the bumping and bashing, and that was the last we heard from that furious man.
After a few moments, the woman came by to apologise for the noise. "He broke my fingernail!" she told us, holding it up for us to see. Security had arrived, but she assured the man she'd got it in hand by demonstrating playfully her restraining method on him. That little bundle of energy almost took the huge man off his feet. Any silly ideas we'd had of inflating the rubber gloves or pressing the red button on the wall to see what would happen quickly evaporated. Not that we'd ever be that bonkers. Certainly not now, with this powerhouse on the ward.
"Sorry about that," she said, apologetically. "I'm not putting up with it though, with other people here. It's not fair, and it's not happening on my ward!"
