To wonder when the NHS is going to start protecting all the people it dumped back in March?

[Noextremes2017]

Simply that?

I have been referred for some private treatment funded fully by my work insurance (which I pay for). The private hospitals have been standing empty since mid March (the consultant tells me). It is frustrating, especially as it's gynae so I doubt the consultant's been redeployed, although perhaps the theatre staff have.

I would just like a bit more information really.

OP no, I wish... Believe me, NHS procurement is as much hated by NHS staff as it is by everyone else. PFI was an enormous mistake on the part of the last Labour government.

Our Trust has only just ditched SERCO and taken IT, Estates and Procurement back in house.

It all went massively tits up with Andrew Lansley's so-called reforms, though - the creation of CCGs has been an absolute nightmare.

I’ve got a horrible feeling there’s going to be a battle from some therapies etc refusing to go start to get back to normal

Could the poster who put this here please come back and explain what they mean and what made them come to that damning and offensive conclusion

Of course the NHS had to protect itself as much as possible and postpone a lot of appointments and treatments that would have gone ahead otherwise. I also agree that now numbers are dropping and shops are starting to open that genuinely urgent cases need to be prioritised first and there should be plans for how to deal with the backlog asap. A family member works in a private hospital and they have been pretty much continuing as normal with appointments.

From an entirely selfish and personal perspective I would like to see partners allowed in for antenatal appointments and scans asap. I am 16 weeks pregnant having suffered a stillbirth last year and having to attend appointments on my own and even sit in a maternity waiting room without my DH is incredibly difficult. Unfortunately telephone appointments just aren't the same. DH would wear a mask, gloves whatever was needed and wait outside until I was called in so I feel there are ways to minimise risks for staff and other patients. Those are the sorts of things I would like to see amended asap.

I’m an NHS therapist, I was back in the office last week.

Phin, my husbands private work recommences in July

My uncle has bowel cancer and stomach cancer. He was diagnosed a couple of weeks before covid came to the UK in full force and was told he had months left. All of a sudden his appointments were cancelled and he has been left to his own devices to deteriorate without any treatment. So OP, no, YANBU.

@WhatsHappeningCaroleBaskin

Poor choice of word for which I already apolagized earlier in the thread.

Hope all goes well with your MIL's operation.

Our hospital is opening 2 covid wards and all the other wards will be covid free. Thankfully I’ll be on a covid free ward. This is happening thus week and surgery will resume. I’m not sure why anyone is pissed off with the NHS though, they simple could not carry on doing routine stuff when a lethal virus was running loose.

I'm not sweepingly blaming the NHS staff for this. Whoever it is- goverment officials, hospital management- I've no idea how decisions are made. All I know is, those with serious conditions who have put on the back burner will just add to the death toll sooner or later.

Go private 🙄

@Lulooo

Sorry to hear about your uncle. Previous posters in the NHS stated that cases are being prioritized. Have you / has he spoken to the Consultant to see if he can get some priority treatment?

Even the gynae consultants will have been busy. In some places other surgeons were redeployed to help on ITU. In others junior doctors were redeployed to covid wards do the consultants had to cover their work as well. And most gynae also cover obs and women are still having babies. So unlikely they’ll have been sitting round

Furthermore a lot of private hospital staff (theatre staff, nurses etc) have been redeployed to the NHS - as has a lot of kit. There have been national agreements and contracts about this.

So what I think I’m trying to say is that I get how frustrating it is - but it had to be that way. It has been incredibly busy and hard work dealing with covid and it really is very complicated restarting things. And a lot of the ‘easy’ options suggested just aren’t available
Yes at the moment things are a little quieter as the covid reduces and we aren’t yet ready to restart. But I don’t feel guilty about that or begrudge my colleagues one bit. Once we get going with the backlog it’ll be busier and harder than pre-covid

@stairway

It is not about being pissed off with the NHS. Most people on waiting lists for surgery are already pissed off because the waiting lists are so long (for all kinds of reasons that have already been discussed).
It is about being given some realistic information about what is likely to happen going forwards.
In that respect I have learned more today from some of the posters on here than than I have from my own Health Trust or from the comedians on the daily 5 O'clock Show. For that I am grateful.

@Laniakea, you'll see from my post that statement about 'kicked down the road' related to the advice I would give to my family. My reading of @Frowningflamingo's post that followed is that someone else with some insight into the system and clinical risks sees things the same way (sorry and not intending to put words in your mouth, Frowning).

My local hospital's infection rate has decreased. I wonder if this is linked to their recently changed policy to stop testing all patients on admission, the previous policy of testing all admissions having been introduced too late. Sadly, their instructions to HCPs are to no longer wear PPE until any patients (who have not been tested) start to show symptoms of COVID. I wonder if infection rates for patients and HCPs will rise again.

Cilla that’s not the case across the board.

No, I know friends and ex-colleagues in other hospitals have not made this change. There is considerable puzzlement and disquiet.

Thanks, that was very helpful info previous posters. Obviously I understand the situation but as a teacher I can only have surgery in school holidays, so fingers crossed for July or August then.

I personally would prefer hospitals to start mammograms and smear tests. Most smears and mammograms don’t take place in hospitals.

Essential 2WW appointments continue.
Emergency surgery continues.
A&E has never closed except in Weston Super Mare.
Most independent hospitals have stopped surgery.

Also to add with regards to surgical procedures being cancelled - the UK was on the cusp of a national shortage of muscle relaxants which are required in ICU and anaesthesia. With all supplies being diverted to be used in ICU on COVID patients who have been found to have longer than usual ICU admissions, it was not appropriate to use limited supplies on elective surgeries.

This is in addition to the infection and capacity issues posters above have also raised

I'm not a dr it nurse but even I know why it would of had to of been done whilst at the start of a pandemic
Covid test result isn't instant ( yet ) and it won't show if you are still in incubation period so may be impossible to keep a hospital totally free of it
They also needed the beds to treat the patients as well as also trying to keep numbers down to help minimise the spread of infection
The is an unprecedented time

And op yabu , of course covid will take priority at the moment and the way of doing things will have to change , for protection of both staff and patients as last thing you need is to go into hospital for an op and then catch the virus
We don't know what your operation is so can't comment on your situation as to wether it's considered life saving urgent or not but my belief was they were doing this and encouraging people to use a &e for emergencies also

@young we do not have the most deaths per million across the world look on the worldometer chart and that will show you but even that isn't totally comparative as not all countries are reporting the same and there is also more to take into count

Regarding ppe do people not realise there was a worldwide shortage we were not the only country struggling
It also has expiry dates so you can't have loads just sitting around
Some hospitals had less issues than others but the nhs is dated and it's very different to what was set up , money won't fix everything within the nhs it's way more complex than that
Do you think most other countries are all business as usual in their hospitals ?? I mean really even countries with very low cases aren't running as normal , it's a pandemic something we haven't as for 100 years

Moderators - can you close this thread to new postings. It has run its course and both sides can see the issues.

YUBU's are working in the NHS generally, and battling with Covid and all the shortcomings this has highlighted in the NHS system with PPE etc

YANBU's are on waiting lists that are already long and about to get extended due to the suspension of elective surgeries and the new procedures that will have to be introduced post Covid.

Like a lot of things the new normal won't resemble the old normal.