No excuse for leaving route to hospital un-gritted (From Salisbury Journal)

No excuse for leaving route to hospital un-gritted

7:00am Thursday 24th January 2013 in Postbag

I SET off for work at Salisbury District Hospital on Friday morning allowing extra time but took one-and-a-half frustrating hours to get there from Lower Bemerton.

It was only when I got to the bottom of Odstock Hill that I saw any evidence of attempts at road clearing, and much, much too late. Of all the places to leave ungritted, why the one and only route to the hospital?

I work in the intensive care unit, and only two members of staff had managed to arrive on time, leaving exhausted night staff waiting for colleagues to turn up so they could leave.

When those that could get there did arrive, we literally worked our socks off trying to maintain the level of care that our patients and their relatives need and deserve, some staff staying on later than their usual hours.

And that’s just one department – I know that other usually non-clinical staff did their utmost to help out on the wards.

With all the weather warnings we had, where was the help to get where we were needed? With one exception; a huge thank you to the man at the roundabout giving advice and cheery encouragement to drivers about to try to get up the hill.

Can we expect better service next time it snows? I certainly hope so.

J STOREY, Lower Bemerton