Friday 19th June. A trip to Bart's.

I am woken up at the uncivilised time of 0530 hrs for the usual breakfast of two Weetabix with cold milk and a cup of tea.  I pack up by belongings and have a shower in readiness for the transfer to Bart’s.  Hospital transport arrives at 0700 hrs.

  

More formally known as The Royal Hospital of St Bartholomew, Bart’s it is part of the Bart's Health NHS Trust, the largest NHS trust in the country, covering most of East London.  The hospital in located at Smithfield in London.  It was founded in 1123 although the first physician was only appointed in 1567 (he was subsequently hung drawn and quartered after being falsely accused of plotting to poison Queen Elizabeth I).  The present buildings were completed in 1770 but fortunately they have been refurbished several times since then.  The entrance takes you into a courtyard and through the original building.   

Then a surprise!  I am in a light, airy, modern atrium. There are no wheel chairs or porters so I walk across the lifts and we go up to the state of the art Heart Unit on the 4^th floor.  Perhaps this is where all the money has gone; the Trust has been in the press lately for poor financial management and a deficit approaching £80mln.  I hope that does not mean they will cut corners!

We wait all day for the angiograms but around 1600 hrs a nurse arrives to tell us that they have been cancelled.  Apparently the Cat Labs (as they are called) have been fully occupied with emergencies.  I am naturally disappointed because apparently the labs do not work at the weekend an now I have to spend the weekend waiting in hospital.  The nurse explains that as the procedures have been postponed we will be treated as priority patients on Monday and seen first.  

I am given the option to stay in Bart’s over the weekend but there is no WiFi or phone signal here so I am completely cut off.  This is possibly because the unit has only been open since April, in fact they are still building because I can hear drills not too far away.   Also the ward is cold and the staff cannot adjust the temperature.   In view of this I decide to go back to the Whittington where visiting is also more convenient.