What’s the point in the NHS?

Most people don’t need to visit A&E.
People should be able to treat minor injuries and illnesses at home on their own

I've not read the whole thread. I believe the NHS are great with emergencies and serious conditions. The mental health system meanwhile, certainly in my experience is a sham. In fact in my case they were/are dangerous. That is a whole different thread I feel.

You have sprained an ankle, not got a serious head injury. With proper self-care it will heal in three months. With specialist medical care it will heal in thirteen weeks !

A scan on a sprained ankle won’t tell you anything else and isn’t required unless you are an elite sportsperson or something (my son is and we have been there). Even then guess what? Told us that (wait for it) he had a sprained ankle:

The prescribed treatment is elevation, rest, ice and painkillers.

A boot will make you feel more comfortable and crutches but you can get these easily.

I don’t know the severity but even a grade three sprain you can be walking on in weeks.

YABU

I think they just have limited resources. Myself and family members have broken bones and care has been fantastic. Care during pregnancy again was fantastic. A very close relative died from cancer recently and again their end of life care was amazing.

As others have noted it is difficult to generalise about the NHS. In practice it is a number of small teams of varying quality and funding; the biggest issue is communication between teams.

Most ridiculous issue - during chemotherapy advised to go to A&E due to potential infection; cleared fairly quickly; then several hours waiting in a corridor for a doctor to discharge me.

As an anaesthetist I'm racking my brains and can't say I can ever remember fixing ankle ligaments in 10yrs of practice and I do a lot of ortho lists so they must self resolve. Most health authorities u can self refer to physio if you think it is needed but tbh the internet is impressively good now

Watch any episode of emergency 24/7. All of those cases show the point of the NHS...and thats the tip of the iceberg

You fell over at work. Work will have insurance for this type of thing surely?

That’s not the experience I had when I sprained my ankle a couple of years ago. The nurse practitioner in Minor Injuries who had just been assaulted by a druggie stayed to tell me the results of the Xray, gave me a boot and crutches and referred me to the fractures team who called me a few days later. Absolutely wonderful dedication there.

You're not being singled out OP, the NHS has to prioritise as it has limited funds, not ideal, and yes people slip between the cracks.
I hate to say it but you do sound like one of life's moaners.
Maybe a strongly worded letter to your local MP would suit you better.

You had the treatment warranted by the urgent care setting - they ascertained nothing was broken and you have a sprain.

Your next port of call is your GP who will guide you on what care you might need next including referrals for PT. And if it doesn’t respond to the regular treatment for a sprained ankle you will be referred for a scan if needed.

If you had been in the USA without insurance your ER consult and x-ray alone would have cost you about $500 for the consult and up to $2000 for the x-ray alone.

With VERY good insurance that you pay about $500 a month for you’d still have a $75 co-pay for the ER visit.

My husband was flown a short distance in an air ambulance for a serious emergency - it was touch and go. The insurance company claimed it wasn’t an emergency and he should have gone by road ambulance and sent us a bill for $50,000.

And that’s the point of the NHS.

Part of the problem is that a lack of other services and under-resourced GPs mean that all sorts of issues are being batted off to A&E. A&E have to triage them low to maintain a service for life-threatening conditions and when you are eventually seen, they don't have time for aftercare and arranging follow-ups.

Well, thanks to the NHS, and the incredible bravery and selflessness of a family who made a decision during the worst time imaginable, my transplanted heart is doing well.

Not if it was your fault!

Have dealt with the NHS a lot during the past 2 years with my son having cancer plus some serious complications and I've had a largely positive experience. They saved his life and I'm not in massive debt like I would be in other places.

NHS isn't perfect but I don't know where I'd be without it.

I think this says it all. The NHS is amazing for complex and emergency conditions. Specialist surgeons are worth their weight in gold.
its the other stuff which is lacking.
i hope you continue to thrive.

That is almost exactly what happened to me when i sprained my ankle about 13 years ago, (no Chat GPT then of course). Went to A and E, had it x rayed, no breaks but a severe sprain. Had it strapped up and followed the intructions about RICE and slowly it recovered.

The NHS is stretched, we all know it. OP I don't think the person you saw sounds terribly helpful, and it could have been phrased and delivered better. I was with a family member in A&E recently. Family member was one of around 4 people who obviously or visibly needed medical attention due to pain or injury - I know not all things are obvious and Dr's sometimes tell people to go to A&E if something has been persistent etc as its best way to get referred if required quickly. However, (not eavesdropping, promise...couldn't help but hear) a fella came in with hus g/f having been hit in the face playing football earlier that eve. (A charity match, he enjoyed adding that into the info) He wasn't in great pain, didn't even arrive with a bag of peas on his face. No loss of consciousness or anything alarming. He'd clearly just gone there instead of actually considering some basic home First Aid, like ice and ibuprofen. He was in for a long wait, but frankly serves him right, he didn't need to be there! If there were even a few more people like this, no wonder the system is stretched! I am sorry you didn't get a bit of a better delivery of how to help yourself. I do think a scan xray is pretty good and should be done to ensure no breaks though if something could be broken.

I cant wait till there is no nhs, at least then we will be able to get an appointment and not have it cancelled multiple times then i can uae all the nhs money that would have been taken from my wages that i was unable to use because i could not get an appointment that was cancelled all the time to pay for it privately !

There are no private emergency services in the UK that are accessible to everyone

It sounds to me that you were given good care. You were examined, told there was nothing broken and there was a severe sprain and likely torn ligaments. That simply requires rest and in time, physio. If your injury was more serious, you would have had more intervention. Get over yourself.

You got seen in 4 hrs. Lucky. A trip to A&E in northern ireland is at least an 8 hour wait and consulations in corridors. We are now a 3rd world country in terms of healthcare.

But even 30 years ago you would not have been offered a scan for a basic sprained ankle.

I went over on my ankle on the way to work and it was throbbing but I was resllly busy and didn’t look at it until after a few hours and it was the size of a football and I could barely stand on it. Grabbed a taxi to A&E - they sent me to the minor injuries section for an x-ray.

As no broken bones they sent me home with instructions to rest, elevate and ice it and follow up with GP if not easing over the next few days. Would not have even occurred to me to want a scan for a sprain.