I am also a "lurker" I can always find something to moan about. However, I have a biggy at present. I know about and understand the situation the NHS is in at present, and that there is no one person to blame when things go wrong BUT! on a recent Tuesday morning I went into my satellite medical centre and asked to be put on their list for a call to speak to a Dr. For several months I had been getting out of breath when walking upstairs or hills and was progressively getting worse. No problem, I would receive a call in the next few days. The following day I had a phone call informing me a Dr would call me in the next 5/10 working days. Because they were busy as it was a Bank Holiday. I said that was not acceptable so was told the Dr. had seen I had been experiencing breathing problems for several weeks and it wouldn't hurt to wait a bit longer!. The following day, feeling worse, I called 111. They referred me to my GP. A couple of hours later, I called 999. They referred me to my GP. The following day, Friday, I had call from the local centre asking if I could get to a surgery on the other side of town for 2.30 that day. I drove there and fortunately, was seen by a trainee Dr. who refused to let me drive home. He called for an ambulance, called admissions at the local hospital and my daughter. An ambulance arrived within 30 mins., also my daughter and I was admitted into hospital with the results of a heart attack which must have happened some time ago and which I knew nothing about.
Almost exactly 3 weeks later I had a call from the appointments office, offering me a call with a Dr. for my breathing problem. I told them they were a bit a late. I had already had 1 week in hospital and an appointment to see the coronary care nurse. A long pause on the end of the phone, then, "Oh, shall we leave it there then?"!! Since then my poor daughter has had a nightmare time trying to organise for my medications to be delivered to me each month. She has had my order cancelled, told they were with the chemist for collection when only half of them were there, They would arrive via the post, nothing, then I had some tablets delivered which were someone else's order until eventually I had to go and collect them from the chemist. A friend is also experiencing the same kind of medication problem while others seem to have no problem at all. Just sign up sit back and meds arrive each month. How do they do it? What is going on?! If I had not been so bl***y minded and stubborn and refused to die quietly I would not be around to write this epistle. I am still seething. I have decided to send the Dr. who saw me a Thank You card because he was adamant I was not going to drive home to leave my car and then get my daughter to drive me to hospital. I hope he does not become disillusioned with his chosen profession and leave it. Nor can I complain about the care I received in the Critical Care ward, they were heavily understaffed, a lot of trainees, but wonderful. Nothing was too much trouble. How lucky am I. But I am still mad! I am now going to walk my dog, post a letter to a friend whose husband has just had a massive stroke, then come home home and watch the tennis. Still feeling really annoyed.
Had this so many times with my son, daughter  and parents Joyce,  once youâre in there theyâre very good,  just got to get in there in the first place. Itâs nothing new,  been like this for years.
Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor.Â
@Joyce Goldenlily I do feel for you. Â I hope youâre well on the road to recovery and can sort out the meds problems. I have been âlet downâ by the medical profession many many times in my 68 years and do my utmost to stay away from them. Â Not always possible of course but, on the whole I do not trust them. Â Sad.
I donât trust them either, Â my son has an incurable illness, Â when they did last blood tests they called him back and said there was nothing wrong with him, Â no signs of any illness. We are all very sceptical about that!Â
Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor.Â
Thatâs what weâre saying.  They messed about before and I paid for son to go to the Nuffield,  the doctor took him over to the NHS which is opposite and insisted on a treatment that he had research. To be really cynical and conspiratorial  and Iâm sure itâs not really true,  do they want to keep on with expensive drugs for people who wonât ever be cured. Maybe heâs in remission,  but that was a bit sudden.Â
Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor.Â
Oh well, looks like my whole career was in vain then! Of course there are bad Drs., just like there are bad every other professions. All I would say, having worked here, Europe and the USA, amongst others; is unless you are really rich, I would rather be ill in this country than anywhere else.
How can you lie there and think of England When you don't even know who's in the team
Have to disagree there @pundoc.  In Belgium I had prompt and successful pain management when I suffered 3 slipped lumbar discs and, later on, was able to have similar treatment for cervical slipped disks.
I also got to choose the hosiptal and surgeon and timing of my feet operations - not just bunyons but metatarsal jobbies too and in France I've been able to choose the hospital, surgeon and timings of my new knees. No 2 year waits!
Yes, there are shortages of GPs, nurses, radiographers, skin doctors, psychiatrists etc across the French and Belgian health services but we can choose to go outside our local area if we think services will be faster or better.  Can't do that in the UK unless you have priate health care.
At the moment the NHS is struggling with staffing and other issues ⊠and its only too obvious that this is due to underfunding which resulted in a lack of qualified staff within the UK, inadequate maintenance of buildings and equipment, the (to my mind disastrous) Private Finance Initiative (the brainchild of Thatcher and espoused by the gullible Blair) which has left the NHS with a mountain of unsustainable debt ⊠and then the Cameron governmentâs austerity measures which ran down the NHS so that it was in no fit state to cope with the crisis of any pandemic, which was well overdue.  The government didnât care about that because they saw it as an opportunity to increase the publicâs reliance on private medicine and health insurance ⊠which they saw as being to the benefit of Tory supporters.Â
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Posts
I can always find something to moan about.
However, I have a biggy at present. I know about and understand the situation the NHS is in at present, and that there is no one person to blame when things go wrong BUT!
on a recent Tuesday morning I went into my satellite medical centre and asked to be put on their list for a call to speak to a Dr. For several months I had been getting out of breath when walking upstairs or hills and was progressively getting worse. No problem, I would receive a call in the next few days.
The following day I had a phone call informing me a Dr would call me in the next 5/10 working days. Because they were busy as it was a Bank Holiday. I said that was not acceptable so was told the Dr. had seen I had been experiencing breathing problems for several weeks and it wouldn't hurt to wait a bit longer!.
The following day, feeling worse, I called 111. They referred me to my GP. A couple of hours later, I called 999. They referred me to my GP.
The following day, Friday, I had call from the local centre asking if I could get to a surgery on the other side of town for 2.30 that day. I drove there and fortunately, was seen by a trainee Dr. who refused to let me drive home. He called for an ambulance, called admissions at the local hospital and my daughter. An ambulance arrived within 30 mins., also my daughter and I was admitted into hospital with the results of a heart attack which must have happened some time ago and which I knew nothing about.
Almost exactly 3 weeks later I had a call from the appointments office, offering me a call with a Dr. for my breathing problem. I told them they were a bit a late. I had already had 1 week in hospital and an appointment to see the coronary care nurse.Â
A long pause on the end of the phone, then, "Oh, shall we leave it there then?"!!
Since then my poor daughter has had a nightmare time trying to organise for my medications to be delivered to me each month. She has had my order cancelled, told they were with the chemist for collection when only half of them were there, They would arrive via the post, nothing, then I had some tablets delivered which were someone else's order until eventually I had to go and collect them from the chemist. A friend is also experiencing the same kind of medication problem while others seem to have no problem at all. Just sign up sit back and meds arrive each month. How do they do it?Â
What is going on?!
If I had not been so bl***y minded and stubborn and refused to die quietly I would not be around to write this epistle. I am still seething. I have decided to send the Dr. who saw me a Thank You card because he was adamant I was not going to drive home to leave my car and then get my daughter to drive me to hospital. I hope he does not become disillusioned with his chosen profession and leave it. Nor can I complain about the care I received in the Critical Care ward, they were heavily understaffed, a lot of trainees, but wonderful. Nothing was too much trouble. How lucky am I. But I am still mad!
I am now going to walk my dog, post a letter to a friend whose husband has just had a massive stroke, then come home home and watch the tennis. Still feeling really annoyed.
Itâs nothing new, Â been like this for years.
I have been âlet downâ by the medical profession many many times in my 68 years and do my utmost to stay away from them. Â Not always possible of course but, on the whole I do not trust them. Â Sad.
To be really cynical and conspiratorial  and Iâm sure itâs not really true,  do they want to keep on with expensive drugs for people who wonât ever be cured.
Maybe heâs in remission, Â but that was a bit sudden.Â
Of course there are bad Drs., just like there are bad every other professions.
All I would say, having worked here, Europe and the USA, amongst others; is unless you are really rich, I would rather be ill in this country than anywhere else.
When you don't even know who's in the team
S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
I also got to choose the hosiptal and surgeon and timing of my feet operations - not just bunyons but metatarsal jobbies too and in France I've been able to choose the hospital, surgeon and timings of my new knees. No 2 year waits!
Yes, there are shortages of GPs, nurses, radiographers, skin doctors, psychiatrists etc across the French and Belgian health services but we can choose to go outside our local area if we think services will be faster or better.  Can't do that in the UK unless you have priate health care.
youâre mistaken there @Obelixx âŠÂ you can choose where you are treated under the NHS system.Â
Family members and friends have done just that.Â
At the moment the NHS is struggling with staffing and other issues ⊠and its only too obvious that this is due to underfunding which resulted in a lack of qualified staff within the UK, inadequate maintenance of buildings and equipment, the (to my mind disastrous) Private Finance Initiative (the brainchild of Thatcher and espoused by the gullible Blair) which has left the NHS with a mountain of unsustainable debt ⊠and then the Cameron governmentâs austerity measures which ran down the NHS so that it was in no fit state to cope with the crisis of any pandemic, which was well overdue.  The government didnât care about that because they saw it as an opportunity to increase the publicâs reliance on private medicine and health insurance ⊠which they saw as being to the benefit of Tory supporters.Â
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.