Reply With QuoteThat's a huge disappointment for Dad, yourself, and family. I hope they can fit him in asap. He should be priority now I hope.
Hi all.
My 79 yr dad went into hospital this morning for a major heart operation. ( aorta valve replacement)
Dropped him off 8 am as agreed the op was planned for 11.30.
Bearing in mind he should of had it done back in March so for 7 months he’s been struggling and in pain
Only to get a call at 11 this morning to come and fetch him home as they can’t find a bed for him
Can’t believe it. He’s been building up and worries about this for ages now
Now he’s got to come home and do it all again
That's a huge disappointment for Dad, yourself, and family. I hope they can fit him in asap. He should be priority now I hope.
Sadly, this is a far-too-often occurrence within the NHS nowadays. There are so many variables involved in hospital procedures and it only takes one of them to have a problem occur for the whole thing to be compromised.
I hope your Dad gets his operation doon soon.
R
Ignorance breeds Fear. Fear breeds Hatred. Hatred breeds Ignorance. Break the chain.
Unfortunately, that's the way of the NHS at the moment. They are under fantastic pressure and they have to prioritize by clinical need. It sounds as if there has been emergency admissions or delayed release of inpatients. I understand your frustration but these are unprecedented times for the NHS.
I can imagine how your Dad feels.......Ive had 2 ops. cancelled before...one was 2 days notice of cancellation notice...the second time I was all "gowned up"! lol...
Hospitals are always busy this time of year, of course...with Covid...they must be at or near to breaking point now.
Hope he gets it done as soon as possible.
That's disappointing and frustrating for all of you. Balancing COVID impacts and clinical need must be an absolute nightmare for the NHS and therefore I can understand why it happened. Being generous to them, I assume they had a bed for him the evening before which was taken on the day. Best of luck to you all.
Cheers all. I understand as well the problems the nhs are having.
Can’t be helped I guess. Just when it happens to your family 1st hand it hits home
So much harder.
Thanks again
Sorry to hear that OP. Not nice at any age, but more-so at your dad's age. Good he has you to look out for him, and I suppose +ve that he wasn't left for longer than 3 hrs. My dealings with the NHS are they are largely absolutely lovely (nurses, doctors, all staff), and they would want the best for your dad (my mum was a nurse) - I am sure they will be disappointed too.
The NHS has become so bad since Covid, i had to phone for an ambulance when my 74 year old mother collapsed unconsicious.
They refused to send an ambulance because she was still breathing and well not dead.
If it had been a major stroke or heart attack then i think she would have died long before any ambulance got to her.
I find this hard to believe. Sorry.Originally Posted by xellos99
+1
When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........
“Envy of the world” (clap, clap, clap).
+2
It absolutely is.
I'm glad you agree.
Sorry to hear this OP and I hope your father gets his procedure rescheduled ASAP.
The reason for the cancellation is most likely a lack of ICU beds post-op. This is a problem at the best of times. You only need to look at programmes such as Surgeons: At the edge of life, to see consultants running round in the middle of summer trying to secure such beds so that their operating lists can proceed, only to find that there is no capacity. This is in summer, before Covid.
People who think the NHS is the envy of the world need to get real: if it was so great, it would have been copied by countries with more wealth and resources than we have. At the best of times, it is a creaking system run to the absolute bare bones in the name of 'efficiency' because for too long the population has concocted warm cosy images of an NHS that is there 'from cradle to grave' staffed by 'angels' who all cried when you came out and banged pots for 2 minutes a week for a couple of months.
It's really not like that. The staff are great, but we're tired and over worked in what constitutes as normal times. We're also not paid that well for the sacrifices we make in terms of working hours, staying late because we have a sense of duty to our patients, not seeing our own friends and family etc etc.
I've posted similar thoughts before but what we need is a national conversation about what we are prepared to pay for and how, not the public retreating to the comfort of an imagined Jerusalem with the NHS at its centre. Then we might not have to make choices like cancelling an aortic valve replacement because the ICU is full of Covid patients, because this ICU isn't designed to run at 85-90% capacity in normal times in the name of cost-saving.
Unbelievable - my Mother had a fall last week. Carers called ambulance as a precaution though nothing obviously wrong and got her back up in her chair.
I had to go and wait for ~7 hours with her but they did come eventually.
I'm sorry to hear that. OP I'm also sorry to hear about your dad and can only echo the comments that this wouldn't have been what the staff wanted either.
I think everyone assumes the NHS is always there for you but the more you come into contact with it the more you see now just how underfunded and understaffed it is. You also see how amazing staff are who help keep it going.
Hopefully he is back in relatively soon and everything goes as planned.
Tough times for all sadly.
Hope he gets sorted soon, as the lead up to any op is extremely stressful, especially so for the elderly.
I’m really sorry to hear this.
The problem is that we are not prepared to pay for the services we require any more.
Most Trusts observe and meet a 28 day limit on getting the procedure done if you are cancelled on the day. But don't use it as leverage, please.
This happened to me yesterday, one of my patients was cancelled from my NHS list which was happening in a private hospital. Staff sickness meant we couldn't go ahead.
Really hope he’s operated on and home safe and sound before Xmas
Well i know what happened and dont appreciate you quoting me with criticism constantly just because i called you childish. Pathetic
Hospitals under immense pressure currently - Covid is playing it's part.
My sympathies to the OP but being in hospital is not a place to be unless it's absolutely necessary ATM.
When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........
Your tale doesn't surprise me David, there are currently 700 staff off sick in the Swansea Bay health board alone. 700 must be a massive personnel shortage on top of the other well documented pre covid nhs shortages.
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My wife had a stroke last week and obviously I visit her every day. The car parks are only 25% full due to covid visiting restrictions of one visitor per patient per day but the all beds are full. I dread to think what it is going to be like in January / February.
Covid has a lot to answer for and the sooner the vaccinations start the better.
Last edited by Mick P; 8th December 2020 at 19:09.
On the contrary, we are catching up with waiting list patients, in a safe manner, because people are being left in serious pain now that the pandemic is 10 months in.
We are using super-green and green-amber pathways together with rigorous staff and patient testing.
Plus vaccination, two of my colleagues were vaccinated today.
Sorry to read this Mick - best wishes.
When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........
Thanks for the insight - I guess this will vary are from Trust to Trust?
When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........
The real trouble is the low number of ICU beds, Britain has one of the lowest per 100,000. 8.7 I think it is, ridiculous. We need a proper discussion rather than behaving like North Korea and clap..
So sorry to read this. My very best wishes to the both of you, a very slight chink of light perhaps is that she's there now and not in January/February. I also dread to think of the situation come new year.
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My wheelchair bound Mum with quite advanced vascular dementia was sent to Ystrad Mynach hospital today for a blood transfusion, only for my Dad to be told she's going to have to stay in because the blood wont be there until tomorrow. A very confusing and scary time for her, now inexplicably made at least a night longer than it need to have been.
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I guess so. I am in Tier 2, but I have surgeon mates in Yorks and Lancs who have done much less waiting list work. I can't speak for their Trusts.
This is an awful situation to be in. Have you considered private treatment. Heart ops are never going to be cheap but for the price of a small car, your Dad could be fixed in a much shorter timescale than the NHS are able to offer at the moment.
I hope your dad is okay and will have the surgery soon.
Please dont be angry with the hospital its unavoidable and challenging at best in the current climate
RIAC
I know it is disappointing when something like this happens. I would assume, following a heart operation, your father would require time in a minimum of an HDU if not an ICU.
At present these are typically being set up as red and green areas. Red being patients who have tested positive for Covid, or are waiting a test result. This has resulted in two, smaller, areas existing instead of one and its highly likely that spare capacity has been taken up my other urgent, non-elective, admissions.
I don't think it is just the NHS, I had an operation scheduled for the 6th April, they called me on the 5th and cancelled, that was a private hospital, still not heard from them.
It's just not the UK.
This time last year, the lead time in Spain for complaining about your knee to the local doctor and having a replacement operation was 3 weeks. Today their health service is struggling.
Hospitals are now shut down to all but emergencies and if you live in a large town such as Madrid, where they have run out of beds, you may have to make a journey of a few hundred miles to an area with a lower infection rate. This is a country that has a much better than average health system and it is now struggling to cope.
Covid is knocking the world for six and the UK seems to be holding up quite well. My wife who had a stroke last week is getting brilliant treatment but it is obvious that the staff are under immense strain and are just about holding it together.
No organisation can provide normal service under the current environment.
Sorry to read that mick, I hope she recovers and is OK
My wife is a matron in a hospital and comes home constantly stressed with all the extra covid work, and my mum who is very ill has spent 3 months out of this year in hospital with very good care it would be very easy for them to give up on her but she has had the best care possible
hes obviously exaggerating a tad... But yes, if you are "still with it" someone who is unconscious will be prioritised. So technically someone passed out pissed or on drugs will be prioritised over a motorcyclist who has just had a head on with a car and still conscious for example.
Hi all. Just a quick update
Thankfully my dad came home yesterday safe and sound
Op went well apparently. He had the aorta valve replaced
Crazy really. Major heart op one afternoon
They sent him less than a day later
Anyway thanks for all that expressed a concern
He’s 79 and it’s hereditary His 2 brothers had it it done
They are both over 90 now and going strong
My dads parents both lived to over 100
Stay safe all. Joshua in 5.
Good to hear Alan and well done The NHS
RIAC
Good to hear and I wish him a smooth continued recovery at home and a great xmas
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