What’s the point in the NHS?

Same. 20 years ago, multiple visits for turn ligaments. Think I got an X-ray one of the times, never got crutches or support bandages or anything.

Did the same abroad with private care. Paid 1000s for the scan, the crutches and someone to wrap my foot. The result was the same. Rest up. Ice and elevate. It sucks but sometimes there's nothing you can do, and limited care for sprains definitely isn't a new thing with the NHS

Its never even occurred to me to seek professional help for a sprain. I can understand needing to check it wasn't broken, which they did. I geniunely think most people would at that point be relieved and go home.

You’ve sprained your ankle. It’s not serious so get over it. You know what to do.

yabu this is a very common injury. You have been checked that you don’t need a cast or surgery - that is the point of the NHS. You just need time for your body to heal.
Scanning your ankle and a support are not going to make it better quicker.
it takes about 3 months for ankle to heal.
Physio exercises are on chat GPT, physios don’t have secret special exercises for ankle injuries.

I was going to say, my son sees both NHS physio and private physio and the only major difference is that he sees the private physio more often.

So many NHS physio appointments and it's never been just a set of exercises to do at home with my son.

This sadly. I think the NHS is brilliant, but years of neglect and it’s now on its knees.

Yep.

Some ligament injuries (for example a ACL tear) DO require management, and it is possible that sort of injury is what your Mum had, but most soft tissue ankle injuries do not.

The (likely highly experienced) nurse you saw could likely identify the ligament involved from the location of the pain on palpation and the swelling, and knows the best management for it. More contemporary research shows the importance of movement and use of ankles in soft tissue injuries. If you give crutches someone is likely to delay or minimise movement of it which reduces blood flow, leading to an increase in healing time and a higher likelihood of complications like DVTs or poor healing. It sounds like you received the most up to date evidence based advice :)

In relation to physio - an Emergency or Urgent Care centre can simply not carry physiotherapy advice for every injury they come across - that would be madness. They can refer to physio - but would typically only do so for someone unable to self refer because then the individual can identify how they’d like to be contacted etc. A simple soft tissue ankle injury would require quite simple movements and exercises and googling or chat GPT would get you those much quicker than waiting for a referral (which will prioritise patients that needed in person appointments- which your type of injury doesn’t). If you want NHS physio, self refer. If you want in person physio quickly, make a private appointment.

I have no way of knowing how your injury compares to what your Mum had, but it sounds like you’ve received appropriate management.

As an aside about the difference over time, I have been an ED nurse for a little over 8 years now. When I started out a day when we had 300 patients through the dept (in 24hrs) was a big big day. Now we routinely see over 500. That’s a HUGE increase in 8 years and the budget has not increased in line.

Indeed, although while the French system is to some extent insurance-based, the Spanish one is pretty much a carbon copy of the NHS/private split in the UK. French people who are used to their system covering everything turn up on holiday, get ill, go to the first clinic they see, get a large bill, and are then surprised that their EHIC won't cover it (because it gives you the same deal as local people, not the same deal as you get at home, so they should have gone to the public clinic).

But your overall point is well taken. There are 40+ different healthcare systems in Europe, and the NHS/Spanish model is the outlier. It annoys me when legitimate criticism of the NHS is turned into a binary "Well, it's that or the US system".

I went to one yesterday. Was in there for 25 mins and the physio was very thorough. Probably unlucky in the area that you're in.
To get an examination and a set of exercises was most likely all you needed. What else do you expect, for them to assist you with the actual exercises?
I don't think that the NHS is particularly wonderful in general but there are some staff and services that are amazing. Their biggest problem is underfunding and being understaffed.

I was admitted as a consequence of visiting A&E, diagnosed with heart failure. Suffered a cardiac arrest- thankfully while in hospital as I'd probably be dead, kept in for two weeks for umpteen scans and procedures. Had a defibrillator fitted, have had a ton of follow up procedures. Am on life long medication. That's what the NHS is for.

These are the times when the NHS is great. Hit by a bus? Great. Accidentally cut your arm off with a chainsaw? Great. Burst appendix? Great.

Anything that won't kill you today if not seen to immediately? Pretty shoddy.

It's not really free though is it? That's what we pay tax for.

And frankly, NHS physio is pointless. A 5 minute examination and a set of exercises.

I used to think that was what physio was until I had private physio. THAT was worth having. I would never both with NHS physio again.

IMO free at point of use isn’t working any more

My GP surgery has a sign up about wasted appointments

I saw a physio privately yesterday. She said one of the reasons she left the NHS is that people didn’t bother with the exercises she gave them and people are much better when they’re paying

I was speaking to a paramedic at a party who says they see the same guy multiple times a day. He’s very mentally ill. They’re not allowed to not go to him.

society has changed since the 1940s. People don’t take responsibility and don’t value what they don’t pay for.

I'm not making light of the OP's lack of care. I've experienced similar in the NHS.

However, £50 for urgent care in the USA would have been maybe 25 years ago. My cousin in the US without medical insurance paid that for having their hand looked at way back then. These days, urgent care in the US these days would be nearer to $2,000-3,000. That would be without any treatment. Just to be seen.

You don’t you can see a private gp. Referral usually if you have Bupa or similar.

lovely gp receptionist got me in the same day for excruciating period pain and gp immediately did a referral for an ultrasound. I’ve Bupa so have gone private but even so that’s good service.

@younknow She then said I could refer to physio but “ChatGPT would give me a plan”

Lol.

Actually, seeing a physio can make a big difference. The physio I saw privately wasn't much good, but for a different injury I had good attention from an NHS physio. He observed me doing the exercises and fine tuned them. When one of the exercises was a bit much for me and set me back a bit, he gave me different exercises to allow me to work back up to being able to do the more ambitious exercises. I had printed sheets and online links to remind me of the exercises I'd been shown but the real value was in being monitored at my sessions.

They delivered all 4 of my babies safely. They worked on my son for an hour to get him breathing. All for free. That’s the point of the nhs and I’ll be forever grateful. Are they stretched, yes. Are they perfect, no. But we are very lucky. Some children in Gaza are having to be operated on without anaesthetic. Count your blessings.

You sound very entitled.

Are you the kind of person that usually demands paracetamol on prescription when you could go and buy it for pennies?

No they are correct, or at least partially. A sprain can mean slight stretching and minor damage to the ligament, a more significant partial tear of the ligament fibres, or a complete tear. In most cases, it’s the former.

We pay for the NHS through our taxes. It’s not “free”. I’d rather we had the same health system, as the insurance based ones in Europe.

@bafta16 - that what painkillers are for

It's very painful.

You can report the nurse to PALS, she obviously doesn’t sound like the NHS and care that you deserve. Working in it myself, I know this is the minority that work for them and not the majority. We wouldn’t survive in the UK if it wasn’t for NHS!