Do ypu think first aid advice should change in UK do to lack of heathcare

[fliptopbin]

It just struck me tonight, that the advi given for accidents and emergencies is based on a halcyon time in the early 2000s when the NHS worked

However, things have changed. This evening, I injured my pinkie finger and I suspect it may be be broken as I have reduced movement and it has swollen and turned purple.
Baring in mind it is new year followed by a week long doctor strike, I followed the advice for toes, strapped my fingers together and plan to ignore it and hope for the best
It seems the worst thing likely to happen is chronic pain, and lack of motion and since I don,'t type, pain is just something that I would expect to deal with -after all, by the age of 50, constant pain is a fact of life.
Obviously, I would treat a child, but a minor fracture is sadly just something to grit your teeth through in the current climate.
Am I being Unreasonable to think that adults should only seek treatment if there is life or limb at risk. At the moment, chronic or physical or mental pain that is not immediately life threatening cannot be treated on the NHS.
I am not thinking life should be like that, but merely that we should accept reality.

How do you know it is just a fracture? Are you certain you have not chipped a bone, caused nerve damage, or done anything else that could end up requiring more invasive and expensive treatment later on. By ignoring a small injury, you might be placing a greater burden on the nhs.

im not saying you need to be in a&e in the middle of the night, but a minor injuries clinic during the day or a call to your GP on Tuesday could help
rule out a serious, time-consuming issue.

Honestly I think that's a bad plan. You could end up permanently using the use of one of your fingers. Is there not a minor injuries unit you could visit in the next couple of days to get it x-rayed.

And no, in answer to your main question, I don't think we should give up and just assume that in what is still a relatively wealthy country we should only be able to access medical care if near death's door. Broken bones are as far as I am aware still treated on the NHS

People just need to stop voting Tory.

I think whether you want to get a (in your opinion) minor injury treated should be a matter of personal preference. By no means do I agree that that should be the norm or accepted as "this is how it now is". Most people don't have the medical knowledge to judge whether a problem is minor and often neglecting something "minor" may lead to need for more extensive/expensive/long term treatment in future (think orthopaedic injuries leading to ligament damage that need surgical repair, a neglected respiratory infection turning into pneumonia, ignoring anxiety/depression which lead to a full blown mental health crisis and suicide attempt etc).

There's also this notion that the NHS is "free" and we should be grateful. It's not free, national insurance contributions are being taken from everyone monthly from their paychecks (regardless of whether they make use of the NHS or not), so I would never expect someone to just "suck it up" and deal with pain/discomfort/illness when paying for a service. What I think people should do is stop judging other people's healthcare choices ("you're wasting precious NHS time" type of comments) and be courteous to NHS staff who work under very demanding and difficult circumstances through no fault of their own!

I'm toying with 2 responses to this thread.

1. WTAF

2. "by the age of 50, constant pain is a fact of life"

Not my experience. Reduction of full movement is a big deal. I would try to prevent that.

No. Just wait a few days and get it properly checked out. As others have pointed out you might have complications that you yourself haven't spotted. Get it looked at. You might wait a long time but this is what the service is there for. You can't rely on self diagnosing. Indeed you're likely to do more damage. That can't be blamed on the current NHS system unless you've tried and been fobbed off. Unfortunately that's nothing new but it's always worth an educated opinion. Whats the alternative? A messed up finger that would cost the NHS more to fix a while down the line when you're really unhappy with how it healed.
It's a bit daft to say that constant pain after 50 is a fact of life. What pain? Where and why? You suffer that daily and accept it with zero medical help?
Or are we talking ageing when we get a bit creaky and sore? I’m sure there's still ways to improve that.

This
and tomorrow might be quiet. If A&E is your only option, try.

i'm 47 but I don't know many 50+ who see chronic pain as part of life! Have you ignored anything else that might be able to be sorted?

When I broke my toe I waited three weeks in pain before visiting a and e. The nurse told me off for not visiting sooner and told me they would have put it in a boot and that I shouldn’t have been walking on it unsupported. I now have pain in it that can’t be resolved as there was nothing more they could do by the time I visited.

I had to take a relative to A&E recently, cancer related issue sent to A&E by OOH Doctor. After 6 hour wait, packed room, no chairs, a nurse came out and said unless you are bleeding and on warfarin or think you are having a heart attack or stroke, go home, even if you have broken something. I really don't think people realise how bad it is.
We now have to travel for an hour (on a good day) before we can see paediatric emergency, eye emergency and maternity services as many services removed locally. There are no ambulances as they are taxiing back and for.
So, no, I won't go for a broken finger. Use lots of ice and strap it. If it's just your little finger, they probably won't worry to much if you lose use/feeling. Sorry if thats blunt but it's just fire fighting now.

No I don't agree. It's fine for you in this case, but what someone with LD or old and frail? If its urgent I'd only go in via a ambulance personally but I don't expect as standard people to have that attitude. I had a suspected stroke I felt fine and could have driven in easy peasy. Should I have? No. That would be a stupid choice. Could I or would I with zero choice? Yes. Right thing to do? Absolutely not.

The more shit we expect the nhs to get, the shitter it will be. Personally I'd like some reforms.

Unless you go have a chronic medical condition pain is not a fact of life for people in their 50s. In your shoes I would seek medication assistance.

It's your finger/hand. If you don't want to save it it's up to you.

Don't be ridiculous. Of course you should get a fracture seen to. And chronic pain is not normal at all for someone who is 50. Go and get your finger properly seen to.

My Dad ignored a finger injury and it ended up fusing at 90 degree angle. Although it looked rather amusing it was very inconvenient and he ended up having an operation to remove it at the knuckle. Please get it treated OP, preventative care is also a lot cheaper than dealing with the consequences.

Go to the hospital, you absolute bellend. What a ridiculous post.

This post needs to be deleted for either trolling or encouraging poor medical decisions. Dear me.

There is a difference between making a sensible, informed, short term decision about a minor injury and not getting it treated at all.

If you are not in immediate danger and you can move your finger (albeit with some pain) you probably do not need a trip to A&E on NYE, but as others have said you should get it checked at minor injuries as broken bones can heal oddly.

I sliced the base of my thumb last night with a blender blade. It bled A LOT but after cleaning it, stemming the bleeding and checking I could move my thumb, I decided it was shallow enough to be ok with a large plaster.

I will take another look today and it if is not clotting nicely I may take a trip to minor injuries to get it checked.

I think more people should have first aid skills, but the real answer is not what the OP does, it is to have good healthcare available.

So not voting Tory is the first step most of us can take.

I'm not/never have been a tory voter, and I agree they have ground the nhs into the floor - but (honest question): at this point, with the amount of intervention and money it would take to fix the nhs, do you think any of the other parties would actually resolve the issue?

In my opinion, it needs such serious intervention and so much money to fix, that I can't see any party being able to fix it - as it wouldn't be a vote winner to have a manifesto based on the level of tax that would be needed to fix such a big problem!

Happy to hear others opinions on this, am I just being cynical?

after all, by the age of 50, constant pain is a fact of life

It really shouldn't be. I'm 60 and am currently worried about some mild pain & stiffness in my wrist. I would not expect to be in pain unless there's something significantly wrong. I didn't experience any pain at 50 except from occasional acute injuries. For the record, I'm pretty unfit: I'm not someone who would be free of pain if this wasn't the norm for people of my age.

People do need to learn to independently manage their ailments, yes… to an extent. But that extent comes far before ‘life and limb’.

You’ll do yourself far more damage, and cost the NHS far more time and resources by leaving certain conditions to worsen. Prevention is better than treatment, and you can prevent the development of many conditions by early professional intervention. So overall, YABU.

Good luck with your pinkie, and chronic pain.

"Fixing" the NHS isn't an end in a itself. If nothing else changes, the cost of providing a system to manage ill-health in an aging population with unhealthy lifestyles, poor living conditions and inadequate access to social care would be effectively infinite. There needs to be a focus on improving health to prevent so many people from becoming ill. As this would require placing limits on people's freedom to harm themselves, as well as reducing pollution of air, water and living/working environments, it will never be accepted by party funders (whose wealth depends on being allowed to pollute) or by voters (who won't accept being told what they should and shouldn't do to improve their & their children's health).

This and other pp who said the same

I want to know why, at the age of 50, pain is a constant. Why?!
I'm 51 and am never in pain unless I specifically hurt/injure something

Ignoring something isn't really first aid though is it? Especially if it could lead to ongoing issues.
I thought from your title you meant change in advice on when to call an ambulance Vs personal transport to hospital.