What’s the point in the NHS?

100% agree

GPS are effectively small businesses which are commissioned by the NHS. There have been challenges with recruitment into GP training, as well as GPs retiring, leaving or reducing hours for years because of the pressure they are under.

there was a lot of money pumped into the NHS in the 2000s and that made a big difference but financial pressures have been high for a long time since then - including higher costs generally. Also, people are living longer with more serious and complex conditions, which is good! but means a lot higher costs overall. It’s a different picture today than it was years ago.

Private healthcare can be good but tends to cherry pick the work that pays the most, while the NHS still has to cover the difficult and less lucrative work (A&E, intensive care, etc etc)

Yet everyone seems to think the only alternative to our failing nhs is the us system!

The trouble is that people here aren’t prepared to pay more, or vote for people who tell them they will have to pay more, so it’s kind of moot.

OP you're being unreasonable with your over the top reaction. Sprains can sometimes be more painful than fractures. But generally do not require further imaging unless fully ruptured with ankle instability. I don't know where you live but in our area, if yourself referred for physio with an acute injury you would be triaged as needing to be seen within 2 weeks. The NHS has its faults but it's not helped by people who want expensive imaging at the drop of a hat which won't necessarily change the outcome or treatment.

Different areas, different experiences- major problem with nhs is lack of consistency nor standardisation - all far too fragmented! My DH has been out of hospital six weeks after a major leg operation and still hasn’t seen a physio! Two weeks would have been good. He was promised a physio within “a couple of days” when he was discharged!

It’s nothing to do with local authorities. GP practices are private businesses and vary accordingly. There are really excellent ones and others that are a bit shit. Ours used to be one of the former and is now one of the latter. Having said that, you can get an appointment really quickly but what happens after that is totally dependent on which doctor you see.

You have bruised your ankle, bit of ibuprofen and you will be fine in a couple of weeks. There isn’t anything the NHS can do for a bit of bruising - they aren’t going g to prescribe you ibuprofen 🤣. If it is still excruciating in a few days then you might want to go back and see your GP.

Your post is entitled.

Had a similar experience recently OP, but, thankfully, had the back up of private medical care via work. Now understand the importance of private medical care more than I wished to.

Thanks to the private medical care I had the antibiotics I needed for the pain I was in the same day in the end.

Can’t help but feel that, the last few years, from our declining family experiences, this is a government mandate to get everyone that can paying for private medical care whilst maintaining they are ‘investing in the NHS’ to our faces. But then, these days, I have very little faith in government and can’t help but look for corruption in everything they touch (and I mean all government, not a single party).

In what capacity, because you really don’t seem to.

Yup,my fear is that we’re sleep walking into the us system with more and more people feeling they have to have private medical insurance alongside a very expensive private healthcare system. Expensive because it’s insurance backed and often owned by billionaire hedge funds, just like how vets have become, and how the car repair industry is heading, ie charging massively more for insurance jobs than private repairs - tradesmen do the same, ie hike the price when they know it’s an insurance claim. We NEED to change to a continental Europe system of government backed insurance to co-pay, otherwise we WILL end up with the US system. People need to wake up and smell the coffee. The NHS as it stands simply Is sustainable.

I had a suspected disc prolapse in my neck 18 years ago - losing strength and function in my arm and pain so bad I was barely functioning as it was compressing a nerve.

The waiting list for an MRI on the NHS where I live (south east England) was 9-12 months before they’d even consider treatment options, too long when you are in danger of losing that function entirely.

My GP asked if I could afford to pay for the MRI - and that it would be about £900 - so I could well believe it could be £1500 now.

Medical advice changes over time because there's always research happening. Your mum might have had a boot 15 years ago but they don't give them as often now because some movement is better for healing.

The NHS is on its knees though! Great in genuine life saving emergencies but at the expense of more minor problems.

I'm sorry to hear that, not every op has follow up physio as part of the protocol but if your DH has been told he should be having physio, that is different. I would always suggest that people self refer for physio in the absence of being referred by the hospital. It's not standard protocol for total hip replacements to have follow up physio whereas total knee replacements are always seen, as an example. I do understand your frustration, there shouldn't be so much variation in treatment and care based on location

DH needed an MRI for his bone marrow cancer. He can’t tolerate the NHS tube ones and found a private firm that do an “open” one. It only cost £1200 for whole body including detailed scan of head, neck and back. His haematologist didn’t even know that open scanners existed and was pleased with the scans and detailed report they emailed her!

His was a femoral nail/pin insertion, and the ward doctor told him not to even try walking at home until he’d had the physio appointment. He was sent home by ambulance as the swelling was so bad he couldn’t move his hip nor knee at all and certainly couldn’t bend to get in a car. They told him the physio would arrange for crutches, zimmer frame and toilet seat riser. He’s literally been abandoned.

https://www.nhsinform.scot/illnesses-and-conditions/muscle-bone-and-joints/leg-and-foot-problems-and-conditions/exercises-for-ankle-pain/

Most minor ailments are self help these days. Luckily there are also nhs videos to help. Surprised the staff said ChatGPT it when most trusts have their own resources online though.

As someone who has had NHS PT a fair few times over the past 40 years, video resources are so much better as you can copy them instead of trying to remember what you’ve been shown what to do!

The issue for me is principally the disorganisation and the attitude that we are beijg done the most enormous favour. We are not, we are beijg provided with servixes free only at the point of delivery.

Far more needs to be done to help people continue to work. The fact that so many can't decreases revenue doe the NHS. The former CEO of John Lewis has had much to say about this, this week.

The patient time wasted just axcessing services and dealing with poor communication is breattaking and never included in the overall cost of service provision. It must add an additional 2% to the overall GDP contributed.

Nail on the head. It’s far too fragmented and dysfunctional. Even departments next to each other on the same corridor don’t have any communication between them. You get the impression that staff see all patients as a hindrance - very few seem to have any care or compassion. Hence the way they gave everyone the same 9-30 appointment time knowing some will be sat there several hours! It’s definitely the attitude of “it’s free, so put up or shut up”!

Autumnallightss
Sounds very like a rotator cuff injury uou have. Sustained one by just reaching out for phone on desk at work. Couldn't even bring my arm back close to me nor do all the actions you say. Eventually referred to hospital, surgery not interlaken as hit or miss if it would work without problems later on. Did eventually resolve but arm not as strong as other, will take a long time.

You should have told them this ligament damage will prevent you from caring for your husband.

Quite. I am under NHS rheumatology and whilst I am given a timed appointment, there have been occasions when they have run 90 minutes behind. Compounded by the fact that there is nwver an apology and there is no wifi in that part of the hospital. When I've had an hour ahead, I've asked if I can go to the cafe and at least ger some work done to be sternly told I can't because if anything changes I have to be there, despite there being six people ahead of me. There is no understanding of the fact that fkr many people who are out of work for a morning, the work doesn't go away and has still to be done, outside of usual working hours. Next time I might send them a bill :)

There are of course the aggressive messages on apppintment letters telling me I will be removed from the list if I miss an appointment and the cost of a misswd appointment is £67. And the big message on the desk saying late arrivals will not be seen due to disruption. There is no mutual respect for patient time and it isn't good enough. What about the value my time has. A 90 minute delay means I have to reschedule a work meeting, which takes half an hour of my time and disruots the schedules of other professional people.

The public are expected to afford NHS staff respect but NHS staffndo not afford the public much respect.

In america people are bankrupt from their cancer treatment, people die without their insulin because they can’t afford it.

Insurance won’t pay out or is insufficient and they are unable to have the treatment they need.

But by all means go and get treated there if you’d like some crutches.

The NHS is underfunded and in some areas could be more efficient / modern because it’s a big old beast and needs genuine investment and vision to stay fit for purpose - but its an incredible privilidge to have something that is free at the point of care. Things like brexit have made things you’d not even think about like access to clinical trials and medications much more tricky and expensive. Etc etc.