I was born in the UK but have lived in the USA for...

I was born in the UK but have lived in the USA for about 23 years. For most of that time I have sung the praises of the free NHS. But, Oh My God, recent experiences with taking my elderly parents to the BRI have considerably soured my view of the system. The BRI is antiquated, dirty and disorganized. The many ad-hoc additions make it impossible to find your way around and this is compounded by inaccurate or missing way finding signs. Even the staff do not know their way around (it happened just today). Some of the wards cannot have been decorated in 50 years and are immensely depressing. Yes, the staff is great but they are working in a completely dysfunctional system. Twice I have waited hours and even days before a senior doctor can be found to discharge a patient. They will leave a patient occupying a bed overnight rather than find a doctor to release them how can this be efficient use of space and resources? I do not buy the I am sorry the Dr. is in surgery , treating an urgent case etc. etc., blackmail type of response. For God s sake this is a hospital, of course there are emergencies going on all the time. An efficient and effective organization plans for these things and sets up robust procedures and protocols that can withstand these everyday challenges. I just spent 9 hours at the BRI for my Fathers Hernia to be checked out, half that time was just waiting for the senior Doctor to come and sign off on his release (the Dr. was in surgery surprise, surprise). In the USA this would have taken 2-3 hours and they would have seen it as a cost cutting measure to deal with the situation promptly and effectively. Yes, we would have paid for it with our insurance but don t forget that people in the UK pay also.