AIBU to to really disheartened at how it seem most view the NHS

[Loubielouslonglegs]

I'm a medical secretary to a breast/plastic surgery consult in the NHS. I've seen the decline of services in the last few years and absolutely disagree with it, yet understand budget.

I've been on a thread where a poster's parent could drive herself to hospital and was kicking up a stink because she wasn't 'taxied home'.

My consultant came back from clinic shocked that one of his patients started throwing chairs and hurling abuse because he wouldn't perfom surgery unless she'd seen a psychologist.

The only time I ever get any feedback is complaints - I've been offered a post in the private sector almost 2x my 23,000 nhs wage . Now finally thinking I should put myself first x

It is not free. The public pay taxes for a health service. The public are not to blame for the way it is set up and delivered. Yes, some people abuse it, but that shouldn't mean that genuine patients should suffer.

Private healthcare is unaffordable for many people. That doesn't mean that people deserve poor healthcare.

The NHS needs a proper overhaul and it should be funded by part tax, part health insurance and part contribution such as a small fee to see a GP. People generally value what they've had to pay for. Obviously children and vulnerable people would be exempt.

People can't be expected to be grateful for a shit service or no service at all (in my dc's cases). People tolerate shit services elsewhere such as the railway system, education, social care, road maintenance, housing, utilities etc. We put up with a great deal in this country, partly due to relatively low taxation.

While there are patients who take the Micky with appointments there are also very badly administered clinics and a lot of waste. It cuts both ways

No wonder OP is demoralised. 90% of posts here are loud justification why people feel they are entitled to moan about NHS.

People depend on the NHS for their health and their children's health. They are going to upset when there is underfunding, delays, lack of services.

Then why don't people vote for political parties that promise to truly fund the NHS better? You get what you vote for. People voted for (austerity) which means a cash-strapped health service. Pah.

That's not how voting works. The govt is decided on a small number of marginal seats. Most of our votes are meaningless in terms of getting what we want. I didn't vote for austerity, the marginals decided who we ended up with.

And throwing money at the health service doesn't work either. The way it is set up, run and funded is fundamentally flawed and it needs to start over. It's never going to improve. It's become a giant, confused, disjointed mess.

"massive rehaul" & "starting over" has been the strategy of govt for last 15 yrs. I can't see that massive reforms have yet fixed anything.

The electorate at large aren't responsible for anything? Really?! No wonder 40% of people don't bother to regularly vote.

I find that NHS try and block access to medical care. You have to get through so many barriers just to get seen, starting with the battleaxe receptionists. If you go to the gp because you know there is somthing wrong, they don't want to refer you to the hospital or specialists or further tests. You have to fight for it. I think this is to weed out hypochondriacs and those who's symptoms go away

Girlfrommars (maybe you are) - what an ignorant post. You do not have to fight to be referred, if anything, GPs over-refer because they worry they might miss something. I work for a GP and we routinely refer patients every single day on suspected cancer pathways and 99% of patients don't have cancer. You vilify battleaxe receptionists. These women (hardly any men do this job because the pay is crap), are over-worked, underpaid and just trying to manage demand. I'm not surprised that you used to work for a medical claims company, who IMHO are the scum of the earth. The NHS forks out huge sums of money to these people and the amount is growing exponentially. It's haemorrhaging money that it doesn't have and needs to be spent on people who are actually ill. These companies actively encourage people to sue and lead them up the garden path.

I think the care you get in NHS hospitals once cancer (for instance) is detected is as good as any you'd find in Europe or the rest of the world Statistics would suggest that it is but here's another ignorant post:

"I just don’t think it is. Whilst the treatment for common cancers is pretty standard e.g breast, prostate, bowel and if it’s caught early enough then the NHS treatment is fine. As soon as you’re dealing with advanced or less common cancers the NHS is pretty rubbish unless you’re on a trial Bully for you that you have private health insurance Ama so you don't have to deal with the shit NHS but I wonder if you knew that in a considerable number of cases patients who are being treated privately have to be transferred to the NHS because the private sector doesn't have the resources? And I do hope that no-one who is having to rely on the NHS for their advanced cancer care has read your post....

This thread makes such depressing reading. No doubt the NHS will crumble in the next few years because no sane person would want to devote their lives working for a service that serves a population WHO HAVE NOw IDEA HOW FORTUNATE THEY ARE. We currently have 42,000 nursing vacancies alone and that number will rise.

Time for you all to fork out for private health insurance and to stop moaning.

”A medical claims company, who IMHO are the scum of the earth. The NHS forks out huge sums of money to these people and the amount is growing exponentially.”

I hope you never experience the heartache of medical negligence to the level that it means your life is not the one you planned. I work with adults with disabilities. The larger sums are often paid to children who suffered severe and life changing injuries at birth as a results of negligence. They all are often living in residential care, may be unable to walk or talk or feed themselves, they often cannot work or do anything alone - all entirely preventable. It takes years of fighting and the money means the person can have an excellent level of care that the state canno otherwise afford to fund.

Hildegarde I do fork out for private care. There are still circumstances when I have to deal with the NHS. Usually through a front-line of ignorant, rough women who accept low paid jobs because other organisations would dismiss them due to their unhelpful, Little Britain attitude.

In the last tax year we paid more than £200,000 in tax. We have paid an additional £15000 for private care in the last two years. I have no objection to paying tax. I have enormous objections to pig ignorant staff expecting me to be grateful for shit care.

2016 I broke my back. Went to A&E in a taxi after local walk in unit couldn't help. Arrived. There were two others waiting. Two receptionists. I could barely stand. I explained I could not sit in a low metal chair. I was told in that case to stand instead. I was triaged after 10 minutes and explained again. The nurse said there were no alternatives for chairs. I insisted; and the nurse reluctantly and rudely got me a wheelchair with a tut.

The A&E dr was horrified I hadn't been offered pain relief and hadn't been immediately sent through. As I was wheeled to A&E I was wheeled past at leadt 10 empty cubiles with both beds and padded high upright chairs.

It's called SERVICE (apols for shouting, it's v rude to tpe capitals). It's a word that the initials NHS comprise.

The next day my GP prescribed v strong painkillers . I was sent home for GP care; I will never know how I got off the bed the following morning to get to the GP.

GP tried to sign me off for six weeks. I went back after a week. I asked for a referral and told I couldn't have one for 10 weeks and then if I was still in pain. I asked what the waiting list was. It was 10 weeks so that could have been 20 weeks in total. 20 weeks not working potentially with a job at risk. I noted this and the referral form was slammed on the desk.

Once triaged I was seen two weeks later (I returned to work after 9 working days - pure grit). The neurologist confirmed L1 had collapsed by more than 50% and even on the NHS recommended kyphoplasty. However the MRI indicated the edge of the disc was tipping into the spinal canal but not quite touching the cord. She could not do a kyphoplasty without pins. As I was dealing well with pain we agreed to be watchful.

All managed with private physio led pilates.

If you think that's entitled please DFOD and should I ever come across you professionally do try to remember (in accordance with Mr Manners' guidance) that it's Mrs Roses. Not lovey, not dear and certainly not my first name until you make my dr's apt with Tom, Steven, Anne, or Carolyn. You know because I'm not subordinate to them. If I'm not subordinate to them, I'm certainly not subordinate to their receptionist.

Hildegarde I do fork out for private care. There are still circumstances when I have to deal with the NHS. Usually through a front-line of ignorant, rough women who accept low paid jobs because other organisations would dismiss them due to their unhelpful, Little Britain attitude

The hatred of women by women on here is something I'm finding hard to process.

You paid £200k in tax MrsRoses ? Why are you broadcasting that?

I have enormous objections to pig ignorant staff expecting me to be grateful for shit care Oh, the staff aren't what they used to be!

Whilst the treatment for common cancers is pretty standard e.g breast, prostate, bowel and if it’s caught early enough then the NHS treatment is fine. As soon as you’re dealing with advanced or less common cancers the NHS is pretty rubbish unless you’re on a trial
I have a family member who is suffering from an extremely rare form of cancer who has been sent abroad by the NHS to have it treated over the next few months. They are paying for flights, hotel accommodation and treatment in a US hospital for 4 months. I don’t know how we could have afforded it if they hadn’t stepped in. We have some way to go with regards to the facilities in this country but if you are medically likely to respond well to treatment we can’t offer here they will support you in some cases to get it elsewhere. It’s not a trial we just don’t have facilities built in the UK yet.

It isn't a hatred of women hildegarde. I'd feel exactly the same about male receptionists who exhibited similar traits.

Also, it isn't broadcasting, it's trying to indicate a lack of entitlement and abundance of choice whilst still on accasion having to engage with the National failure to provide a Health Service. Which on occasion thinks itself able to dictate.

Most of us admin staff are doing the best we can under shit systems that we don't have the power to change. We know it's shit and most of us wish we could do better for the patients.

That said I don't get GP receptionists, in hospital admin the last thing you want to do is ask patients nosey questions about their heath, you leave that to doctors and nurses.

I’m sorry -heldegard I am not making an ignorant post. Not only have I been at the front line of having a partner with a rare and advanced cancer where the NHS gave him up for dead but I’ve worked in cancer services for many years and sat on cancer MDT’s. They do the best they can with limited resources but unless by luck you end up under the NHS in a teaching hospital or you have the ability and desire to do your own research and fight your own corner then I’m sorry but there are too many people having seriously substandard cancer care in rare and advanced cancers.

Go on, say bully for me that I’ve got private care but that’s the reason my husband is alive and not dead. Until you’ve walked in my shoes you are in no position to tell me I’m ignorant. We started off in the NHS and were offered an unsuitable treatment from a dr who had never seen the condition before but was very excited that he would be able to use it as a learning tool for his CV. I was in no way prepared to allow my husband to be his guinea pig. What he should have done was refer him immediately to a unit with doctors who knew the conditon but he didn’t. People who know no better would have accepted this. I didn’t and yes, to get my husband seen immediately by the best people we went private. Our dr works mainly on the. NHS and if you’re in his trust then you’re in good hands but to see him on the NHS wouldn’t have been immediate and he wouldn’t have been able to offer the treatment my husband is on.

What should I have done? Left him to die? That’s how ignorant I am.

Oh and hildegard I do hope people with advanced cancer are reading my post because my advice to them is that if they’re not happy with their care or they think they’re not getting what they need then jump up and down and demand to be seen by other people, research other NHS doctors, pick up the phone and make a total nuisance of yourself because there’s a huge difference between “there’s nothing else we can do for you” and “there’s nothing else that can be done”.

Before throwing even more money at the NHS there needs to be a thorough overhaul of how the current funding is spent. When it was established the NHS was there to treat people who were ill, not to pander to vanity projects like plastic surgery, other than a genuine need. All hospitals seem to have more admin than nursing and some of it is simply to tick another pc box.

www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/hospital-bosses-face-1million-bill-10413015

When I started this thread I had no idea of the amount of vitriol and negativity that was held against the NHS. Catching up, I'm honestly really pissed off - I'm by no means perfect but I try my bloody best every day to put patient's mind at rest, chase up results, ring my consultant so I can give Mrs Smith who is crying on the phone her results. All the while we have unrealistic time scales heaped on us - can anyone tell me how we can fit 14 skin cancer patients for surgery when the consultant has one theatre list a week with a maximum of 6 patients per list??

I absolutely do my best every day and I will do my best for anyone who calls - but I DO have to put up with abusive, unrealistic expections from some people - and frankly I'm worth more than that so I've been accepted as a PA to a private sector CEO. Double the wage, much less of the entitled

And Helenadove - do you ever have gratitude for the care you and your elderly husband receives? I see you on health and benefit threads regularly but never for the positive? If the OHSu didn't exist because it's so bad do you think the care your husband would receive would be better? If yes how would you fund it? Apologies if I'm wrong but aren't you on benefits? I'm really not benefit bashing but if the NHS is so bad as you constantly claim, the alternative is private health care. How would you fund that?

sorry, OHsu should be NHS

Hi op , sorry haven’t read the whole thread but just wanted to say re your first post, get out now, it’s a sinking ship.
If you’ve been offered a job in the private sector you go girl, with bells on!

Loubie yes i do Ive mentioned a few times that the care he has recieved is second to none. i will have to see if i can find it and copy and paste it here.

In fact we would have been able to complete his heart rehabilitation course back in 2006 if i hadnt been told i had to do a work placement We had no choice but to abandon the re. course halfway through. Because we couldnt afford for DH to keep attending that course and to pay for my public transport fares to my no wage placement.

And if i had refused to do it...................sanction!

Its not the first time ive had to explain this to a health professional on here and i will bet my best pair of trousers that it wont be the last so im surprised you havent seen it.

Off to search and copy and paste the stuff you havent seen.

Ahh Loubie Im actually in a state pension household DH is nearly 70.

2006 was 12 years ago.

For someone who says you have noticed a lot of my posts there is a hell of a lot that your selective memory has edited out.

And i dont think you are helping yourself with your most recent posts either.