Another trip to hospital, another load of flippin brilliant NHS staff

[ZobiLaMouche]

I am incredibly grateful, that’s all really. Elderly parents (3 all local) have had lots going on the past few years and every time it’s the same. Lots of staff, all caring, positive, and last night in A&E with mum suspected stroke bluelighted in, a particularly lovely and sensible young doctor. Anything we can do to keep the NHS we must do.
Thanks to all of you working there. I do not have the skills.
p.s. Mum is fine.

The NHS is no longer fit for purpose. The sooner the British public realise this the better. Yes, it is possible to still have good experiences but from a general point of view standards of care are severely lacking in comparison to similar countries such as Australia & France. Waiting lists are frankly a disgrace - my DD was forced to wait an entire year on spinal surgery, she suffered immensely both mentally and physically for it.

As a HCP who spent 20 years of my career working for the NHS it is genuinely very depressing to see the state that it has been allowed to deteriorate to.

Yes it's great if you can get it. I'm glad it worked out for you. My mum called for an ambulance recently after a suspected stroke and she wasn't able to get one until the next day, in spite of displaying classic symptoms. She couldn't get a taxi either. She missed the window for anti-clotting drugs, suffered complications and later died after two subsequent strokes. I have no idea whether the speed of treatment was a critical factor, but I will always wonder.

Sorry to hear about your experiences. It certainly was not designed with the myriad health conditions there are now in mind.

It’s very likely that speed/lack of early treatment had a detrimental effect. This is disgraceful and I am so sorry for your loss.

I don’t know many people who have positive experiences so glad there are one or two out there that have been treated well.

I know there are problems but when a family member had a stroke the staff went above and beyond. The ambulance apparently got stuck behind an illegally parked vehicle (very narrow twisty roads) so the paramedics turned up on foot having run the last part. And the nurses at the hospital were very clearly overworked/understaffed but also excellent.
None of that makes up for the failures when they happened. I suspect if it wasn't for the staff doing far more than they should have to the state of the NHS would be (even) worse than it was.

That's really awful. I'm so sorry
I read your post after I posted mine. I hope it doesn't come across as unsympathetic.

Not at all. I know we were unlucky and I know it's not the norm. I'm glad you got good treatment. I just think it's a shame that sometimes it's not possible to get an ambulance when you really need one. I guess I also feel guilty because if I'd been there (I live abroad) I'd have been more insistant about the ambulance or taken her to hospital myself.

I'm so sorry to hear that, and what appalling service. What excuse can there possibly be for not sending an ambulance quickly for a suspected stroke.