To think you don't quite realise how badly the NHS is suffering until you witness it first hand

[DaisyCat33]

My parents are sitting in A&E today. They've just hit 12 hours. My dad was sent there by his GP for severe neck pain this morning. He's had morphine and an MRI scan, but they're now endlessly waiting to see a Dr about results. He hasn't even got a bed to lay on, despite debilitating neck pain. Many people are standing or sitting on the floor.

The couple sitting next to them have been there since 3am, for difficultly breathing.

I'm shocked. Honestly I knew the NHS had it's issues, but this bad?! It's frightening. I also had an email the other day saying my NHS dentist is closing, and it's basically a "well sorry no dentist for you any more, bye bye"

I don't really know the point of this thread really, I just feel shocked and upset that this is how it is. And I think a lot of people don't even realise? My parents definitely didn't until today. They are losing the will to live sat in that hospital.

Does anyone else just feel utterly helpless and anxious about this?

Not me personally but my mum recently had a heart attack and was actually impressed with the care she received

Blackburn Royal

Yes and exactly why I try to avoid using it at all costs - although doesn't help when I or my son needs it!

I can't remember the last time I needed a doctors appointment for myself.

I rang 111 for DS4 mid December, I got a call back 12 hours later saying 'we haven't forgotten about you you're still in a queue', I honestly thought we'd been lost in the system as I was told they'd phone back in 2 hours! I said take him off the list I'll ring my doctors in the morning... rang them and just couldn't get through on the phone, I then went to an out of hours surgery where they were at max capacity! Thankfully he started to get better but I really was at a loss of what to do?!

There are fewer GPs and more patients. Over their time in office the Tories have reduced the number of GP being trained every year.

The government has decimated the NHS. There are so many dedicated, hard working, amazing people who can’t cope anymore and leave. Then backfilled by agency at astronomical costs for half the skill and experience.
Fuck them for ruining our greatest asset. More funding and realistic targets set by people who know what they’re doing would help!

Our experiences have been fast, touch wood don’t want to jinx it

But same day appointments, on time CT scan and results

I hope your dad is soon much better OP.

Real terms spending increases on the NHS by the Tories since 2010 has been less than half that under the previous Labour government.

If the Tories get in again we will have another 4 years of this and the NHS will be gone.

Why do we accept this?

It’s pretty bad, my daughter was diagnosed with a brain tumour, it took 8 months to see a neuro surgeon, fortunately it’s benign. She even cancelled a holiday because all we could do was google and it stated not to fly, the surgeon told her it’s fine 🤦‍♀️, it’s been a nightmare. Two of the neuro surgeons had retired at the hospital she’s under, hence the lengthy wait. I don’t know what the answer is but something has to be done, according to a consultant we saw he apologised profusely for the delay and that the NHS isn’t just breaking it’s broken 😞, not good to hear.

I'm glad to hear there are positive experiences. Of course not everything is bad - my GP surgery is fantastic.

But so much is bad. I have an opthalmology appointment next week I've waited 19 months for. It's not urgent luckily so I've been ok to wait, but it's an insane length of time. I also had to have private surgery last year due to the wait time being 56 weeks on NHS.

I’m a GP. I find the blame game from some here really depressing. I’m just in from a duty day and have consulted with 40-50 patients today, some very complex, many cried (for many reasons), some very angry they waited until 7pm for their on the day consultation for their sore throat. I’m just home and giving cough medicine and paracetamol to my oldest who was packed into school this morning because I had to go to work. I haven’t eaten some a biscuit at about 10.40am.

Most of us We work hard, we try to protect A&E.

Media coverage and public opinion has driven our junior doctors away from GP (and mental health, and emergency medicine). There is a supply and demand crisis.

But yes… A&E is a disaster- no matter how hard people work it’s just not enough. It’s wholly depressing.

Please complain with your votes.

Government not paying decent salaries. Not providing enough jobs (doctors currently worried about being unemployed due to lack of knowledge of jobs), less qualified staff being employed more and more (so less able to diagnose and treat on own). It's no wonder the poor staff are leaving.
There ARE enough doctors (6,600 were turned down for GP training last year - even though we need them). It all seems very deliberate to get people to pay.

And it's got worse and worse over the last 14 years. Wonder why that could be...

Thank you for doing the job you do. I absolutely do not blame GPs or any healthcare workers for the state of the NHS. You are all pushed to the breaking point.

I will complain with my vote, and I sincerely hope it will make a difference.

Yes nhs is underfunded . Lots of private USA Healthcare companies trying to persuade government to let them take over at massive profit. Perhaps if the government lets nhs become really shit then the public will allow privatization.....

Please don't go to a and e unless it's and accident or emergency and do your bit to take the pressure off if you are healthy and well

We can spend more on it but it’s from us the taxpayer

It scares the absolute hell out of me. As does the state of education now.
Who the heck voted these upper-class muppets in?!!

Over 24 hrs with my mum and sent home with a virtual ward, sounds great except for the fact that she was unable to do it so someone had to be there looking after her when really she needed to be in hospital. Oh and now it was recently published to keep you for 24hrs in a general bed cost £536 but to send you home with a virtual ward it costs £1077, so not even cost effective

It’s not rocket science too many extra people not enough extra nurses and doctors equals more people per doctor. Just in my town I asked the GP and he said that they have had such large numbers of new arrivals in last 2 years that they are struggling to even offer basic emergency appointments and one incident of a child dying from an asthma attack because they just couldn’t see her which was in the news at the time and telling them to go to A and E. which also is too overburdened. NHS will slowly shrivel away as at the end of the day there just aren’t enough healthcare workers to sustain it especially since the population is expected to increase by another 10% by 2036 as was in bbc the other day. Eventually critical mass will be reached and we will have a system like America. Unfortunately most new arrivals are put into local hotels with no way to contribute as asylum system is overburdened so essentially eventually you will just run out of money as the working population percentage gets smaller.

We are all being fed this line that there are too many people and not enough money.

The Tories have wasted nearly £100 billion of tax payers money in the last four years on failed projects like £140 million wasted on the Rwanda fiasco and useless PPE and contracts for mates like Michelle Mone.

There's always enough money for the right people and never for the ordinary person in the street. How bad does it have to get before people realise this?

Totally agree. If I hear another idiot politician going on about stopping the boats whilst the elderly and sick can’t get treated in A&E, thousands of people can’t get routine medication, kids can’t get a decent education unless you pay 3k a term for it and nurses are attending food banks I will chuck something at the TV. I don’t give a shit about the boats compared to all this (and yes I know that unrestrained immigration won’t help but it’s a drop in the ocean).

My dh had a mini stroke last week. We live abroad. The care and follow he received was exemplary. No queuing - seen practically immediately. All tests quickly done. His only complaint was the food was a bit shit during his brief stay. When we've talked about moving back to UK - current NHS care is a big thing that puts us off. I know the model here is different though and hospitalisation insurance is normally part of employment package or otherwise has to be paid for - so that's not good either. I am not sure what the answer is in the long term. NHS needs a structural overhaul.

There are enough staff though. Doctors begging for training places. Desperate to have a training position after foundation years. Ratios are 11:1 in some specialities - because government won't let hospitals offer more jobs. They are planning on getting more PAs (who cost more than a doctor) as they can't leave and work abroad (as they don't have the training for other healthcare services).
All this rubbish about medical school places. No point training more unless you intend to actually employ them.

Better that than taxpayers money being wasted on failed Tory projects and corruption.

The point of tax is to pay for the services that society needs.

Healthcare is probably the most important service - we just don't realise it until we're the one sitting in a corridor.

And the doctors strikes have now cost double what it would have cost to settle. Wonder why.

A&E were excellent when my dh was unwell. Straight to Resus once he was admitted via ambulance. No problems even though A&E looked like a war zone

These accounts are terrible

Its shocking, lack of funds, bad management, ridiculous projects, Brexit

we need to very quickly change the system we are not a poor country we absolutely should have a better health system