Anyone else feel like the NHS almost doesn't exist for them any more?

[Puddy_Tat]

Yes, that seems to be the case with the surgery local to me, although it is a continuation of what was happening before, with telephone appointments rather than in-person appointments.

I've nothing against telephone consultations in principle, so long as one of the potential outcomes is 'i think you need to come in and see me in person, come in later today / tomorrow' - it avoids the need to travel to the surgery, and risk of catching anything from anyone in the waiting room. although there will be some circumstances where it won't be appropriate at all.

the last two times i've needed to consult GP (one must have been in late 2018, one a couple of years ago) were both on the telephone - one was something i'd had before, doctor agreed over the phone and prescribed same as before, another involved doctor looking at a mole via webcam - it seemed a bit bigger and rougher than usual - doctor agreed that i'd probably accidentally caught it on something and it was nothing to worry about - get in touch again it if it gets worse rather than better.

 

[TopCat]

I just waited ten months for an urgent hospital dentistry appt.

 

[Saul Goodman]

I just waited ten months for an urgent hospital dentistry appt.

I once waited two years for an MRI scan, before giving up and paying to have it done privately. That was probably 20 years ago.
I needed another MRI scan about 3 years ago, and I was given the choice to pay 300 quid and get the scan within a few days, or go on a waiting list and see if I die before I reach the front of the queue..
It's bollocks. It shouldn't be allowed.

 

[PR1Berske]

Spire stands ready to work with the new government to help address NHS waiting lists,” said Justin Ash, the Spire chief executive. “Waiting lists would be a lot longer if we weren’t doing what we do.”

Spire Healthcare reports profit and revenue jump as its work for NHS increases

Private hospital group also benefited from higher take-up of private health insurance among working-age people

www.theguardian.com

 

[InArduisFouette]

Spire Healthcare reports profit and revenue jump as its work for NHS increases

Private hospital group also benefited from higher take-up of private health insurance among working-age people

www.theguardian.com

or do we want to go back to work that could be done on a 'cold site' getting cancelled dozens of times because of a ideological desire to do the work only in NHS Acute General Hospitals ?

 

[PTK]

I've nothing against telephone consultations in principle, so long as one of the potential outcomes is 'i think you need to come in and see me in person, come in later today / tomorrow' - it avoids the need to travel to the surgery, and risk of catching anything from anyone in the waiting room. although there will be some circumstances where it won't be appropriate at all.

the last two times i've needed to consult GP (one must have been in late 2018, one a couple of years ago) were both on the telephone - one was something i'd had before, doctor agreed over the phone and prescribed same as before, another involved doctor looking at a mole via webcam - it seemed a bit bigger and rougher than usual - doctor agreed that i'd probably accidentally caught it on something and it was nothing to worry about - get in touch again it if it gets worse rather than better.

I have had the experience, pre-pandemic, of having to wait for a phone call between midday and 7:00 PM. I could not go out, and was even worried about going to the loo in case I missed the call.

Now there is an online triage thing called E Consult, and it is best to keep a copy of your answers, because you are asked more or less the same question more than once., and if you keep a copy, you can cut and paste the answer from more or less the same question Also, if you put in the wrong answer, it tells you to go to A and E when you do not need to go to A and E. The “wrong answer” can actually be a truthful answer, but it interprets that as indicating something more serious. And it asks you to post a photograph, which is not possible when you do not have a phone. Then you get rung the next day (but within a reasonable time slot) only to be triaged again. Then, when you get an appointment to see someone, it is usually not a doctor.

 

[Orang Utan]

It’s a bit of a vicious circle accessing health services, isn’t it?
You have to be a nuisance to get effective treatment, but it takes a lot of energy to pester the gatekeepers, which you may not have if you’re ill, especially with chronic illnesses.
(I don’t have direct experience, but I suspect it’s the same with accessing decent education for your kids if they have specific needs)
It’s a fine line to tread - being a constant thorn in their sides without overstepping the mark - you need to be polite, articulate and reasonable-sounding, even if you’re raging inside.
If you sound angry and incoherent, you go on the gatekeeper’s mental blacklist as a hectoring pain in the arse and don’t get the help you need and deserve.

 

[taperoo2k]

Had my asthma review, went through everything in detail. Peak flow checked and I did my
2nd FeNO test. First one happened about 18 months ago. It's improved so cool.
I know for some Asthma care isn't great in primary care. That has to change, along with the Government
relenting and adding asthma to the prescription exemption list.

 

[Sasaferrato]

Two days ago I noticed a swelling below my right eye.

As I was at the pharmacy anyway, I consulted the pharmacist. 'It's near your eye, sorry'.

Yesterday, it seemed better so left it.

This morning well up.

Phoned my surgery... 'Could it be an insect bite ?' 'Possibly' 'Call 111 we don't deal with insect bites'.

Called 111, 20,000 questions... got to A&E.

Went to A&E. Seen by nurse, seen by doctor and seen y consultant.

All three 'Hmmm... don't quite know what this is.'

Given Co-amoxiclav for a week and told to return sharpish if it gets worse.

It does work, but the saga above took five hours.

 

[Sasaferrato]

Spire Healthcare reports profit and revenue jump as its work for NHS increases

Private hospital group also benefited from higher take-up of private health insurance among working-age people

www.theguardian.com

If Spire can do the job for the NHS cost, I have no problem with that.

What I would do though is force private hospitals to have CCU and ICU if they wanted to tender for NHS work. At the moment if it goes tits up, the patient has to whisked to an NHS hospital.

 

[taperoo2k]

If Spire can do the job for the NHS cost, I have no problem with that.

What I would do though is force private hospitals to have CCU and ICU if they wanted to tender for NHS work. At the moment if it goes tits up, the patient has to whisked to an NHS hospital.

There's no profit for private hospitals to have an ICU department. If they ever do have them, they'd probably want the Government
to cover the costs.

 

[not a trot]

Had another bout of tummy trouble last week. Only able to provide a stool sample Monday this week. Just had call from GP confirming requires serious investigation. Can't grumble about speed of the process. As for the outcome, who knows.

 

[ska invita]

Had another bout of tummy trouble last week. Only able to provide a stool sample Monday this week. Just had call from GP confirming requires serious investigation. Can't grumble about speed of the process. As for the outcome, who knows.

fingers crossed for you

 

[Silas Loom]

That has to change, along with the Government
relenting and adding asthma to the prescription exemption list.

That list makes no sense at all. Which is possibly why they don’t want to add anything else to it.

 

[SpookyFrank]

Two days ago I noticed a swelling below my right eye.

As I was at the pharmacy anyway, I consulted the pharmacist. 'It's near your eye, sorry'.

Yesterday, it seemed better so left it.

This morning well up.

Phoned my surgery... 'Could it be an insect bite ?' 'Possibly' 'Call 111 we don't deal with insect bites'.

Called 111, 20,000 questions... got to A&E.

Went to A&E. Seen by nurse, seen by doctor and seen y consultant.

All three 'Hmmm... don't quite know what this is.'

Given Co-amoxiclav for a week and told to return sharpish if it gets worse.

It does work, but the saga above took five hours.

Five hours is a result. That'd be more like five days round here.

Mrs Frank, an employee of the hospital, has twice had to wait eight hours plus at A&E after being injured at work. She works on a ward with doctors and nurses, none of whom are allowed to treat or even triage injured staff apparently. Even frontline NHS staff get told to go take a running jump when they need urgent care. It's an absolute shame.

 

[SpookyFrank]

Had another bout of tummy trouble last week. Only able to provide a stool sample Monday this week. Just had call from GP confirming requires serious investigation. Can't grumble about speed of the process. As for the outcome, who knows.

I will say again, they are still (despite the funding/resources crisis) very good at dealing with the things that ring up as, 'potentially quite serious'. They got my mum in for surgery less than a fortnight after her biopsy results and now she's one more test result away from the all clear.

It's just bizarre that this is the same service, same hospital even, that has left me waiting six weeks for one lousy x-ray.

We here will all have everything crossed for you.

 

[taperoo2k]

That list makes no sense at all. Which is possibly why they don’t want to add anything else to it.

I don't think it's been updated since the 1960's. Starmer was talking about prevention, if you want to do that
then you should revising the exemption list. It's relatively easy to reduce the risk of asthma attacks if people have
access to asthma meds and good quality primary care for asthma.

 

[Puddy_Tat]

It's relatively easy to reduce the risk of asthma attacks if people have
access to asthma meds and good quality primary care for asthma.

from my (relatively uninformed) viewpoint, that seems typical of the short term 'savings' that the NHS always seems to be very keen to make (or get pushed in to making by the politicians / senior managers) despite the fact that they usually lead to higher costs further down the line, not to mention people getting more ill / being ill for longer.

 

[weltweit]

Actually for me the NHS has been good recently and further back also.

In the last 2 years I had a problem and the NHS sprung into action, there were delays waiting for results and things but broadly it was good and I was grateful.

At the moment they cured high blood pressure with Amlodipine and I am back at reasonable levels. They just discovered I have high cholesterol and I have 6 months to try to bring it down by diet mainly, or they will want me to go on statins.

They also in the middle of this sent me a bowel screening test, apparently because of my age. But I haven't yet worked out how to do it. Apparently I have to capture some poo before it splashes down in the loo because if it gets wet it is useless for this test. They don't offer much advice as to how to "intercept" the poo before splashdown except they say, possibly rolls of loo paper or a container of some kind? At the moment I am pondering cutting up a milk carton such that I can jam it into the loo to catch poo before splashdown. If anyone else has been through this I am open for suggestions

 

[UnderOpenSky]

Actually for me the NHS has been good recently and further back also.

In the last 2 years I had a problem and the NHS sprung into action, there were delays waiting for results and things but broadly it was good and I was grateful.

At the moment they cured high blood pressure with Amlodipine and I am back at reasonable levels. They just discovered I have high cholesterol and I have 6 months to try to bring it down by diet mainly, or they will want me to go on statins.

They also in the middle of this sent me a bowel screening test, apparently because of my age. But I haven't yet worked out how to do it. Apparently I have to capture some poo before it splashes down in the loo because if it gets wet it is useless for this test. They don't offer much advice as to how to "intercept" the poo before splashdown except they say, possibly rolls of loo paper or a container of some kind? At the moment I am pondering cutting up a milk carton such that I can jam it into the loo to catch poo before splashdown. If anyone else has been through this I am open for suggestions

I used a plastic takeaway tray.

I think as others have said they can be great for the big stuff. When there was worries about cancer last year they arranged CT, MRI and Endoscopy quite quickly. All clear, but they picked up some nodules on my lung and said I'd need tests to check in a year's time. I thought I'd have to chase this, but I haven't had to.

 

[taperoo2k]

from my (relatively uninformed) viewpoint, that seems typical of the short term 'savings' that the NHS always seems to be very keen to make (or get pushed in to making by the politicians / senior managers) despite the fact that they usually lead to higher costs further down the line, not to mention people getting more ill / being ill for longer.

We have got one of the highest death rates for Asthma in Europe. I think the average is something like 4 people die of asthma per day, with
2 out of 3 deaths being preventable. Childhood asthma deaths are just as bad from what I remember.
These are the wider costs of lung conditions -
The true cost of lung conditions

I think the main issue with Asthma is people view it as a mild disease, when in reality it's a long-term condition.
It does take a toll on the lungs and long-term steroid use has impacts on health as well. Put simply Government hasn't
taken asthma seriously enough for a long time. If Labour fail on Asthma prevention, then anything else they do
will be overshadowed by that. We really need to get the asthma death rate down. Asthma attacks are not a
nice way to go.

 

[LDC]

Darzi report is here, I'm currently skim reading it and I might try and summarise and comment on it if get the time. Also been very tempted to comment on some of the topics that have come up here (I work in primary care) but resisting as it'll be a bit of a long and probably complicated thing to write.

Independent investigation of the NHS in England

Lord Darzi's report on the state of the National Health Service in England.

www.gov.uk

 

[LakieLady]

They also in the middle of this sent me a bowel screening test, apparently because of my age. But I haven't yet worked out how to do it. Apparently I have to capture some poo before it splashes down in the loo because if it gets wet it is useless for this test. They don't offer much advice as to how to "intercept" the poo before splashdown except they say, possibly rolls of loo paper or a container of some kind? At the moment I am pondering cutting up a milk carton such that I can jam it into the loo to catch poo before splashdown. If anyone else has been through this I am open for suggestions

What about constructing a kind of "hammock" over the bog (but below the bog seat) with clingfilm? Crap as normal, but the poo would land in the cling film so you can get the sample, then tip it off the clingfilm and flush it away.

 

[weltweit]

I used a plastic takeaway tray.

I think as others have said they can be great for the big stuff. When there was worries about cancer last year they arranged CT, MRI and Endoscopy quite quickly. All clear, but they picked up some nodules on my lung and said I'd need tests to check in a year's time. I thought I'd have to chase this, but I haven't had to.

Glad they got on your case. My problem wasn't as serious but they rallied round.
Your solution, a takeaway tray is a good idea, I might try it !!

 

[weltweit]

What about constructing a kind of "hammock" over the bog (but below the bog seat) with clingfilm? Crap as normal, but the poo would land in the cling film so you can get the sample, then tip it off the clingfilm and flush it away.

Yes thanks, I have thought about cling film like that. Don't like the idea of having to deal with a poo'd on film afterwards though

 

[Saul Goodman]

Yes thanks, I have thought about cling film like that. Don't like the idea of having to deal with a poo'd on film afterwards though

Just reach down mid loaf and snap a bit off.

 

[Orang Utan]

I used a plastic takeaway tray.

I think as others have said they can be great for the big stuff. When there was worries about cancer last year they arranged CT, MRI and Endoscopy quite quickly. All clear, but they picked up some nodules on my lung and said I'd need tests to check in a year's time. I thought I'd have to chase this, but I haven't had to.

They tell you how to do it on the NHS website:

How to collect a sample of poo (stool sample)

Find out how to do a poo (stool) sample, including how much poo to include and when to hand it in.

www.nhs.uk

(though I wish they’d have just used ‘shit’ like a grown-up instead of ‘poo’ cos it reads like they’re talking down to babies)

 

[UnderOpenSky]

They tell you how to do it on the NHS website:

How to collect a sample of poo (stool sample)

Find out how to do a poo (stool) sample, including how much poo to include and when to hand it in.

www.nhs.uk

So my takeaway tray nailed it. Cling film sounds less pleasant...

Put something in the toilet to catch the poo, such as a clean disposable container, or spread newspaper or cling film (plastic wrap) over the rim of the toilet.

 

[Orang Utan]

I used a Carte D’Or tub cos I have class

 

[littlebabyjesus]

They tell you how to do it on the NHS website:

How to collect a sample of poo (stool sample)

Find out how to do a poo (stool) sample, including how much poo to include and when to hand it in.

www.nhs.uk

(though I wish they’d have just used ‘shit’ like a grown-up instead of ‘poo’ cos it reads like they’re talking down to babies)

Poo is an excellent word. Just right.