Life, death and paperwork

This is an excerpt from an article entitled Life, death and paperwork from the Guardian G2 11th May 2006. The full article can be found at http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,,1772192,00.html#article_continue

It's the pride of the nation, but never out of the headlines. Health secretary Patricia Hewitt claims the NHS is in better shape than ever - but last month 50 minutes of heckling forced her to abandon a speech to the Royal College of Nursing. This year the government is spending £83.8bn on the health service - yet the list of hospitals announcing record debts continues to grow. There are 85,000 more nurses than in 1997 - but all we hear about is layoffs, and health workers are marching in London today, threatening industrial action. So what's life really like for the 1.3 million employed by the health service? On Tuesday we asked 35 people - from the cabinet minister to the mortuary attendant, the chief executive to the chaplain - to tell us about their day. How do they spend it? What's the best thing about what they do? And the worst?

Iain Johnstone
37, mortuary manager
James Paget Hospital, Great Yarmouth

My day started early, with my five-week-old daughter Ella waking me up to be fed at 4.20am. I went to work at 7.30am and spent 15 minutes dealing with emails and another 15 finishing my article for the Association of Anatomical Pathology Technologists. It's for a bereavement conference in London and deals with issues around tissue removal.

Then my staff came in. Normally there are five of us - Darryl, the deputy manager; Maria, the senior technician; Phil, the trainee technician and Emily, the administrator. But today we were two down because of training. Then we went to prepare four patients for postmortem. We do dissection for the pathologists. It was quiet for a Tuesday. Normally we have seven or eight. There was a probationary policeman in the viewing gallery and I talked him through the death and postmortem protocols.

I didn't have time for a break. The phone was constantly going with calls from funeral directors and relatives wanting to book the chapel of rest. I had no lunch because the Parkinson's Disease Society called to ask if I could accept a patient who had wanted to donate the brain and spinal cord. A courier came from London and waited while I removed them. I don't mind giving up my dinner hour for that.

I wrote a health and safety report, then a funeral director came in to collect two patients, and I invited him out to wet the baby's head. Then I set another patient in the chapel of rest. After that I had to work on a "gap analysis", looking at what we are doing versus what we should be doing, based on the Department of Health's bereavement policy statement When a Patient Dies. Then Maria and I put together some bereavement packs for relatives.

At about 4.30pm we had had a chat over coffee, and I said thank you to my staff as I try to do most days because I have a motto: if you're good to your staff, they'll be good to you. At 5.30pm, I left to pick up my son, Adam, who's two.

Best thing about the NHS It's a family environment, at least in my trust. We're like-minded people who do a good job and work hard.

Worst thing about the NHS The bad thing is politicians playing games to score points.

Further information

What is an anatomical pathology technologist?
Download the AAPT (UK) Careers Advice Leaflet