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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Help navigating our broken NHS?

14 replies

verdantverdure · 10/12/2023 05:56

Advice navigating our broken NHS please.

My niece has had a violent cough for a month, had been off sick for a week with fever, fatigue and cold symptoms, has become wheezy and even the smallest exertion such as going to the loo or answering the door makes her worryingly breathless. She sleeps pretty much round the clock and isn't really eating very often.

Tuesday: She rang her GP for an appointment several times but never got through, partly possibly because she finds it hard to stay awake.

Wednesday: She rang her GP for an appointment several times but when she got through they didn't have any appointments so she was advised to do an E consult.

She did an E Consult but the surgery closed during the time she was filling it in so she wasn't able to send it once completed.

Thursday: She did the E Consult again once the system reopened at 8am and sent it but heard nothing from the surgery

Friday: A doctor rang and said they had no appointments and based on her E Consult she should go to Urgent Care.

After an 15 mile taxi ride Urgent Care said they were only seeing people booked in by 111 or their GPs and she should go to A&E or try 111 for an out of hours GP.

So she sat on the floor outside in the cold on hold with 111 for an hour while filling in the online form and taking pictures of her throat then called another taxi for the 15 mile journey home.

Saturday: A doctor called her to triage at 1am. Another doctor called at 4am. She didn't meet the threshold for antibiotics based off her information so far, so they said they would need to see her, but most probably they'd just advise rest and liquids and paracetamol so it was up to her if she wanted to make the journey.

Since they didn't seem to think there was much point in going in she was guided by that and their parting advice was to go to A&E if her breathing got much worse or else try her GP again on Monday and to order an oximeter from Amazon.

Is there really no help for a young person who can't breathe very well, is too weak to have a shower or put a wash on, and can't remember when she ate last?

What do people do who can't afford the taxis to urgent care?

How do older people manage to navigate this piecemeal system of sorry we can't help you?

Is there any way to get her help or is it just tough it out at home and hope you don't die?

OP posts:
contactus · 10/12/2023 06:00

can your sibling not assist their child with transport at least?

Original poster
verdantverdure · 10/12/2023 06:08

contactus · 10/12/2023 06:00

can your sibling not assist their child with transport at least?

We're going there in a minute as we are geographically closest at two hours away.

Her dad is out of the country for work and her mum has an eye condition that means she's not allowed to drive. (And she works, has other kids, and lives 7 hours away on public transport,)

OP posts:
SparklingSparkle · 10/12/2023 06:24

GP’s are really private now not part of the NHS. The service is appalling.

I would pay and go and see someone. Or lie and say you’ve coughed up blood so they will see you.
A relative of mine is in hospital now with liver failure - she had 4 online/phone consultations with her GP over a six month period about her worsening symptoms. They did nothing until finally she demanded to be seen and when they did they took one look at her and called an ambulance.
GP’s are appalling.

contactus · 10/12/2023 06:28

so i’ve reread

tuesday - your niece fell asleep whilst on the phone . no blame on nhs

wednesday e consult but your niece decided to wait until closing time to do it, so wasn’t able to submit. no blame on nhs

thursday your niece submitted. no blame on nhs.

Friday - 24 hours later a doctor contacted her. no blame on nhs

a d a doctor called her to triage at 1, and another at 4. what happened between 1-4?

Firefly2009 · 10/12/2023 06:29

The NHS is really f*ed and that's my experience working in it and as a patient. I am very unwell at the moment and have to wait until next summer for a hospital appointment (waiting to see 4 specialists). In the meantime, I've had to resign from my job in the NHS because I'm too sick to work....

Anyway...here's what I'd advise in future..

If she can't get an appointment at the GP on the day, for a serious medical concern (which this is), then go online to 111 instead. Once you tell them that you can't follow the advice of seeing a GP because they can't see you, they will likely book you an appointment at A&E. And yes, a taxi will likely be necessary - but having said that, they do sometimes send an ambulance. I live alone and couldn't go to A&E for a severe migraine, so a paramedic came and gave me morphine.

So: 111 online. Call them back after 2 hours if you don't get a call; say you feel worse. It all gets documented so you can't be fobbed off - there is literally an audit trail.

If there is no one nearby she will have to get taxis in order to get treated. So you could send her the money.

DuckDuckGoose23 · 10/12/2023 06:33

If she can afford it then I’d probably just book a private GP appointment (not that she should have to, but her symptoms sound distressing and concerning so I’d probably accept it in order to be seen quickly).

biter · 10/12/2023 06:37

Hi agree with PP re 111 if she has breathing difficulties then likely they will book her into A&E.

It's frankly a shit show. GPs should be seeing people and stopping what may have been a simple chest infection from escalating.

I'm lucky that my brilliantly run GP surgery means I can always get seen, but my own GP (when I praised how great the surgery was on a recent visit) commented that she wished her own surgery was as good as the one she worked in. Madness.

If my GP surgery can manage to offer an accessible phone line, triage appointments for urgent needs same day, and face to face appointments in the same week, why can't the others? Yes it's a big practice, but it has a huge catchment area and a lot of patients and it manages to look after us extremely well and efficiently.

It says to me that a lot of practices are badly run and need a kick up the arse.

rwalker · 10/12/2023 06:43

after the first contact with GP I would of just rung 111 in the first place
thb had nothing but excellent service off them

Itstime2023 · 10/12/2023 13:03

SparklingSparkle · 10/12/2023 06:24

GP’s are really private now not part of the NHS. The service is appalling.

I would pay and go and see someone. Or lie and say you’ve coughed up blood so they will see you.
A relative of mine is in hospital now with liver failure - she had 4 online/phone consultations with her GP over a six month period about her worsening symptoms. They did nothing until finally she demanded to be seen and when they did they took one look at her and called an ambulance.
GP’s are appalling.

GP's being private is not a new thing. Have been private organisations for many years. Only just recently have some GP surgeries started going back to NHS contracts.

The problem is, nobody wants to train to be GPs anymore because the public treat them so disgusting, why would they want do a thankless abusive job? Until public perspectives change (which they won't), there will not be a suitable amount of GP for the demand required from them.

Itstime2023 · 10/12/2023 13:06

biter · 10/12/2023 06:37

Hi agree with PP re 111 if she has breathing difficulties then likely they will book her into A&E.

It's frankly a shit show. GPs should be seeing people and stopping what may have been a simple chest infection from escalating.

I'm lucky that my brilliantly run GP surgery means I can always get seen, but my own GP (when I praised how great the surgery was on a recent visit) commented that she wished her own surgery was as good as the one she worked in. Madness.

If my GP surgery can manage to offer an accessible phone line, triage appointments for urgent needs same day, and face to face appointments in the same week, why can't the others? Yes it's a big practice, but it has a huge catchment area and a lot of patients and it manages to look after us extremely well and efficiently.

It says to me that a lot of practices are badly run and need a kick up the arse.

And what happens when there are no appointments left?

Can't just Keep seeing patients. Burnout will happen and then care will decline.

There is not enough hours in the day for the amount of people that need to be seen.

ArsetoChristmas · 10/12/2023 13:07

This sounds like a niece issue not an NHS one as a pp said, is she a young adult moved out for the first time? It's Sunday so 111 is her only option and she really needs to stay on the phone with them and tell them exactly what's wrong. If the wheeze is that bad they'll be able to hear it over the phone.

Hope she gets well soon and sees someone today.

2dogsandabudgie · 10/12/2023 13:13

The problem is OP if it's viral then antibiotics won't work anyway. Did she try a pharmacist when the cough didn't go away, they would have been able to suggest something.

I'm sure I've read that there is a really nasty long lasting cough going around at the moment

Original poster
verdantverdure · 10/12/2023 21:46

Thanks everyone.

We took one look at her and took her to A&E.

They have kept her in.

OP posts:
contactus · 11/12/2023 08:24

which is what they advised parting advice was to go to A&E if her breathing got much worse

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