...to be proud to work as a HCP?

[PacificDogwood]

Not a thread about a thread. Although quite obviously inspired by one.

I am not British.
I trained on mainland Europe.
I have worked for the NHS for 18 years.

I think it is a phantastic system and I hope the current political climate will not destroy it or turn it into a shadow of itself.

HCP are people. As are patients.
Both are fallible.
They have off days.
They make mistakes.

There is no excuse for incompetence, but no matter how brilliant a HCP, mistakes will happen. It is terrible when they do, but happen they will.

Life is a lethal condition which will end in death.
In the meantime I try to listen, help where I can (often I cannot), investigate and reassure.

My only contact with the NHS as a patient has been in the context of pregnancy/MC/delivery (ok, and SCBU for DS2).
I am lucky to have had good experiences and, in the end, good outcomes.

Please cheer me up by some Good News stories.
Negative generalisations depress me.

What's an HCP?

Some days in work are crap. I go home knowing I haven't done enough but I have only one pair of hands.

Other days like yesterday and again today it was brilliant.

Health Care Professional.

Nurse, Physios, OTs, Midwives, Auxilliaries, Doctors, Support workers and the like.

Health Care Professional.

I had an ok day today.
But terrible news about a patient yesterday .

AtYourCervix, you have a brilliant job even though I loathed obstetrics. I loved every MW who ever looked after me - there were lots...

When my Mum was expecting me(about 7 1/2 months gone), she had a locum dr out as she was so ill. Despite looking at her medical records, seeing her (obv pregnant) stomach, and feeling her abdomen, he wanted to give her an injection, that, had my Dad not question if it were safe, would have killed me!

However, I have a high opinion of the HCP's in general, and cannot think of any bad experiences. :)

I thank you - HCP saved 2 of my babies lives - without them I wouldn;t have my 3 beautiful girls x

Some of us are gin soaked hags tis true hides wine glass under worthy certificate

I've also been a nurse for donkeys years and know that feeling. Has to be said, midwifing is mostly bloody brilliant but when it's sad and crap it is really crap. complete extremes.

YANBU.

The absolutely lovely team of NHS MWs who did my antenatal care for me when I was expecting DD2 and organised and attended her home birth. I saw all 7 or so who could have been on call while I was pregnant and the ones who didn't deliver her did postnatal visits afterwards. They were just super.
The staff of my local hospital for setting under GA and plastering up DD2s wrist and then 18 months later doing the same again when she broke the other one. An especially big thank you goes to the houseofficer who managed to remodel the first break when half healed so we didn't have to start again. This meant she lost her cast 3 days before we went to Disney.
Mind you I never thought I'd have to teach contraction type breathing to my 6 year old, it was obviously very painful and she was amazing.

YABU we HCPs are just people doing a job and being paid for it like everyone else not saints

I am currently having a fab time with the NHS and everyone is really nice. I have had to see a psychologist for my phobia, referred from GP, had hypnotherapy, saw midwives and doc in hospital last week

I have a lot of time for hcp

yanbu. Have had some great experiences and some less than great experiences with the NHS. But I know if got knocked down by a bus tomorrow and ended up in ICU and then needing rehab, I wouldnt be faced with a whopping bill, unlike many other countries.

See, I cannot deal with dying children.
It's what stopped a budding paediatric career in its tracks.
I was just not up for it - and thankfully, in GPland we only very rarely deal with seriously ill children.

I was pregnant at the same time a the mother of a little 2 year old boy who died of leukaemia after 8 months of inpatient treatment. This was 7 years ago, she has had the baby she carried than and has had another 2 since. Every time I see her, my heart breaks.

cjbk1, oh, but you and I totally agree: we are no different from anybody else; that's exactly my point.

I am no hero, but I do my best.
As do most people who work in the public sector, maybe I should have included teachers, social workers, police and fire fighters in my OP.

DD2 has also seen lots of Drs and nurses over the years. they have all been fab too.

YANBU. I'm public sector (LSA SEN) and we work with a lot of HCP's (physio/OT/CN etc).

Some of it is trial and error and there aren't always clear answers - sometimes I feel people expect HCP's to be god's.

And my very lovely GP was great with DS when he saw him Monday after he'd been prescribed Co-amoxicav. He'd been up screaming in pain and feeling sick so I stopped them. He totally reassured me I'd done the right thing and said it was likely a reaction to AB, stopped them and told me under what circumstances to take him back. DS if fine.

Spare a thought for those of us who labour on the sidelines to support the HCPs. I do IT in mental health research. I do my bit to try to make research that will make a real difference to service users happen. My colleagued and I slog day in day out to support HCPs who really would like to go the extra mile to improve services (and research is a part of that) in making it as easy as possible to fit into their impossibly very busy lives.

HCPs are mostly great and so are all us IT and Admin workers who support them.

Spent 24 hours on a ward awaiting and recovering from surgery

A HCP specialed a patent with dementia who was very anxious.

It meant the lady got the best care and the others of us in the bay could sleep without worrying about her.

I doubt the HCP knows how much her care mattered even though I said thank you

The most recent 'thank you' card I receiver by a patient for 'saving her life' was in response to really just doing my job, nothing special, no heroics. I was simply lucky to have make the right call on the day, and I am glad I did.
Had I decided differently, it would not have been because I didn't care, or didn't think, or because of 'funding' .

Oh, more hours in the day, where can I get some of them??

And see, there is more HCP: SALT, OTs, physios, the list goes on .

received

x-posts

'Tis true, we could now just close shop without IT support .

Thank you, Dogwood