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?

https://twitter.com/DaysofNHS/status/1670869585858265116

I hope this is a satire account. Or is it?

I finished my training in the mid 90s. Friends who went into GP training were paid almost double what we were getting as hospital SHOs. And they didn’t have to do any out of hours work. I couldn’t quite believe it!

Would you consider someone going to A&E with a stiff neck and subsequently being diagnosed with meningitis a time waster ? Because a stiff neck or shoulder can be a symptom of serious underlying conditions - lung cancer being among them. My late uncle was visiting his GP for months with a stiff and painful shoulder and was fobbed off with painkillers and anti-inflammatories as it was diagnosed as a trapped nerve. He was referred to a physiotherapist and on the first visit was told to go straight to A&E - the physio rang ahead to tell them to expect him. Didn’t take them long to diagnose advanced lung cancer. The physio had detected lumps under the skin on his neck which the GP had missed. Had he visited A&E earlier things may have been different, but as it was, he died a few weeks later.

I also went to minor injuries with a potentially fractured foot and was home in around 2 hours. Unfortunately they didn't have a clue what they were doing - x-rayed my ankle instead of my foot, asked me if I thought I needed a boot and referred me to the 'virtual fracture clinic' instead of actually seeing me who told me I had fractured 3 metatarsals. I hadn't. I had fractured my navicular, cuboid and heelbone and had tendon and ligament damage.

"But seriously, get some perspective."

Why the aggression? I didn't complain about the waiting lists here. I just noted that there can be a wait.

I have never felt like represented by the BMA. Both as an individual and as a collective.

I think the lack of knowledge regarding the urgent care services the NHS actually offer is a big issue. A&E is for emergencies. Minor Injury units and walk in centres are for minor ailments and illnesses. MIUs usually have fracture clinics now. These facilities are not properly utilised by the public who often see A&E as the first port of call when unable to see a GP.

Thank you. Though Prague isn't in Austria.

THIS!!!! the greedy/ rich have been taking for years!!! The UK is literally falling apart, from pot holes, to the NHS, children living in poverty, to schools, to the property crisis to even the union itself!!!

We need to rebel and stand up, we can't take anymore. 6th richest country in the world! where is it?????

Are we really still asking why it's like this? We all know why... Systematic underfunding and mismanagement by the current government.

They were sent by a GP. Would that have been your first port of call?

Our minor injuries isn't great so I can see why people would avoid it.

There is absolutely no privacy and when I went with an issue I didn't really want the world knowing about the receptionist rolled her eyes as I had everything in notes in my phone. I was then sent to A&E who weren't happy and asked me what I was doing there! There's no joined up thinking between our A&E and minor injuries.

Some of the staff also leave a lot to be desired. I took DH a few years ago and the receptionist was rude, asked me what I expected her to do when they didn't have the blood thinning injection he needed and laughed and called us timewasters when I said we'd go to A&E. Needless to say I complained and got a wishy washy apology.

I think you will find that France, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium etc all have far superior healthcare systems to the UK. They differ from country to country but they tend have co-pays, a mixture of public and private rather than being 100% free. Our obsession with the NHS is holding us back. Yes, the US system is shit which is why I don’t want it - even though I personally would have a much better standard of care under it.

What do you mean by after care?

After my two, as part of the post-birth checks, the midwife and then the HV had a quick look to make sure it was healing okay and there was no infection. Did you not have that?

Or do you mean in hospital? They made sure I was up and walking around as soon as possible (helps recovery to be up and about), checked I had been able to go to the toilet, etc

I hate to say it but if the British Government would pay their medical staff what their medical staff is really worth (and by the sounds of it they are worth their weight in gold), then a lot of this would get sorted. How many pay rises have the politicians given themselves in the past 11 years (I genuinely don't know) vs how many pay rises medical staff have had?
How much money was wasted on faulty equipment during the Covid pandemic that could have paid for more doctors and nurses?

There is an awful lot of bureaucracy in all health services but there seems to be management layers in the NHS that could probably be shelved and the process be more streamlined.

@DaisyCat33 - I am pleased that your dad was finally seen and then able to leave the hospital but watching programmes like "Ambulance" or "24hrs in A&E" really do open eyes to just how tough it is on the front line of the behemoth that is the NHS.

Anyway, I'll pop off now but I think the NHS should be treasured and the sentiment behind why it was set up (health care free to all at the point of delivery) means that every single person can get top notch care (eventually) no matter their circumstances and it won't bankrupt them.

Keep on keeping on!

We don’t have these facilities in my area. It is A&E for everything.

I agree that the worrying thing is we have been conditioned to think this is the new normal. The same way we don’t bother reporting some crime because the police won’t bother.
In my experience the nursing staff were fab but the wait was awful and I had to beg for pain relief whilst waiting. The consultant tried to make me believe it was all in my head. Well it wasn’t. They just don’t have the time to do a thorough job. Many must just go home and die.

That's untrue and unfair about GOs they work extremely hard and are seeing more patients than ever.

"I think you will find that France, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium etc all have far superior healthcare systems to the UK. They differ from country to country but they tend have co-pays, a mixture of public and private rather than being 100% free"

How many of those countries spend less overall on healthcare?

I'm not against a (well thought out and fully explained) change of system. But that means looking in far more detail at the costs. What I have read indicates that European models still require significant investment from their governments, individual insurance payments are in addition to and do not replace that funding.

I agree with you - someone was telling me how much money they hide from the taxman by getting their business done in cash and that they'll hide it from the inheritance tax man by getting their kids rolexes worth £100k's - it made me want to punch them in the face. I told them if the NHS fails I'll send them poo in the post.

I don't understand this, I can log on to the nhs site, can't remember what it is called, and I can see my blood results. When I went to physio on Wednesday he logged on and he knew what meds I was on and my bone density scan results. Isn't that nationwide?