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?

It’s madness to me that we have people desperate to come and settle here yet I will be telling my kids to leave as soon as they’re able. This country is honestly such a shambolic shit show. I’m embarrassed to live here.

I've had the opposite this week, I've witnessed first hand how amazing our NHS is. Called the GP, seen within 2 hours, they called the hospital who got us fast tracked straight into the right doctor and specialists bypassing A&E, the only delay in the process was our journey to the hospital 10mins drive away. It was busy on the ward but I can't fault the speed or the level of care received.

Yes this

These are all issues directly related to underfunding. It's political and we have to choose the next government wisely if we want any kind of affordable healthcare.

I work in a hospital. It's bursting at the seems. There isn't enough space or staff to serve the population... the building is old and tired, there are botched repairs for water & sewage, electrics and other furnishings. The ceilings are full of asbestos, so not even safe to carry out maintenance & repairs.

On top of that we had to close a whole annex due to rack concrete- thats 4 wards, outpatients and office spaces gone without replacement.

12 years ago the staff carpark was turned into an extra ward using porta cabins- they have almost reached the end of their life - the roof has started leaking. This hospital isn't what you would expect to see in a 1st world country.
Our town was meant to get funding for a new hospital. Plans have been drawn up, an available space identified- in the end, the government failed to release the funds. It's put on ice indefinitely.

But everywhere new housing developments are mushrooming out of the ground. Putting more pressure onto our NHS services.

I am only in a clerical role, but I have nothing but respect and admiration for our HCA's, Nurses and Doctors. They turn up every day in order to help the sick people from our town.

They are as sad, shocked and frustrated by their working conditions as much as the posters on this thread. But tey are there and try their hardest to meet everyone's needs.

Exactly time and time again people think throwing more money at a problem will solve it but it doesn't.

You're right about recruitment but also too many people going to hospital so we need to do more preventative medicine to treat people early to stop their symptoms grtting worse.

There was a story in the media recently where a hospital had been trialling f1 pitstop style surgeries and turned around I think it was x4 surgeries in a day. However it did need a big team of staff. The way in which nhs is run also needs to be looked at.

Vote, people.

It actually did work under Blair's new labour.

We absolutely must avoid an American style system

Privatisation is already creeping in. Dentistry is a prime example. Most of us are slowly getting ours head around having to pay privately or through a plan. Those who can’t will be left with bad teeth and more worryingly future health problems due to gum disease. Ear wax removal is another one that you have to pay for now. I fully expect that more and more services will become private except it will be a slow drip effect, by the time we notice it’s too late.
I have no idea what the answer is. We are already taxed to death and throwing money at the NHS never seems to help it. It’s frightening when you really think about it.

I think 111 is making it worse. I rang for advice on my dc and they told me to go to A&E. I was like if I thought it was an emergency then I would’ve taken her myself. They reprimanded me and said I should take her because that’s what they advised. I didn’t and took her to the doctors the next day. There was no way I was waiting 12 hours and taking up a space for those who really need it. They have done this before and I’ve taken dc on their advice, when I didn’t need to.

Same old GP bashing. Wonder why there is such a shortage of GPs? We’re definitely all just sitting around thinking we can’t be bothered to work today.
And no, I’m not seeing the ingrowing toenails, I’m seeing the seriously unwell people who would rather take their chances with the limited treatment that primary care can offer than sit in ED.

It's absolutely awful. Dentistry is the worse. The amount of people without an nhs dentist and having to pay private is unreal. The problem is that dentists are self employed and the pay isn't great. It needs a whole restructure and money putting into it and we'll get more dentist coming through and won't lose any to private companies. But as we all know that won't happen and dentistry will be the 1st to go fully private.

I was in a&e Christmas time with my husband we waited 15 hours and he was referred back to his gp to refer for urgent treatment that he's still not received. He's having to go private for that and with private there's still a wait as more people are going private.

I'm pregnant for the 1st time and whilst I completely agree with the fact that NHS staff are massively overworked and underpaid, there is a lot of time wasted that could be a quick fix.
For example I've had the same observations done at the hospital and with a community midwife 4 days apart..for no apparent reason. Appointments are sent by letter in the post these often arrive after the date of the appointment..we have an app so I have no idea why they waste time with letters! At my consultant meeting the doctor asked how my 12 week scan went..I would have expected him to have that information, he had no idea why he was seeing me and vice versa. A very strange situation. There is no communication between community midwife and the hospital at all I had to give the midwife blood test results to input to my notes and the hospital had no knowledge of my previous observations as they don't see the midwife notes. It doesn't fill me with confidence to be honest!

GPs are just totally overwhelmed with the amount of patients they have to see each day, the workload is absolutely insane. There is just not enough appointments to meet demand. They are seeing ever more complex patients with multiple and often very serious health issues. It's not a matter of them 'not wanting to see them' Funnily enough a random lump that appears and disappears is unlikely to be a critical issue, maybe if she had not had to waste an appointment seeing you for that she could have seen someone else who ended up having to go to a&e later on.

85 so no spring chicken but even so.

I agree.
Nevermind any discussion about assisted dying, its a side issue. What we need is a discussion about prolonging an extremely poor quality of life, with endless medication. Nobody benefits apart from drug companies.

I remember during covid, care home residents, at the end of life, were put at the front of the queue for the vaccine. Meanwhile, people risking their lives, working on covid wards, who could have had decades of life ahead of them, had to wait for their vaccine. Who the fuck made that decision?

We do observations every time there is an antenatal appointment, so if you see your cmw on Tuesday and she does your BP etc then you have to see a Dr at the antenatal clinic they will repeat BP etc. We get audited on these, for example we measure CO levels every antenatal check. If we don't then we get told off.

The blood results is usually as a result of what I was whining about above. It's infuriating.

Yep I've got a broken tooth that's broke. In four places. Basically cracked open. The root of the tooth has curved into my jaw bone. Dentist said I need sedation to have it taken out. I can't chew any hard food and it's painful. It's. 6 month waiting list to have sedation. Or if I pay private I can have it out tomorrow. Only need £350

@TrixieFatell At least you get pregnancy obs on the NHS now... when I was pregnant during Covid I didn't get any!!!

I totally agree OP. I have aging parents and it really worries me.

It's not just the NHS. All public services are ag breaking point
Longer waits to see GP
No spaces at dentists
Huge wtg times for CAMHS and all.mental health services
Impossible to get an ambulance
Police don't attend
Huge wtg lists for every public services.
Staff are over worked
This country is in crisis
Wait for privatisation, like America. Its coming! Well
Already has...

Bloody awful. I live in Italy = heat
lthcare outstanding

I work with a man whose 95 year old mother had a fall. She is having physio on the NHS. No wonder it’s up shit creek.

I think part of the problem is that the Government is out of touch , don’t experience the problems we do and so don’t care in the same way. How many of the Cabinet do you think would have to wait in a&e, use adult social care to support their families or send their children to a state school?

I don’t blame them for paying privately for a better service but it means when they are deciding on the budget things like the NHS, Social services and state education just aren’t a priority to them .

They choose to spend money elsewhere on things that might not be a priority to others who have bad experiences with underfunded public services. They can find money to go to war, waste billions on failed infrastructure projects (HS2 etc) and issue risky contracts but won’t invest in underfunded public services. It’s why having a range of people governing us , with different life experiences and views,,is so important.

@biscuitnut so where would your cut off be? What a horrible comment. It’s not that persons fault that the NHS is how it is.

It's what you get when you insist on a healthcare system completely free at the point of use. Too many old people, not enough taxpayers anymore to fund it, and too many inefficiencies in such a system. You could sink billions, it won't help.

I live abroad, I have health insurance (which is similar in cost to what my NHS contributions were btw), I co-pay but not absurd amounts. When we found out i was pregnant, we were about to move back to the UK but decided to stay here for the medical care. It's excellent. I'd rather pay a minimal amount here and there and actually get seen by a dr.

That's awful and scary. We still saw our women and did all the necessary an assessments. COVID not an excuse to provide basic care