In praise of the NHS

[Dave+63]

Last week I fell off a ladder and hurt my ankle. Today, as my wife was taking the MIL to the hospital for an appointment, I decided to bite the bullet and go to A&E as it wasn’t getting any better.

I booked in to A&E at 10.40 and was out and on my way home by 12.00. The MIL was out at around the same time as me.

Given all the bad press the NHS gets, I thought it worth mentioning a good experience. I was seen within ten minutes of signing in, sent for an X ray and then treated all in just over an hour.

I’m sure that if I’d gone down this evening things would have been different but this morning they were very efficient and getting through patients at a decent rate of knots.

[Onelasttime]

Guess it all depends on the hospital and the injury/illness. Glad you got sorted quickly.

The last two visits we had at our local A&E were a nightmare, with no one seemingly willing to listen or help.

Two wrong diagnoses, first for kidney stones for my wife when it was actually sciatica and she was sent home twice in agony, and secondly, an insistence that we start our son on a drug that all the research suggests would have made his problem much worse and is extremely difficult to wean off.

We didn't even have an official diagnosis, which is fine as it's a complicated problem, but don't then make assumptions and prescribe medication that isn't necessary or helpful just to make the people go away. Our local is renown for being shit, though.

The nurses and some of the junior doctors were amazing, but the senior doctors and consultants were arrogant and dismissive, and seemed to take offence at being asked questions. It was frightening being in the system that allows them to wield their weird sense of power over patients with impunity.

[noTAGlove]

NHS is great for acute conditions that need treatment. Where is gets a bad wrap is when treating chronic issues.

The latter being the fault of lack of funding, not the hardworking and passionate NHS employees.

[redmonaco]

Last week I fell off a ladder and hurt my ankle. Today, as my wife was taking the MIL to the hospital for an appointment, I decided to bite the bullet and go to A&E as it wasn’t getting any better.

I booked in to A&E at 10.40 and was out and on my way home by 12.00. The MIL was out at around the same time as me.

Given all the bad press the NHS gets, I thought it worth mentioning a good experience. I was seen within ten minutes of signing in, sent for an X ray and then treated all in just over an hour.

I’m sure that if I’d gone down this evening things would have been different but this morning they were very efficient and getting through patients at a decent rate of knots.

Amazing!! which hospital??

[Passenger]

GSTK

[Ruggertech]

Last November I suffered a pulmonary embolism. My wife got me to a&e, we didn't risk waiting for an ambulance. We were seen straightaway by the nurse on reception and I was being examined and on morphine (I was in trouble by then, and yes, its bloody good shit) within twenty minutes.
It was a Friday evening about 8 o'clock and filling up fast. At one point a doctor came out to say that anyone who hasn't yet been seen will be waiting until at least six the following morning and probanly longer as emergencies like myself or worse came in.
Cut a long story short, I was soon whisked away, bloods taken, x ray taken, ct scan carried out etc etc. They literally saved my life that weekend.
The follow up treatment has been superb aswell, I have nothing but praise for the obviously very busy staff who looked after me and the system I was and am in, everything has worked perfectly. This experience may well not be typical, and probably isn't reading the press, watching the news, and reading posts on tz. But it was my experience and I have nothing but praise for them also.

[Dave+63]

Amazing!! which hospital??

Eastbourne DGH.

[Kingstepper]

Would have been better in Spain...

[David_D]

I think that’s the problem. Reasonable service from the NHS is so rare it comes as a pleasant surprise.

Of course bad news always gets a higher profile than good.

[noTAGlove]

Reasonable service from the NHS is so rare

What absolute nonsense.

[Suds]

I had a consultant advise me last October that he would list me for intervention to be seen within 2 months- I didn’t follow up because I felt OK until this week when I had a relapse. GP advised I ring the hospital which took 24 hours to speak to someone after leaving the requested vmail yesterday, was transferred to the clinic who advised that I was marked ‘urgent’ which in practice meant 18-20 week wait. As my 20 weeks have just matured I’m booked in Easter Saturday. No complaints from me as I had been OK meantime and I never chase them up in order to have unspeakable things done to me.

[Foxmod]

Great news!

[Ivan Drago]

What absolute nonsense.

It’s my experience with the NHS too.

Almost always had a terrible experience with the NHS.


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[watchstudent]

As someone who works in the NHS and has had the misfortune to need it in some quite hairy situations, when it works it honestly is a beautiful thing. To receive investigations and treatment and not have to worry about reaching for your credit card or whether or not your insurance will cover it - I think is incredible.

Having said that, in its current guise and state of funding, as an employee of it, I am in two minds whether it is worth saving or whether it should just be euthanised. I think my working conditions and salary would probably benefit from the latter, which is very sad.

[Dave+63]

Hey guys, perhaps we could stick to positive experiences here.

We all know that the NHS is in trouble and the hardworking staff seem to get criticised at every opportunity so let’s celebrate the good instead of turning this thread into the usual bitchfest if that’s at all possible?

[redmonaco]

I think if you are critical they will be there to save your life if they can. But for everything else you will have a looooooooong wait...

[David_D]

I think that’s the problem. Reasonable service from the NHS is so rare it comes as a pleasant surprise.

Of course bad news always gets a higher profile than good.

What absolute nonsense.

I should have added "In the experience of my family and acquaintances ...". If you have evidence that's not my experience, please do share.

[redmonaco]

Hey guys, perhaps we could stick to positive experiences here.

We all know that the NHS is in trouble and the hardworking staff seem to get criticised at every opportunity so let’s celebrate the good instead of turning this thread into the usual bitchfest if that’s at all possible?

It's not a "bitch fest " if criticism is due. Recently I was prescribed medication that would have reacted very badly with existing medication I am taking. Luckily I looked up the medics so I could tell the doctor to prescribe an alternative. Not good...

[Dave+63]

It's not a "bitch fest " if criticism is due. Recently I was prescribed medication that would have reacted very badly with existing medication I am taking. Luckily I looked up the medics so I could tell the doctor to prescribe an alternative. Not good...

I started this thread to praise the NHS because I had a good experience which, by any account, is quite rare these days.

What I didn’t do was to start it so that everyone could chip in with bad experiences of which we know there are many.

I was giving a little credit where it’s due.

[Mj2k]

I should have added "In the experience of my family and acquaintances ...". If you have evidence that's not my experience, please do share.

He is just being contrary, as always; should call him Mary rather than Dave.


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[spanner monkey]

The latter being the fault of lack of funding, not the hardworking and passionate NHS employees.

I think the lack of funding tag that gets thrown around is more of an excuse for poor management.
Just one of my customers ( ambulance service ) has £20 million to dispose of before the end of the financial year, said money is being spunked on anything & everything they’ll never need.

[Onelasttime]

What I didn’t do was to start it so that everyone could chip in with bad experiences of which we know there are many.

You know the TZ rules. Deal with it

[adrianw]

Would have been better in Spain...

Apologies as not relevant to this thread, have you been to Spain recently, the health service is excellent, you can drive on the roads without being terrified of hitting a pothole and way the population is treated makes Britain look like a third word country

[Kingstepper]

Apologies as not relevant to this thread, have you been to Spain recently, the health service is excellent, you can drive on the roads without being terrified of hitting a pothole and way the population is treated makes Britain look like a third word country

So I’m correct?

[noTAGlove]

Apologies as not relevant to this thread, have you been to Spain recently, the health service is excellent, you can drive on the roads without being terrified of hitting a pothole and way the population is treated makes Britain look like a third word country

Do tell. How much of Spain’s 200,000 square miles have you visited to reach that conclusion?

It did you form that opinion on a trip to Nerja and Puerto Banus.

[adrianw]

Do tell. How much of Spain’s 200,000 square miles have you visited to reach that conclusion?

It did you form that opinion on a trip to Nerja and Puerto Banus.

My sister, brother in law and family have lived in Casares for 43 years, I have had two homes here and currently spend about six weeks a year here, I'm in Estopona right now, so do tell, how much knowledge of the place have you got.

By the way Puerto banus is a shithole only the British go there to window shop in the posh shops that the Arabs spend their money in

[noTAGlove]

My sister, brother in law and family have lived in Casares for 43 years, I have had two homes here and currently spend about six weeks a year here, I'm in Estopona right now, so do tell, how much knowledge of the place have you got.

Lol.


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[Hood]

It's not a "bitch fest " if criticism is due. Recently I was prescribed medication that would have reacted very badly with existing medication I am taking. Luckily I looked up the medics so I could tell the doctor to prescribe an alternative. Not good...

Eh. Ok Doctor.

[Mj2k]

My sister, brother in law and family have lived in Casares for 43 years, I have had two homes here and currently spend about six weeks a year here, I'm in Estopona right now, so do tell, how much knowledge of the place have you got.

By the way Puerto banus is a shithole only the British go there to window shop in the posh shops that the Arabs spend their money in

Don’t feed the bell*nd, sorry, mean Mary


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[Hood]

My sister, brother in law and family have lived in Casares for 43 years, I have had two homes here and currently spend about six weeks a year here, I'm in Estopona right now, so do tell, how much knowledge of the place have you got.

By the way Puerto banus is a shithole only the British go there to window shop in the posh shops that the Arabs spend their money in

I've got a golf trip in Estepona in October.
Any good?
Decent roads up to Sotogrande?

[Hood]

Apologies as not relevant to this thread, have you been to Spain recently, the health service is excellent, you can drive on the roads without being terrified of hitting a pothole and way the population is treated makes Britain look like a third word country

Also I think Kingstepper was being facetious and pulling Passenger's leg with the comment.

[adrianw]

I've got a golf trip in Estepona in October.
Any good?
Decent roads up to Sotogrande?

If you're staying in Estopona just take the N340 less than 15 minutes, which hotel?

Try and get a round at the Finca Cortesin near Casares if you can run to it

[Halitosis]

2 blue light emergencies and maybe 8 A&E visits for me, my wife and kids over the years. Absolutely phenomenal treatment and not a bad word to say.

[noTAGlove]

Can you get the Daily Fail in print on the Costa del Sol?

[Hood]

If you're staying in Estopona just take the N340 less than 15 minutes, which hotel?

Try and get a round at the Finca Cortesin near Casares if you can run to it

Staying at Hotel Estepona Plaza
Played finca a few years ago but not this time.
playing La Reserva,La Hacienda Links,Los Naranjos and Valle Romano first day as it's close.

[Kingstepper]

Also I think Kingstepper was being facetious and pulling Passenger's leg with the comment.

Correct!

[adrianw]

Staying at Hotel Estepona Plaza
Played finca a few years ago but not this time.
playing La Reserva,La Hacienda Links,Los Naranjos and Valle Romano first day as it's close.

You might get caught out by the new pedestrianisation so add a few minutes.

[noTAGlove]

Staying at Hotel Estepona Plaza
Played finca a few years ago but not this time.
playing La Reserva,La Hacienda Links,Los Naranjos and Valle Romano first day as it's close.

I wouldn't bother with the additional daily fee for pot hole insurance on the hire car.

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[xxnick1975]

Kudos to the NHS - stitched me back together a few months back

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[learningtofly]

Kudos to the NHS - stitched me back together a few months back

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You really do need some manscaping!

[Passenger]

Also I think Kingstepper was being facetious and pulling Passenger's leg with the comment.

I figured as much, happy to take a leg pull.

[Passenger]

Eh. Ok Doctor.

when me and the wife were going through oh 7 or 8 miscarriages...eventually I kinda stopped counting, having to focus on picking up the pieces my missus was in after each loss... the GP she was under was next to useless partly I think because if it ain't solvable by IVF there just isn't the money/ attention given...so the advice was to just keep trying, pretty poor after so many losses at around 3, 4 months or so, my wife never gives up though kept at the Dr asking HER for any referral, information etc, in the end her Doc said do your own research...My missus did, many wouldn't have, we found the Ashermans clinic and eventually after a straightforward procedure the next conception worked and we had the boy...my wife did, does work to support the Ashermans syndrome group which exists to educate sufferers AND GP's alike to this condition which affects quite a few women and yet is easily AND cheaply dealt with...now I respectfully put it to you if the NHS was as world beating as we like to make out wouldn';t it have the bandwidth to have done a better job for me and the missus in the first place, not put us through so much grief?, though mainly the mental health challenge, trauma was worse for the missus, than me obviously.

Then there was the fairly horrifying birth process at St Thomases, long story short we'd been told all along the way of the difficult preggo she'd be much better off with a Csection, maternity Unit didnt' want to know, simply weren't having any of that... suffice it to say natural birth nearly killed MRS P, and young un came out not breathing, the birth ''team'' didn't notice he wasn't breathing, they were so busy, had hands full trying to stop the claret flowing from my wife...it was Missus P calling to me from the stirrups asking why she can;t hear a noise fromm him that made me check and call for help because even I could see he wasn't moving/ breathing...makes you realise that even when the folks do their utmost there are real cracks in the system/ safety net...and death can be so close...afterwards one of the nurses took me aside and confided ''well, that was a little more DRAMATIC than it needed to be'' or words to that effect honestly I was mentally spinning out trying to hold my shit together, mrs P was in ICU getting 3 pints of blood put back in. I remain a tad conflicted about the whole deal...it was simultaneously the best/ worst day of my life...coincided with my 39 th birthday too.

[Dave+63]

Must have been a very worrying time P, but looking at it another way; your wife and son wouldn’t be here today without the skill, experience and commitment of the NHS staff working on her.

[Passenger]

Must have been a very worrying time P, but looking at it another way; your wife and son wouldn’t be here today without the skill, experience and commitment of the NHS staff working on her.

Nope mate he wouldn´t be here but for the wife not giving up in the face of her GP´s resignation, lack of knowledge- bandwidth and searching out the Ashermans clinic for herself...the mATERNITY unit at St Tommys could have taken the notes- advice on board and done the recommended C section, I assume because they lacked the resources to fit us in, thereby avoiding the difficult birth, and him not breathing, but for the wife drawing attention to why she couldn´t hear him, me checking and rasising the issue he´d be dead or brain damaged, seriously everyone else in the room was ashen faced...we were very, very lucky and did a fair bit of DIY at several stages of the process, as I think my account illustrates.

Don´t want to believe me, here it is straight from the midwives mouth as it were,

https://www.bbc.com/news/health-67732916

[Dave+63]

Nope mate he wouldn´t be here but for the wife not giving up in the face of her GP´s resignation, lack of knowledge- bandwidth and searching out the Ashermans clinic for herself...the mATERNITY unit at St Tommys could have taken the notes- advice on board and done the recommended C section, I assume because they lacked the resources to fit us in, thereby avoiding the difficult birth, and him not breathing, but for the wife drawing attention to why she couldn´t hear him, me checking and rasising the issue he´d be dead or brain damaged, seriously everyone else in the room was ashen faced...we were very, very lucky and did a fair bit of DIY at several stages of the process, as I think my account illustrates.

Don´t want to believe me, here it is straight from the midwives mouth as it were,

https://www.bbc.com/news/health-67732916

Why would I not believe you? My grandson is only here because my daughter did her own research.

The local NHS fertility clinic is an outsourced and privately owned facility. It changed ownership three times whilst my daughter was trying for a baby. They were good at egg collecting and re implanting the eggs but very little else.
After two failed attempts, she paused the third try (four were allowed but that changed to six firing the proof she was trying). She did tons of research and had a number of tests at Harley Street before being put on a treatment protocol. When ready, she had the third implant (NHS) and further medication (private) until 28 weeks.

The birth was quite traumatic too (NHS) but nearly as much as yours and she did end up having an emergency C section. Thankfully all went well and we are just approaching his first birthday.

It’s very easy to criticise the NHS for the things they don’t do (eg. knowing all the causes of infertility) but I prefer to be appreciative of what they actually do in difficult circumstances.

Notwithstanding all the things you and your wife gif to have your child, you should be grateful that the NHS teams saved the lives of both your wife and your son. You certainly couldn’t have gone it by yourself.

[wileeeeeey]

We all have stories where the NHS is substandard but thankfully we also have stories like the beginning of this thread to give us hope. Ultimately we as keep voting for a worse NHS.

My wife had a very traumatic birth via c section in November but the team were fantastic. The anesthetist had a difference of opinion with the surgeon and refused to anaesthetise my wife which I’m grateful for as otherwise the c section would have been done under general.

Being told in a hospital corridor that there was a risk to life for both mother and baby but they would try and save them both before being left alone in a hospital corridor at 4am wasn’t ideal. I honestly could have had a breakdown.

[Passenger]

Why would I not believe you? My grandson is only here because my daughter did her own research.

The local NHS fertility clinic is an outsourced and privately owned facility. It changed ownership three times whilst my daughter was trying for a baby. They were good at egg collecting and re implanting the eggs but very little else.
After two failed attempts, she paused the third try (four were allowed but that changed to six firing the proof she was trying). She did tons of research and had a number of tests at Harley Street before being put on a treatment protocol. When ready, she had the third implant (NHS) and further medication (private) until 28 weeks.

The birth was quite traumatic too (NHS) but nearly as much as yours and she did end up having an emergency C section. Thankfully all went well and we are just approaching his first birthday.

It’s very easy to criticise the NHS for the things they don’t do (eg. knowing all the causes of infertility) but I prefer to be appreciative of what they actually do in difficult circumstances.

Notwithstanding all the things you and your wife gif to have your child, you should be grateful that the NHS teams saved the lives of both your wife and your son. You certainly couldn’t have gone it by yourself.

Sigh, did you read the article I linked, the midwifes view, her ''by the skin of the teeth'' comments, and the data nearly 70 percent of units are not consistently meeting safety standards, gulp...it' weren't skill, dedication etc...it was luck saved mrs P and the boy, we got lucky that day, too many Mums and babies aren't. I'm not ungrateful per se I just think when we're fed the baloney, I'm being circumspect WITH WORDING here due to locale, that the NHS is the envy of the world that's irreconcilable with my own experiences, AND that of the Midwife... fwiw I've seen healthcare in the States, the well insured end of it, and Spain, both the state AND private so do have possibly a slightly widened perspective. I'm not someone who can deceive themselves, there's enough baloney broadcast the general pop's way as it is.

Obviously you'll believe as you wish, it's your choice, preference, lot by default I suppose must be acknowledged as you live there. Reading W's comment, nobody really told us anything at all, not until the birthing suite, maybe it was an exceptionally busy bad day, oh and then the nurse's comment to me in the aftermath. You have my sympathy W, it's awful the sense of utter helplessness and no one there to offer you consolation, it's hard.

BTW We clearly weren't infertile, as all the miscarriages prove, but so much of the money/ bandwidth/ attention gets sucked into that that, fertility/ IVF, many GP's, the portal through which everyone must access the service, many of them don't even know about this fairly common and inexpensively treatable syndrome Ashermans...

[Dave+63]

I’ve never said that the NHS is the envy of the world and by the thread is in the G&D so no politics.

I’m also aware that, in many respects, it’s creaking at the seams and trying to do increasingly more with increasingly less. It’s no surprise that errors and omissions happen, yet your wife is pushing for them to do still more for other women with her condition. That’s not a criticism, everyone with any form of condition thinks that it should be treatable on the NHS. I personally don’t believe that any fertility treatment should be provided by the NHS even though my daughter benefited from three rounds of IVF.

The fact is that your wife and son are here today because of the NHS and others (including both yourself and your wife) and without it, either one or both wouldn’t be.

Criticise them all you like but that is a fact.

In addition, whilst I’ve no first hand experience of American health care, I do have first hand experience of both the private and public Spanish health care sectors.

[Tooks]

In keeping with the OP theme, I do have plenty of praise for the NHS, both my father and my daughter are here today because of it, and in my daughters case Bupa weren’t much use at the point we needed the NHS.

In particular, the treatment my father has received for his head and neck cancer, an older guy in poor health who honestly I thought the NHS would put well down the priority list, has been nothing short of miraculous. On top of that, the hip replacement, and the wider support from the sector as a whole to allow him to keep living independently gets much praise from me.

Sure, there have been bumps in the road, gentle pushback from me and the wider family taking into account his wishes and treatment preferences have been required, but overall a very positive experience.

It’s easy to treat the NHS with the same sense of entitlement as any other service you pay for, perhaps not helped by the messaging that you’re a ‘customer’ these days and have ‘choice’, but many don’t and it’s invaluable.

I do think that some of the things the NHS do aren’t perhaps the priorities they should be focussing on, and I’d like to see more routine screening so that more life shortening illnesses are detected as early as possible.

My mother worked all her life for the NHS from SRN through to clinical manager, perhaps that colours my experience, and whilst the care she received at age 61 when she succumbed to bowel cancer after a short illness left a bit to be desired, nothing would have saved her at that point anyway.

We all have our own personal experience with the NHS, and whilst obviously some is less than stellar, I think overall they do a great job despite the demands and misuse of the people it serves.

[Hood]

Nope mate he wouldn´t be here but for the wife not giving up in the face of her GP´s resignation, lack of knowledge- bandwidth and searching out the Ashermans clinic for herself...the mATERNITY unit at St Tommys could have taken the notes- advice on board and done the recommended C section, I assume because they lacked the resources to fit us in, thereby avoiding the difficult birth, and him not breathing, but for the wife drawing attention to why she couldn´t hear him, me checking and rasising the issue he´d be dead or brain damaged, seriously everyone else in the room was ashen faced...we were very, very lucky and did a fair bit of DIY at several stages of the process, as I think my account illustrates.

Don´t want to believe me, here it is straight from the midwives mouth as it were,

https://www.bbc.com/news/health-67732916

One way of sorting that and that's to pay them more.
Skilled profession and should be paid accordingly.