. . . to be tired of negative threads about the NHS? Let's have a positive one

[FangsForTheMemory]

I'll start: my mum would have died five years before I was born if it hadn't been for the NHS. She contracted a rare virus and was in hospital for months, just a couple of years after the NHS was set up. Her parents would never have been able to afford the private fees.

I have a disability and got free treatment for it on the NHS. I would never have been able to afford the treatment I needed privately. My brother would have died of pneumonia at six weeks.

Anyone else?

I have an amazing GP surgery where I can mostly get a shame day appointment. I have a nurse who comes to my house once a month for bloods and treatment for a disability as an inpatient that would have cost me 500k if I was in the USA.

Along side that, yearly MRI's, a range of free daily medication and several bones fixed.

I ❤️ the NHS. Most greatful.

Thank you @Kerrangutan I am forever grateful and as you say the staff and care are beyond exceptional if you can manage to get in front of someone.

I am so so sorry about your loss from an ambulance that didn’t turn up. It’s all quite raw for me as happened quite recently and I still cry every time I even think about the thought of that having potentially happened. I cannot imagine how difficult it would be to actually go through that - both during for anyone there and after dealing with an extra layer of emotions in a time of grief. So so sorry

I really hope they can sort the access and capacity issues. It shouldn’t be a roll of the dice.

Having been repeatedly misdiagnosed and sent away, unable to talk or function, from the GP's surgery to die, then left crippled for life due to incompetence at the hospital, not to mention the non existent after'care' (and this is just MY experience. I could list those of family and friends but it would take all day), the NHS can do one and shove all the NHSophiles saddos' pots and pans up it's money wasting incompetent arsehole.
YABVVVVVU.

I have a disability for which I receive treatment every 12-14 weeks. This treatment costs about £350 per appointment and that’s without factoring in the time of the consultant who administers it. It keeps me mobile and is something I’ll need for the rest of my life. The NHS is fantastic.

Spoke to GP a month or two ago because my hands change colour and go numb when they're cold. GP sent me for a blood test. (it's Raynauds and most people find there's no cause) All but one test came back clear. Now waiting to see GP to see what the next step is.

January 2017 I had a fall and injured my head. In and out of minor injuries within half an hour.

I broke my ribs a few years ago. (there's nothing you can actually do for this) In and out (bearing in mind it was a Saturday) of A&E within an hour. Spoke to GP a few days later medication was causing problems and was given something else. Spoke to another GP 2 weeks later as I needed more medication. (it usually heals within 4-6 weeks)

My mum had abnormal bleeding about 18 months ago. She got a GP appointment and was seen by the NHS with 2 weeks. She had an op a few weeks later. Amazing treatment , it’s always easier to tell the negative that people forget there are equally as many who have had amazing experiences.

We’ve had good experiences with the NHS - low users generally so births, one o/n stay for a dc, and a few small things with GP

Involvement in a research study which meant free NIPT

I had a particularly complicated type of twin pregnancy in 2019, and I can't believe how well I was looked after throughout the whole thing. I had over 20 scans, sometimes lasting more than an hour. I joined a Facebook group for people going through the same type of pregnancy, and most members were in the USA. Hearing their stories made me so grateful to be here with the NHS. I dread to think how much my care must have cost the taxpayer(!)
I am eternally grateful that I never even had to think about paying for any of it / worrying whether insurance would cover xyz.

Mine is very simple compared to others here, but simply being able to pay the prescription charge for inhalers for my asthma is why I love the NHS. If it gets privatised I seriously doubt I’d be able to afford them so I am very thankful for the NHS.

Me too. We had TTTS and it was 12 years ago, I had placental ablation at Kings In London and it was a very new thing. Without it they would have died.

Then I had a placental abruption at 32 weeks - we all nearly died.

They had 8 weeks in NICU / SCBU. Would have cost about 170k based on 1500 / day.

I have had private healthcare for many years, it's great for GP appointments, not that I have many and my daughter had an MRI within a week when the NHS wait was over a year.

When it comes to emergency care the NHS has always stepped up.

Never needed the NHS much until last year when I was diagnosed with breast cancer. My treatment has been brilliant, I have been given the number of a breast care nurse who will answer any questions and sort out/coordinate appointments etc. All the staff I have encountered are caring and compassionate. One elderly gentleman in the chemo unit summed it up with his comment "it's almost a pleasure to be here"

My 85 year old dad went in to have a proper ECG done as the ones from his Apple Watch were showing a few anomalies (he's an ex doctor albeit radiologist so he knew to raise it as an issue). I got a call saying I needed to come to the hospital to pick up his car and go to his home to get his pyjamas and a toothbrush as he was getting a pacemaker fitted that afternoon

Ds, in October 20 (height of Covid), rang us at 8.40am from Aberdeen (up there at Uni) saying he had a sore stomach. Long story short, he eventually rang the GP, got a telephone appt, then got seen quickly in person and by 5pm was at Foresterhill and by midnight was having his appendix removed!

A close friend is currently being treated for bowel cancer and was referred and treated really quickly after seeing his GP. Our neighbour's sister is also being treated for bowel cancer having been diagnosed really quickly (she's younger, so it's more unusual). In both cases, chemo has gone well.

I went to Minor Injuries on Tuesday. Ok, I had to wait 3.5 hours but it really was a minor injury and it had taken me 5 weeks to go as it wasn't getting better . (Knew it needed an X-ray which was why I didn't try the GP - plus I'd checked beforehand with my neighbour who is a GP). Turned out it wasn't just the torn ligament (mallet finger) I thought it was, but was a significant break too. I have a splint for it (6-8 weeks ) and an appointment at the fracture clinic to see the orthopaedic surgeon next week.

Look, we are all glad the NHS is there and free at the point of service but lets not pretend that it wasn't in a terrible state prior to the lockdown and is utterly on its knees now. People suffer terribly on long waiting lists, and there's no doubt that people who would have lived are dying because of the waiting lists. The NHS also has an absolutely terrible culture of becoming defensive and denying at complaints when things go wrong which causes appalling distress to people who have already suffered and also means the NHS does not learn from those mistakes.

I am glad there is an NHS but it needs a serious looking at on multiple levels, so I can't join the love-in. Sorry.

I have two really positive A&E stories from recently (this year) which are practically unheard of at the moment so I'll share 😊

Firstly, my young son had RSV. I took him into A&E on the advice of the community nurse who'd seen him. At that time his oxygen levels were just on the border of needing admitting so they thought better safe than sorry.

Anyway, after waiting in the waiting room for about 20 mins, he took a turn, lots of sucking in, rising rash, boiling hot. I didn't know what to do so grabbed a nurse walking passed and just said 'please help me, something is very wrong'. She took me seriously, helped me immediately, took me straight round to a waiting bay, the doctor was with us within minutes and he was given an Oxygen mask (levels in the low 80s by this point). We were admitted for a number of days and everyone was lovely. From entering A&E to him receiving oxygen was about 25-30 mins.

Next time a few months later was me... I went in with cellulitis. By the time I got to the hospital the area was extremely swollen and I was feeling sick and dizzy, like I was drunk is the only way I can describe it. Was told the wait was at least 4 hours. I ended up being triaged within 20 mins and they took one look at me and sent me straight through to a bay and I was hooked up to IV antibiotics within half an hour. Again, was admitted and everyone lovely.

Perhaps just been very lucky but there you go 😊

I also gave birth during Covid and it was a really positive experience too.

Walking past* 🤦‍♀️

Thank you for this thread OP. I work for the ambulance service taking calls for 999 and 111 and get abuse daily. We are under so much pressure but we're doing out best

I was under St Mary's in Manchester for my pregnancy. They were utterly fantastic at every point. Due to some complications I had to be seen quite a lot at their fetal medicine unit and regular midwife check ups, this was during the height of Covid too. I'm sure they are experiencing staffing, funding and all the other issues going on right now, but I never felt it transferred over to my level of care.

They aren't my local hospital but I had to go there due to the complications I had. If I ever had another child I'd ask to go there again if possible 100%.

My son's been to hospital twice in an ambulance (he's only 18 months), the paramedics were just so lovely with him both times, the first time the guy pulled out a pack of individual bubbles that he kept for the kids they picked up to play with on the way and then keep (during Covid so no cross contamination issues!), distracting him by letting him look at their equipment and so on... They really, really helped calm him down and keep him distracted on the way and me too. They were really great.

Thank you for what you do 😊

Mother in law has just had all clear for bowel cancer. She was provided with taxis every time she had to go for chemo which was an hour away as she is a nervous driver (couldn't drive due to bowel issues for a long time and no family close to take her , rural area so no public transport ) It's little things like this that I think we should be so grateful for. Possible some would argue that isn't a good use of nhs funds but I think it's pretty amazing to get transported there and back free to her.

Ds life has been saved many times. We have had issues of course but the postive by far outweigh the negative.

just before Christmas my mum fell down the stairs, unconscious and with a broken ankle. Ambulance arrived quickly and was amazing a completely unrealated but potentially life threatening issue was found during the examination in A and E. she underwent major surgery a few weeks later and 6 months down the line is back to her normal fit self. 3 different hospitals, two 999 calls and many many staff members saved her life on that occasion.

@Twinklestar1 - you and your colleagues are absolute angels! I've had to call ambulances a few times, and the call handlers have been brilliant - staying on the call with me and being so reassuring and helpful.

I'm a nurse. I work with the most hardworking and dedicated teams. Who go above and beyond for our patients. I have MS and have had really expensive drug treatments, that have kept me working full time and living a normal life.

A friend of mine had a brain tumour and was operated on and a plan of care in place within days.

I work in a very deprived area. The care I can provide is worse than I would like (I'm a GP) due to resources issues but none of my patients would be able to afford private care at all.

It’s awful that people abuse emergency staff. A few years ago my child had to go to A&E and there were no ambulances, the person on the phone was amazing and we had a paramedic come out to us.

The NHS shouldn’t be in the state it is, but deliberate and disgusting under funding has caused it. It’s shameful to do this to what is an essential service.