To expect better from the NHS. Ingrown toenail saga

[Whatthefunk]

Morning all. Posted on chat, about my son's ingrown toenail and the long wait, for a podiatry appointment. Well we finally got it done 3 weeks ago, and went this morning for a check up, with the hope that he would have been given the all clear. Sadly not...As the podiatrist was checking his toe, she asked her assistant to look who had done the initial procedure, because apparently they've messed up, and left a big chunk of the ingrown nail behind, and he has to have the whole thing done again. Along with the second toe, which is also ingrown now. Fuming!! My poor boy. I can't even tell you how awful those anesthetic injections are....

legal advice over leaving some toenail behind.....jesus christ, no wonder the NHS is on its knees!
OP, i understand you're frustrated, but ingrown toenails are notoriously difficult to get right the first time, especially if they've been infected a lot and there is a lot of excess tissue etc. it doesn't mean the original person messed up, just that it can be hard to get it all.

I have no intention of making a complaint. Shit happens, but it's crap

You should never "expect" anything from the NHS, it's absolutely diabolical in my opinion. It has been run in to the ground now to the point it just can't cope.

Life or death situations I think it can just about maintain the status quo, but anything else is just pointless sadly. Minor ailments to mental health treatment are practically non existent.

I genuinely avoid the NHS if possible. We have a private health care package now, we are not a affluent family out household income is less than 50k annually, but decided a monthly private package was the best way to go.

If I were you I'd save and try and go private, at least you'll get the treatment you want in a timely manner.

To the poster who said see your GP to get a prescription for EMLA- you can buy it from the chemist!

I have to say, last year I had laser surgery for glaucoma, and from start to finish, the treatment was excellent. I guess I was lucky

I must have been very lucky when I had my ingrowing toe nail removed, but perhaps because I’d suffered the agony of sitting in a podiatrist’s chair for weeks beforehand whilst she tried to save the nail, the pain of the actual procedure was nothing in comparison.
For me the anaesthetic in my toe was far less painful than anything I felt when the podiatrist was poking around, and once the toe was numb the procedure itself was totally without pain. After the anaesthetic wore off I took a couple of paracetamol but didn’t feel the need for anymore until just before I went to have the wound re-dressed, when I expected to feel some pain
I was foolish in the sense that I left my toenail far too long before I sought any treatment, and by the time I saw my GP It was so badly infected that nothing could be done until the infection had cleared.
Unfortunately I believed everything people told me about the procedure being painful and that I would be better seeing a podiatrist than letting my GP take the nail off. I wish I’d taken no notice because by the time the podiatrist accepted that the nail couldn’t be saved I’d lost confidence in her and had suffered more weeks of excruciating pain that I would have done had my GP removed the nail as soon as the infection had cleared.
My nail (or rather the section of it that was cut away) was taken off years ago and I haven’t had any problems with it since. Nowadays I’m hard pressed to tell which of the nails it even was.
My advice to anyone would be that the pain of the injection lasts no time at all, and unless you’re very unlucky the relief you’ll feel in the long run will be well worth whatever discomfort you feel.

@Whatthefunk, I didn't think you were going to sue, but the very fact people have suggested it to you means some people would. which is lunacy. How old is your son by the way?

I should also add there’s never 100% guaranteed success, when I had mine done he said there’s always a chance it can grow back. It can’t be eliminated for definite!
Also, don’t put emla on the end of his toe, it will numb the ‘testing’ spot before they start. They may start and he will still feel it, first injection is in the knuckle, should numb it for the rest of his injections!

My DS had both big toes done at the same time privately (didn’t want to wait any longer) by a local chiropodist. It was £200 per toe, but worth every penny.

Lots of Emla cream applied an hour beforehand and covered in a dressing or cling film really helped to numb the injection sites.

I’m a wimp and sat outside whilst it was going on, but I could hear DS chatting away quite happily - he said that the injections were just uncomfortable and after that he couldn’t feel a thing. After the local anaesthetic had worn off he said the relief was instantaneous and just needed some ibuprofen the first evening as it throbbed a little. He was up and about after a day or so.

Just to add, the nail hasn't grown back. A big piece was left in. And by the reaction of the podiatrist at the check up, she was clearly surprised, and more than a little upset herself, that he has to go through it again

if you can get the nail bed killed off as this is permanent otherwise they seem to come back

ZOMBIE!!!!