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

I have works in the nhs for years, currently working in A&E. In the past few weeks a twenty-something female turned up with “a bit of an itchy nostril” and a man in his thirties with “I haven’t poo’ed since last night”. Both of these adults deemed these situations ‘emergencies’.

Admittedly, some areas of the NHS leave a lot to be desired (have experienced myself rude & condescending doctors/nurses and appalling waiting times) but people’s sense of entitlement is ridiculous at times. Education is the answer to some of the issues - call 111 or go and see a pharmacist rather than rush to A&E and clog it up even more (and then moan about the wait!). Society today is somewhat to blame - everything is available at the click of a button online. Some people seem to expect this from the NHS too. OH AND PLEASE (1000 TIMES OVER) CANCEL APPOINTMENTS IF YOU CAN’T MAKE THEM.

And please complain in writing not just on mumsnet.
I'm also a nurse,I suffer the same frustrations as you all do as a patient too.But sometimes people expect the impossible of the nhs and need to take some responsibility as adults.
A&E has some many patients that could have been treated by GPs,minor injury clinics,pharmacies or by phoning 111.
If these people could be streamed to the right services as the really ill could be seen quicker.
We have a major lack of nurses,doctors and other allied services(and the budget has cut the training budget)And we are understaffed,doing overtime to fill the gaps so that you get your appointments(and to make ends meet due to pay levels),missing meal breaks.
We try to be understanding but sometimes when there are delays are behond our control it's hard to keep smiling in the face of some patients vitriol or after supporting someone who has had bad news.
And sometimes we chat to each other,try to keep cheery,support each other,but not many of you see the nurse in tears,stressed behind words.
Yes the NHS is not perfect but it's staff are people too.The systems we have to use for thousands of patients a day are in adequate,the targets set by management are impeding care.Communication on all levels needs looking at.
Rant over and another nhs staff member leaves.

Agree some people are entitled in all sorts of ways. Also ffs can appointments if you can't keep them: who do you think you are, those who don't.

You're probably the same people who would complain if you heard the sums which are lost every year through "Did Not Attends".

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/society/2018/jan/02/patients-missing-their-appointments-cost-the-nhs-1bn-last-year

Only time I didn't cancel an apt was because my gp surgery didn't pick up the phone. So, as I leave for work 75 minutes before they open I put a letter of apology through the door. I did get a call to apoligise but that was 3 years ago now and they are still no better at answering the phone. But the waiting room is usually awash with the chat and bant from the two receptionists.

Some of us do respect the services but get get scant respect individually or for our time in return. Some of us also work very very hard and don't have shifts to clock off from.

We should pay more for the NHS, but in return for that it needs to be a MUCH better service. It's considered sacrilege to criticise it, but the NHS isn't fit for purpose as it currently stands.

I've recently been bumped off an NHS waiting list onto a list at a private hospital, because the NHS trust can't get through the list quickly enough. I've been waiting at least 18 months. That's not good enough.

What does everyone suggest?
Higher taxes?
Pay at the point of care?
Something else?

The admin and communication side is long overdue some modernization. NHS services need to respect that not everyone is in a job where you can make and take phone calls and have some alternative. Text reminders for appointments would be helpful. Only calling from a withheld number is a nightmare as many service users won't answer you. Email should be used appropriately.

I don't think many members of the public appreciate how old fashioned it is. I remember my DM being gobsmacked to see someone wheeling a trolley of paper notes and was even more horrified when I told her that set of noted was the only record the hospital had of her.

Continental system. We have a second home in France. Much better. Or UK needs to look to Australia. Any service where healthcare is deemed a service rather than a favour for which we should be grateful.

Still in shock that NHS secretaries actually believe it's a free service and post it on the internet. That speaks volumes about the efficacy of the customer service training.

Can only speak for my family, but in both recent cases - Gds in hospital 3 times last year with severe bronchiolitits, and dh suddenly taken very ill with an acute infection not long ago - the care was fantastic. Ditto for an elderly neighbour who had a bad fall recently.

Having said that, the admin side does need a serious overhaul. My dh missed an appt. purely because the letter told him to go to the wrong medical centre - and why on earth can't appts. be emailed or texted to those who can use those methods? A Bil also had an appt letter sent to an address where he hadn't lived for many years - despite many correctly addressed appts, in the interim.

Plus, I've heard so many times of hospitals repeatedly sending appt. letters to people with dementia, despite relatives asking them over and over not to, but to send to them instead, since people with dementia will forget, and v likely throw the letter away. Is it any wonder so many appts. are missed?

Certainly not naive JaquesHammer, I work in the NHS and deal with patients everyday. But isn't it good that you can get a same day appointment if it's urgent? Have you tried changing surgeries if you're not happy? You don't say what you've been waiting 5 years to be treated for. No doctor/hospital/service would put off treatment for anything near that time if a patient were suffering in any way (no matter how minor).

GettingLike I do agree with you about the administrative side of things. I work for a GP and dealing with hospitals is an increasing nightmare - over-complicated and inefficient. I don't know what the answer is but certainly better admin systems are required.

By free, we obviously mean that patients don't have to pay for their care.
(other than through paying tax).

Or am I missing something?

You are missing the fact that it is not free because the public, including you, pay tax which funds the NHS. It is therefore NOT free. It is free at the point of delivery.

Good God woman, how hard is that to understand. It speaks absolute volumes that you don't understand that. It's not often I swear but FFS.

I don’t understand why more hospitals/drs surgeries don’t let you change or cancel appointments online. Would surely reduce cancellations and mean phone lines are freed for people to book?

Likewise when I get a letter inviting me to book an overdue consultants appointment at last why not give codes so I can log on and book it rather than joining a long queue online?

I find the missed appointment argument interesting. Dc4 has a congenital heart condition that requires regular check ups. The appointments are made at 12-18 nth intervals and the letter arrives within days of the previous appointment.

Last year the consultant changed. Dc4 had an appointment for November which was earlier than expected but there in black and white.

A few days before the appointment, we received the text reminder. I called and confirmed attendance.

On the day of the appointment, I took the morning off work and took dc4 out of school. We rock up at the appointment to be told by the receptionist we’re not on the list. I give her the letter and she is clearly embarrassed. Turns out we were not the first that week to have been sent letters and reminded about appointments a year early!

Yes, nothing is free certainly, but the level of funding from current taxation is completely and utterly inadequate.
So I ask again- how would you fund the shortfall?
More taxation?
Pay at point of use (top up)
Something else?

More taxation but not for more of the system we have. The ethos is just broken. I would happily pay a surcharge for choice over appointments at more convenient times for working people, for a single room, for better drugs etc. I work opp a hspital and don't understand why I can't pop there for phlebotomy and take my gp a print out. To have that test at gp I haveto wait 2 months for an 8am apt. At 8.10 it takes me 1.15 to get to work. At 7.15 30 mins. Phlebotomy at 7.45, first in and at desk at 8. Nothing is geared to patient convenience.

Tax relief on private healthcare. Or actually a small charge at gp, hosp etc for people who are well off, reclaimable like on the continent. Free for those on benefits or reliant on state pension.

I agree hcps aren't well enough respected but they are doing little to earn it. They chew gum, act like they can't be bovvered, are often rude, raise their voices, etc. On the whole the drs are quite nice. Nurses etc, no, I am sorry I have dealt with so much idiocy and rudeness let alone incompetence, they just don't cut it.

What annoys me is we don't abuse it, we aren't ever late and yet we still encounter "the attitude". I just don't stand for it any more.

I couldn’t really be a bigger fan of the NHS on the whole. It’s having a go at prolonging my life at the moment, it employs almost all my family, it’s a huge part of what makes me so happy to live in the U.K. etc etc. I fundamentally believe in free at point of delivery healthcare. But does that mean that no one who works in any part of the NHS could improve? Obviously not.

Admin in the main team that treats me is a real problem. Appointment letters dated the same day as the appointment. Phones never answered. Scans booked for all the wrong times. Loads of avoidable issues.

I do think some (please note, I do not mean all and not even the majority) give an attitude and then act surprised when it’s not appreciated. That said, as a public sector worker, I would not dream of being rude back to someone who was rude to me.

I use the NHS all the time (various consultants, nurses, nurse specialists and phlebotomists etc) due to complex health problems. I also use private healthcare a lot. I rarely encounter a bad attitude but I don’t go in with an attitude because I’m too fucking exhausted and ill all the time.

I think there are two main reason some sing the NHS' praises and others think it's awful......

Its a postcode lottery.
I've lived in three areas of the country, two cities and one high cost of living town. The care we got in the cities was dangerous. My dh has suffered years of problems over somthing that could have been fixed in 3 months. I was wasting away got no diagnosis and results from invasive tests were lost. My ds treatment was so poor we got nowhere with him and we were all depressed over it. Their treatment and lack of treatment made his situation worse! Now we have moved to a town the care he has been given has changed our lives. I just wish we hadn't wasted a year with no therapy for him. Waiting list are still long for the non urgent things but that's not really an issue.

Secondly, some people claim the staff are so rude and horrible. I think most of the time it's because you are being rude and difficult and demanding and moaning at the staff. If you're nice, people will usually be nice back.

There are some horrid people working in the NHS, I've encountered two very horrible women. One who was abusive to me over text late at night when my son was seriously ill. The other that continually reduced me to tears then threatened to have me removed from the hospital for being emotional when my son was in Nicu and having an op. But I do think that other than a few exceptions most staff are nice and respectful as long as you are nice and respectful to them.

It’s absolutely not free and I find that attitude says it all about the lack of ‘service’. In the main the experiences I’ve had personally, with eldercare and with children has been dispiriting. It is underfunded but I wouldn’t want to contribute more into the broken state that is the NHS. As others have said we need to look to the systems on the continent / Australia.

My brother was taken to the hospital, suicidal with a history of mental health problems, fresh cuts down his wrist, asking for help as he was incredibly depressed. He was referred for group counselling... in 6 months time.

He died 2 weeks later. When we questioned this they said it was a 'typo' and it should have been a couple weeks not 6 months.

That's my experience with the NHS.