Waited in hospital since 10pm to see out of hours gp. It's now 2am. Do I give up and go home?

[GrrrlPwr]

There's 5 people ahead of me in the queue. Receptionist has no idea how long they will all take.

Do I go home and plead my GP for an appointment tomorrow?

Feel so stupid to have waited so long and to go home. But I ache so much. I need to go to bed

Tonsillitis can quickly turn into quensey which is life threatening.
My DD had this at 29. It was growing as you looked at it.
The Doctor in A&E slit it without anesthetic as she was struggling to breathe.

There's public and private healthcare insurance from what I remember, public is 14.6% of an employees gross salary, half paid by the employer. Everyone must have some form of health insurance by law. It seems to work very well. If on unemployment benefits you pay nothing

I'd love to know how the private insurance works. I hate the idea of the US system, where your cover can run out before your treatment has ended, and people have to pay massive "co-pays". And where people are trapped in jobs because their insurance is part of their employment package, and they've developed a condition that won't be covered if they have to switch to a new provider.

Medical bills were the biggest single cause of bankruptcy in the US, and may still be.

Do OAPs have to pay for private health insurance in Germany, too, OP?

That would be the bit that would worry me. I'm past retirement age, but still working. When I give up work, my income will be just above the level at which I would qualify for means-tested benefits. There's no way I could afford to pay for private health insurance, and probably wouldn't qualify for state help.

Having paid tax and NI for nearly 50 years, I'd be a bit resistant to having to fork out for health insurance now, when I'm most likely to need expensive treatment.

[quote girlmom21]@user1497207191 but they can also do 3 phone appointments in the time it'd take to do one face to face appointment. It means once you go for the face to face they already know exactly what you're there for so that saves time too.

It also prevents the issue of everyone running late or the people sitting in the surgery all day who pounce on doctors without appointments, and means doctors don't have to waste time on people who don't actually need to see a doctor [/quote]
And that's why I prefer it. I can sit in the comfort of my own home, getting on with my work, and just speak to the doc when they ring.

I don't need to pay £2.60 to park for 20 minutes near my house, either, or sit in the waiting room panicking that my appointment will take me over the time I've paid for.

The French system is very good. It sounds similar to the German system. Everyone pays a level of insurance based on their income, you pay up front for consultation and then claim back a chunk of it. You can choose your own GP, you can usually get your scan/Xray/blood test at the same consultation, often in the same building. You can self refer for things like physio. The physiotherapist can usually arrange Xrays and scans. Women's health clinics are run by specialist nurses who can prescribe, arrange scans, blood tests etc. It sounds pretty comprehensive.
Personally I would prefer that system than tax and NI for a poor service.

@SarahJeffers341

I would not wait in hospital with tonsilitis… I am sure it’s horrible but not an emergency. If you have a GP you can fill out an online form and they should call you back.

There speaks someone who has never had severe tonsillitis. I was hallucinating and wanted to die. It began affecting my breathing.

@endofagain

The French system is very good. It sounds similar to the German system. Everyone pays a level of insurance based on their income, you pay up front for consultation and then claim back a chunk of it. You can choose your own GP, you can usually get your scan/Xray/blood test at the same consultation, often in the same building. You can self refer for things like physio. The physiotherapist can usually arrange Xrays and scans. Women's health clinics are run by specialist nurses who can prescribe, arrange scans, blood tests etc. It sounds pretty comprehensive. Personally I would prefer that system than tax and NI for a poor service.

Me too.

Basically these other systems that sound so much better are also better funded. That's probably why they are better. Are we willing to pay more tax?

Source: UK Office for National Statistics: www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/healthcaresystem/articles/howdoesukhealthcarespendingcomparewithothercountries/2019-08-29

@CuteAndFluff

So glad I live in a different place to the UK. System is fucked. Where I live you can go online and choose an appointment to see any available gp as far as you choose to travel, usually that day, often zero cost. We have out of hours gp service that will come to you so you wait at home. Again usually no cost.

UK system is screwed

Yup. The Brit obsession with the NHS would be amusing, if it wasn’t so sad.

My husband needed medical treatment yesterday. Went to a local medical centre and was seen within 15 minutes. Consultation and treatment (pain relief injection) was €30. He was prescribed medication which was €8.

I would not wait in hospital with tonsilitis… I am sure it’s horrible but not an emergency. If you have a GP you can fill out an online form and they should call you back.

ha!!! You're fucking joking right ? Quincy ? Sepsis? Sounds like an emergency to me.

I wish people would stop saying that tonsillitis isn’t serious. It really can be serious, and that’s the sort of advice that could kill people.
Let a GP assess whether it’s serious or not.

Basically these other systems that sound so much better are also better funded. That's probably why they are better. Are we willing to pay more tax?

I already pay 40% tax, then close to £200 a month on top of that for private health insurance for the whole family as the NHS isn’t fit for purpose, so yes I’d pay more tax for a service that works.

@SarahJeffers341

I would not wait in hospital with tonsilitis… I am sure it’s horrible but not an emergency. If you have a GP you can fill out an online form and they should call you back.

They were there for the out of hours GP service, not in A&E.

Not all GP surgeries offer the online form service nor online appointment booking. That's the problem - why do some GPs offer them and others don't when they're all working for (and being paid by) the NHS?

Hope you’re feeling a bit better today

The only thing I can say is that if you’re being pushed down the queue then you won’t be as poorly as those before you. Small comfort I know…

It’s so hard in healthcare at the moment.

The German system works better in a lot of ways (e.g. the fact you can self-refer to a specialist for many things rather than everything having to through a GP). However, they are seeing similar issues to here with increased waiting times for ambulances, A&Es and doctors’ appointments. Not on the same level as in the UK, but the pressures are there. I don’t really know what the answer is tbh.

If you had used Livi doctors online, you would have got a video appointment in a few hours and they arrange a prescription to collect at your nearest chemist. They are linked in to the NHS and get have sight of your medical records if needs be and they can refer you on to hospital. It costs £27 . The NHS Primary Care is completely breaking down in my area. My practise has closed down as the doctors want out. I have been with that practice for 19 years.

The NHS is being privatised and the residual service will be for people who are dirt poor. This started in 1992 with the introduction of the purchaser/provider internal market and then under Blair with the PFI in the NHS and the general expansion of using private companies to fullfil contracts. We are watching the residualisation happening now.

I am skint having lost my events work under Covid, but I do now have to pay for a doctor after 18 months of GP asthma clinics being held on the phone (not video call - just phone) my health is fucked.

I agree that the private online docs are very useful. Though staffed by people probably trained by NHS ....

Yes, quinsy or sepsis are bloody serious and an emergency but with normal tonsillitis it's bloody painful you go to bed, have lots of drinks and take painkillers. I've had it several times and went to the GP and don't think I've ever been prescribed anti-biotics for it. It's often caused by a virus and antibiotics won't help anyway. A pharmacy would be more helpful.

@ElftonWednesday

Yes, quinsy or sepsis are bloody serious and an emergency but with normal tonsillitis it's bloody painful you go to bed, have lots of drinks and take painkillers. I've had it several times and went to the GP and don't think I've ever been prescribed anti-biotics for it. It's often caused by a virus and antibiotics won't help anyway. A pharmacy would be more helpful.

Only a medical professional can tell you whether your particular case of tonsillitis is bacterial or viral, and if you need antibiotics or not. Which is why the OP went to the out of hours GP.

You don't need to go to a GP to find out though for every case of tonsillitis. You look after yourself at home first as described and if it isn't getting any better after a few days or gets significantly worse then you seek medical attention.

www.nhs.uk/conditions/tonsillitis/

Most cold and flu type viruses and symptoms do not need medical attention, they need a well-stocked medicine cabinet or a pharmacy, drinks, rest and eating well. You don't need to go to the GP first for them to tick the box that you are indeed ill.

We don’t know how long the OP has had symptoms for though, do we?

I have always had antibiotics prescribed for tonsillitis by the way, as it has always been bacterial.

They wouldn’t give the antibiotic straight away anyway. You would need to come back the next morning to pick it up in pharmacy.
I had a similar situation some years ago with extremely painful urine infection.
It was so painful that my DH drove me to my nearest hospital about 11pm , I couldn’t even walk!
We were only 4! People in the waiting room, the DR came at 4am - he wouldn’t even see me, nurse came out with prescription and said that I have to come back when pharmacy opens at 9am!
This was in 2008 so pre Covid and in large North London hospital.

A lot of hospitals have a 24 hour pharmacy.

Yep - I have received antibiotics from the OOO doctors in my local hospital.