To think the NHS...

Completely useless in all areas where I am I’m sorry to say. Family member with impacted wisdom tooth which, when it erupted, was dead and beginning to rot. Dentist made the hospital referral as it’s too difficult to take out, doctor at the hospital said they won’t take it out because it’s not causing pain and told family member that the dentist didn’t know what they were talking about! Dentist cannot do a referral to another hospital for a second opinion as after several months, there is no discharge letter. This is the absolute cherry on top of the piss taking cake of nhs fuck ups in our family, they would rather leave you until you get into serious trouble than actually do anything to help.

Yes but can't think of solutions. Other than flooding it with money but where do we draw the line? Everyone has unlimited budget for unlimited fixing of any ailments ?

Absolutely- people from all walks of life. Apparently it’s a perk from some construction companies for site staff too - as getting people back to work faster saves them money in the long run. Not just the managerial type jobs now.

So many jobs now also offer it’s in benefits too.

I saw an article on one newspaper yesterday (didn’t read) about how so many Scot’s are putting themselves into debt to pay for private treatment.

So it affects all groups- It isn’t just the well off using private health care, it’s everyone

I know it’s unusual, but I have received fantastic mental health team (consultant psych, care-coordinator, support worker) my GP is incredible. I honestly couldn’t ask for better. I moved to the UK in 2022 and have been blown away.

I agree - I see this as what will happen.

I already have private dental, healthcare and GP cover that I prioritise paying for as the NHS is so poor.

I don't think they're good at anything.

I received a letter about a month ago about an 'urgent' appointment. Didn't say anything except what time it was and which hospital. I then find out by coincidence that it's a surgical procedure that I won't be allowed to drive home after. You would think that was important information! But no, apparently I could just tip up to the hospital totally unprepared and then end up either having to go home without getting the procedure done or find myself completely stuck with my car in the car park racking up fines!

It’s inevitable it will turn private.

What will remain is A&E, gps, maternity care, sexual health, those suffering from serious mental health conditions. Everything else will have to be funded through insurance.

I badly wounded my knee a few years ago. I later found out that what it needed was surgical debridement/closure. What I actually got was a plaster and a box of antibiotics after 8 hours in A and E (it was full of gravel and bleeding profusely). Then followed four months of thrice-weekly dressing charges and two further infections. Eventually I was referred to a specialist wound nurse who was shocked at the state I'd been left in.

I'm sure the surgical option would have been cheaper than the four months of treatment.

thats shocking you haven’t had a scan yet. Make sure you get your hcg results.

If it is an ectopic then if the hcg results are small and/or decreasing then your body can resolve the pregnancy on its own. Don’t let them take away your tube. I’ve know multiple women who get tubes taken away (coz it’s less risk for the hospital) including nearly me.

@XjustagirlX I was 7 weeks when I found out it wasn't a viable pregnancy which was last Thursday and I'll be 8 weeks when they want to scan me

They aren't great at emergency care.

Friend of mine died in an and e of sepsis after being sent away twice.

I was diagnosed with severe asthma after an and e sent me away diagnosed with a cold.

Only 50% of the people who need it get acess to rehab after a stroke etc.

I have severe and permanent mobility problems after a complication was not identified after a major fracture.

None of my five conditions were diagnosed by the nhs and on multiple occasions I was told I was lazy/exaggerating etc.

GDPR is not the reason why the NHS doesn't have a joined up software system. There is nothing in GDPR that stops the sharing of medical information once the people concerned have given their consent.

It is because it is not one organisation but many, each with different people in charge. People who are each playing their own political games rather than working together. This is not unique to the NHS by the way. All big organisations have similar power politics going on at many levels.

How many weeks are you? They won’t scan before 6 weeks as they can’t see anything before that date. What are you hcg results?

I am currently going through a suspected ectopic pregnancy and they are doing a 3rd blood test in 5 days and won't even scan me until Thursday. I feel like unless I'm actively having internal bleeding from a ruptured fallopian tube they are not treating it with any urgency. It's ridiculous.

There are obviously a wide range of conditions and obvs not everyone can do anything to help the conditions they have, but there are some who can and don't. When you get it down to an individual level there is usually mental health issues etc that aren't being supported but you could say that for most things and about most people. I don't think there is an easy solution and it's complex and there are barriers but simply chucking money at it isn't the solution.

some patients might get great care

but we should all be getting the best care and that is not happening. I work in a highly funded area and we are struggling

that a few are getting great care is simply not good enough its time for serious reform and reform is what Labour are promising. Lets hope they are brave enough to dismantle the NHS and start rebuilding a health system that provides the care that we all deserve

The problem with screening at the moment is that for some things (e.g. diabetes) it would identify more people than the system can cope with. Therefore people end up not receiving treatment until it's chronic and that sucks resources that then can't be used for screening. It's a cycle that needs to be broken but I agree it does start with people taking more responsibility for their own health.

The only way I could have prevented the majority of my issues was by not being born.

Womens health in particular is disastrous. Seven years for a hysterectomy unless it's cancer. Even with adenomyosis, endometriosis, cysts and fibroids. Then as you've a preexisting condition that complicates things further private hospitals won't accept you. You wouldn't let a pet suffer you'd tightly been taken up for neglect

Not everyone is irresponsible with their health.

There are plenty of people that do all that they can but still don’t get the care they should.

Preventative screening. I’m almost 50 and offered nothing unless I ask.

Agree about linking systems. The barrier in my old board was no-one would make a decision. Everyone liked their own system.

Clear decision making and outcomes. My husband took a morning off to attend a GP appointment the practice made for him. When he got there the GP didn’t know why he was there. Communication between specialties and teams is shockingly poor.

One idea that I think would help would be having a proper computer/ records system, that is easy to upload to/ interpret and was universal across NHS services wherever you are in the UK.

This was tried under the last Labour government. It was so impossible to combine the disparate systems that the only people to do well out of it were the management consultants who pocketed millions for the failure.

See also: National ID card scheme, Track & Trace etc etc.