Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To wonder if he wasn't the Duke of Edinburgh

37 replies

sitandnatter · 24/12/2011 08:04

They may not have bothered to unblock the coronary artery and just given less care letting "nature take its course". Of course I wish him well, he's 90 and I do enjoy his unpolitical correctness, he's one of the more amusing Royals. However, I tried and failed to get one old lady into hospital when she had a water infection, lived alone and couldn't even stand up, she's 88 and a sweetheart. The next day she had a fall, got hurt and was then admitted.

The Duke's had a stent inserted last night after having chest pains which can lead to heart/failure/attacks. When my mum needed one they cancelled her operation four times. It was after the fourth cancellations I had to get a patient support group brought in and the final cancelled operation was put back on and she was finally stented.

I hear over and over that when you get to over 80 the NHS don't seem to care any more.

AIBU to ponder if we are truly still managing to offer the NHS from cradle to grave, and that if some people's graves arrive quicker than others depending on their status, wealth?

OP posts:
EssentialFattyAcid · 24/12/2011 09:51

I think old people do generally receive this kind of surgery on the NHS even if they are not Prince Phillip.

I suspect though that Prince Phillip would always be able to eat his food whereas for many other old people it is cleared away uneaten as they don't get the help required to eat it / it is placed just out of their reach etc

xyfactor · 24/12/2011 10:17

He's an old man put the royal thing behind you.
Life's not equal or fair and we all have advantaged in life over other people.
Get well soon old fella Xmas Smile

OldGreyWassailTest · 24/12/2011 10:27

I had a triple by-pass 4 years ago, which has now 'gone wrong' I need angioplasty and a stent, and am having angina attacks daily. The earliest appointment I can get for the angioplasty is next March. Perhaps I should change my name and sex.

xyfactor · 24/12/2011 10:29

What has your sex got to do with this?
Hope you get the treatment you need though.

OldGreyWassailTest · 24/12/2011 10:47

Duke of Ed - male !

thepeoplesprincess · 24/12/2011 11:00

I have no idea what a stent is, or how common that particular procedure is or what the usual waiting time for it would be.

But, in general I would expect that he received a far, far, far higher standard of care than any other Joe Bloggs of the same age and I can't say it bothers me personally. Whether people like it or not, we do live in monarchy and his life is worth more than than ours.

hermionestranger · 24/12/2011 11:05

My very elderly Nanna has received excellent care from the NHS, including emergency surgery and refusal of discharge because they were so concerned about her coping abilities. I think it is very much on a need of the patient basis.

sarahtigh · 24/12/2011 11:10

my father is 88 just 18 moths younger than D of E, he has just had knee replacement done on NHS , he is generally n really good health bar a slight heart problem, and has good quality of life however, if he had alzeihmers parkindson's and/ or dementia too he may not, it is not so much chronological age as biological age that matters my MIl also was considered for heart surgery at similar age but she turned it down.

he could not be on open ward as all security etc and monitoring would adversely affect others patients so their visitors etc would be restricted so it is actually best for everyone that he is in private ward alone

a male in good health is no more likely to get stent than female in good health

sashh · 24/12/2011 13:22

Inserting a stent is not an operation
Stents do not stop hearat failure, they keep a coronary artery open
It is a fairly simple and standard procedure

fifteenfiftyfive · 24/12/2011 13:29

The Duke of Edinburgh has probably received no less a treatment than any other private patient. I sincerely doubt if he needed treatment he'd have to go on a waiting list or feel belittled at the age of 90 to the point where he would need family members to fight his corner.

But that's not because he's the DoE. It's because he's a rich bastard and can afford to buy services/speedy diagnostics/procedures/surgery whereas NHS patients simply have to put up with any gaps in their NHS provision.

And that's where the whole postcode lottery issue comes in. If you live in an area where the local provision is varied/good (e.g. London as someone said - lots of specialist clinics and consultants within spitting distance), you're generally going to be fine for most routine things... it's when you get a 90 year old grandma living in rural Wales with no immediate family living within driving distance that things tend to go a bit wrong. Because there's no one there to plug the NHS gap with cash or fight your corner when any provision fails.

It's nothing to do with him being DoE, specifically, it's to do with the rich/poor divide; and that's a much bigger discussion point to throw into the ring Smile

catsareevil · 24/12/2011 13:30

This would be standard treatement. I dont think that the Dukes status has anything to do with him getting one.

SmethwickBelle · 24/12/2011 13:55

DH's granny received prompt treatment for falls and ailments right into her 90s on the NHS. The longer term care was not great however.

Clearly HRH goes private so that would speed things up a bit in general I imagine.

I don't wish ill health or ill relations on anyone at any time of the year but the obsequious BBC coverage is making me want to start a revolution.

New posts on this thread. Refresh page