Let's turn the ( usual) NHS negativity around with your positive experiences

[Tiredallthetimeneedsleep]

Fed up with the latest negative NHS 'headline' so I thought I'd start a thread to share my positive experiences.

Had MRI booked within 2 weeks of seeing DR. Was seen on time and the staff were brilliant.

What are YOUR NHS positive stories?

I sent a thank you email to PALS after my DF died in hospital thanking all the staff on his ward for the wonderful care and compassion he received for the last seven weeks of his life.
They wrote back to me, I think we’re all quick to complain but not necessarily to give praise when it’s due.

Certainly not the case for everyone and it’s wrong for you to generalise.

I have given out many thank you cards, personal gifts, boxes of chocolate etc to NHS staff over the years and am certainly very grateful to all who have helped DD. It would be very rare for her to have a hospital stay without me doing this! That does not stop me from giving criticism where it is due and sending in complaints when necessary.

I'm glad that was a good experience for your DF and I'm sorry for your loss.
My parents both died recently in different hospitals and their experiences were appalling.
RCPCA would have called and prosecuted me if I had cared for my dog in such a way as they were both treated.

I've had four children, in two different hospitals, and the care on the delivery ward was great, the midwives were supportive, lovely, and I have nothing but praise for all of them.

And why should we be grateful? We pay for it.

Wish I could but sadly every time I’ve needed to engage with them it has without exception taken hours and hours to be seen, shitty staff treating people like dogs and basic humanity missing. And for this I need to pay nearly £2k in tax a month.

I’ve given up and bought health insurance.

I have only bad experiences to share and about 6 truly horrendous ones. It's not about me trying to be negative, it's just the truth. I've seen loved ones suffer terribly.

Unless you are the <1% who pay a massive amount of tax, the amount the average person pays in tax barely touches the sides compared to the amount they use.

I've never personally received any feedback from the friends and family cards, not sure where it goes really. Sometimes people use PALs for positive feedback and that tends to find its way to us, they forward it in emails. I've had 3 handwritten letters named to me that I keep, but I suppose that is reliant on you remembering the name of someone involved in your care.

Obviously this is above and beyond and isn't expected. But it is incredibly touching to receive such feedback if you've made a positive impact.

This.

Why is the NHS a sacred cow?

Do you start threads to ask for positivity about the post office, social services, carers?

The NHS is failed, inept, corrupt.

Abnormal smear result came through in the post and said a letter would follow with a hospital appointment. Within 48 hours the letter was there and the appointment was 3 days later! So quick! Had such a positive experience of the whole process too, they always took their time to explain everything (even though I’m sure they’ve already explained the same thing to 15 other people that day). Just a generally very positive experience and I should now be fully treated and have a normal smear next time and not need to worry about it turning into cancer

Missed my Dad's cancer so he died in front of his children.

Missed my husbands' stroke - oops.

Missed abovenamed stroke patient falling in ward trying to get to the toilet after being ignored for 2.5 hours and said stroke patient then smacking his head off the floor and causing brain bleed for which his wife was then asked to sign a DNR for - oops.

Missed feeding visually impaired cognitively impaired stroke survivor so he didn't eat for 3 days - oops.

Still, we pay for it. Let's clap some pans.

Autistic son in for surgery.

They gave him his own room available for the whole day if needed. They filled the room with various sensory lights and sights. Lots of pictures of his current hyper focus on the walls and hanging from the ceiling.

He saw the same staff at every appointment and you could see they all genuinely cared. They spoke to him, and not to me as people usually do. They included him in choices and listened to him. Listened to him when he was struggling and scared and offered solutions to support him, often to his advantage rather than theirs.

Could not have wished for more. They were genuinely wonderful.

3 great experiences:

They brought my sister back from the brink in St James ICU. We’d planned her funeral. 6 weeks later she was home.

Alderhey over 18 years looked after my DD with lifelong illness. Was sorry when she transferred to Adult Services (who are also very good).

Recent bone break local A&E were excellent, with regular fracture clinics & physio. Very pleased to be in the mend.

Ive had a few horrors over the years but definitely more good than bad, for which I am eternally grateful!

I've been a patient for all of my life (I'm 63 now).

I have chronic psoriasis for which I have spent many years in hospitals (on and off not all at once)
I had 17yrs of fertility treatments (all failed)
2 babies/c sections
Rheumatoid, osteo, & psoriatic arthritis, ankalysing spondylitis
I've had tonsillectomy, appendectomy, laparoscopy
Thousands of appointments, bloods, investigations,
my son almost died when he was 5.
And my DH had a heart attack 6 weeks ago.

I can honestly, hand on heart, say I've never had a bad experience with any GP or hospital ever.

However, I appreciate how lucky I am. I have friends & family who have had very different experiences than me. We all know that the NHS needs fixing. Like all big organisations the wastage is immense, too many chiefs, too many funding issues, shit government inputs and policies. But neither slagging them off or making them heroes will help the people working and trying to do their best in shit circumstances.

Wow where do you stay @MrSlant ?

My gran lost the use of her legs and be came very confused following a UTI. The ambulance was there quickly and the paramedics were amazing in their manner. Hospital was busy and there was a wait but he was comfortable and they checked on him frequently.

I was seen quickly and treated with care when going through a mental health crisis last year. My GP was fantastically sympathetic.

My MIL was seen in a matter of a few minutes and treated with great care when she broke her wrist last year.

Please do share which city and hospital 🙏@DGPP

Haven’t fully read through but:
~ OP, thank you for trying to get some positive experiences in what are dire times.
~ sorry to those that haven’t had any positive interactions 😔
~ thank you to those who’ve shared little snippets of the good times, we appreciate it, I’d like to think most of us hcp are trying to make the most out of a shit situation. I know I’d like to think I make just a tiny difference.

Yes they do 😊
I won a lovely award a while back after a patient/their family wrote in to my trust.
Obviously I wasn’t given the details to contact them to say thank you, but I can’t even describe the feeling I had knowing that someone was happy from what should be basic, standard, care.

Feedback both negative & positive should make a difference.
Positive boosts morale, negative I would hope, prompts change (I know this isn’t always the case 😞)

Recently have birth at st Mary's in Manchester- everyone we came across was brilliant. Explained everything at every step which I'd asked for, listened to what I wanted but also kept me safe at the same time.

Unfortunately the birth ended in emcs which I was really hoping wouldn't be the case but the midwives and doctors were 100% on the ball when things went wrong and didn't hesitate at all to act. One of the doctors came to see me afterwards and talked through everything that happened and why there were further issues during the section. I didn't even ask for her to do this, she came herself which helped me so much in comparison to having no clue what was going on during my first birth.

Even anti natal care was on the whole overwhelmingly good when it was in the community- not so much at at Mary's but this was just one rude midwife on a couple of occasions.

Post natal ward was busy but the midwives always came if I buzzed )and in between). Healthcare staff on the ward were absolutely lovely aswell, they definitely made time for questions and any help - and just for a little chat when they were in and out.

Couldn't have asked for better from them, and how they handled everything turned a potentially traumatic time in to a somewhat positive one.

My Dad on end of life care, on an admissions ward so no one satays there for many days. Was to unwell to move to palliative care ward. Nurses and Doctors were wonderful, during Covid gave us free reign to visit at any time. I had a great heart to heat conversation with him before he was put on a syringe driver after which he never spoke again. Staff on the ward were bloody brilliant and I'm very thankful for that

I would much rather have the NHS than the awful, awful system they have in the US.

I think we should stop pretending they have a system.

I would like to look at Aus, N Zealand, Canada most of Europe and large swaths of other bit of the world to see they have health services or parts we can copy.

There are lots of services in NHS that are world class - but many others with substandard even dangerous care - it partly a funding issue, partly lack of doctors though training more also presents problems and partly a huge bureaucracy. I think it need change but carefully considered change and a lot more honesty from politicians.

Haven’t rtft but I don’t agree with this thread as it’s trying to brush the very glaring issues under the carpet.

People are dying and suffering long term because of the appalling state of healthcare in the UK so this attempt to pretend it’s all sunshine and roses is misplaced, although I’m sure OP had decent intentions.