Thorts

OK, I can find two recent local stories on the BBC News website about hospitals trying hard to move well patients out of their care. But, as an alternative to ambulances parked up at A&E as a backdrop, can one of the BBC's substantial health cluster do an 8am to 8pm shift with a ward sister trying to free up beds ?

I'd recommend a geriatric ward at one of the two large hospitals on the North Wales coast. 

I'd like to follow up with a feature on the circular problems of the infirm over-80s. They are famously prone to falls, but now are no longer a priority. So they either lie where they drop, or unqualified family and friends risk further trauma to broken bones by moving them back to bed - commercial care assistants won't take the risk. If they choose to wait for a paramedic assessment - sometimes for 12 hours or more, they risk dehydration, urine infections and more. So then they become a priority, and the circle continues.

My third feature would try to compare the pay, typical hours and training costs of the nurses and care assistants who deal with the consequences of urination and defecation of bedridden patients in hospitals, care homes and their own homes. 

And my fourth would look at nurses' pay in France, Germany and the USA. Crikey, I might get a gig in "News Content Planning"....