How many people have been failed by the NHS during lockdown?

[Polnm]

My DH has cancer.

His appointment in April was by phone
His appointment in August was postponed until October

How is this acceptable? Hospitals are empty whilst patients can’t access care.

GP appointments by zoom with a 2 week wait for a basic blood pressure check in person or to take bloods

Why isn’t there more publicity and outrage about this?

We can’t be the only family going through this surely?

There are worse out there than me but my experience isn't good either. I was diagnosed with heart failure at the end of may after being admitted to a&e with a suspected blood clot on my lung. I was discharged and told I would be contacted by the heart team and then a consultation in 3 months, no letters arrived so I rang the hospital 3 weeks ago as I'd been feeling awful and really breathless, id phoned my own gp several times but he said I had to wait to be contacted . They had no record of me waiting to be seen. The next day the consultant rang me,extremely annoyed that I hadnt been seen by the heart team,my meditation was upped immediately and a nurse came 2 days later. I think i would still be waiting if i hadn't called them. There is a serious lack of cimmunication which is very worrying.

@Atozandback

There are worse out there than me but my experience isn't good either. I was diagnosed with heart failure at the end of may after being admitted to a&e with a suspected blood clot on my lung. I was discharged and told I would be contacted by the heart team and then a consultation in 3 months, no letters arrived so I rang the hospital 3 weeks ago as I'd been feeling awful and really breathless, id phoned my own gp several times but he said I had to wait to be contacted . They had no record of me waiting to be seen. The next day the consultant rang me,extremely annoyed that I hadnt been seen by the heart team,my meditation was upped immediately and a nurse came 2 days later. I think i would still be waiting if i hadn't called them. There is a serious lack of cimmunication which is very worrying.

I hope that it goes well

It is so wrong that people have to push and chase because some of the most vulnerable can’t do that

After my previous post my bil died. He went from 16 stone to 8 in 8 weeks. Not once did he see a gp.
My DS had to fight and i mean fight for every single little ounce of 'support' (medical or otherwise) and i use the word support loosely there.

From diagnosis to his dying was 8 weeks.
None of us were under any illusion that his life would be prolonged by years after a diagnosis of stomach cancer but they basically wrote him off as soon as they told him. Why waste resources eh?

It isn't so much his dying (which hurts us all so much), more the manner in which he was made to do so.
It has compounded the grief we feel and nothing can ever erase, for my DS and her DC, the watching as her DH died in front of their very eyes, little by little, day by painful day and no one reached out to ease that burden or share that load.

In memory of my BIL and all those who have also died. You will not be forgotten ❤

Not NHS as I live in Europe but similar situation... had an appointment the day after lockdown started that I could have gone to but didn't because of lack of information. Spent all morning calling but the secretary was stuck in a traffic jam at the border. Saw my GP for a routine appt two days later - hospital deserted, really strange, but all went fine. Then everything shut down. Open only for A&E and Covid patients. I'm a chronic pain patient and rely on lots of services to help me manage. It was not knowing that was the worst thing - shutdown was government ordered and hospitals knew nothing. Plus everyone here pays a lot for health insurance and we were getting nothing! BUT the difference was, everything was opening up after 6 weeks and pretty much normal by the 3 month mark. For complicated reasons I missed one type of treatment for more than 3 months and haven't recovered yet from the gap.

However my gynae check up that was cancelled in late March took place in June, I was referred for my first (routine) mammogram and ultrasound and had that in July.

So it's not just the NHS but they seem the slowest to get back to any kind of normal compared to countries with better funded healthcare.

So sorry to hear these stories, especially from those those suffering life-threatening/limiting consequences