AIBU to think the NHS is bloody brilliant sometimes?

[BarbaraVineFan]

I crushed my finger on Tuesday in a silly accident. Popped a plaster on and hoped for the best, but by yesterday evening it bore a strong resemblance to ET’s finger so I thought I’d better get it checked out. Quick trip to the pharmacy, they advised 111. Called 111 this morning, got through almost straight away, was sent to urgent care.

Went to urgent care this morning and waited about an hour. While I was waiting a chap came round with a trolley giving out free tea, coffee and biscuits. Brilliant! Then i was seen by a lovely specialist nurse who checked for tendon and nerve damage and said i needed an X ray to check for fractures. Waited about 5 mins for the X ray, the radiographer sent the images back to the nurse and I was seen again within 5-10 mins to be told I had a fractured bone in my finger. She put a splint and dressing on and sent me on my way with another splint, some gauze and tape for when I need to change the dressing. At all times, everyone was kind, patient and explained everything to me, I didn’t feel rushed in any way and came out about 2 hours after I went in.

And ALL FOR FREE (I know, I know, it’s not really free, but still!). It just made me think how lucky I am not to live in eg the USA, where a minor injury like this would probably cost me thousands of dollars. Thank you, NHS!

its probably human nature

For all the negative stories there will be hundreds of positive ones.

It’s not ALWAYS hopeless.

For some

Always amazing experience for me. Had 2 great births and was cared for so well.
had an infected finger recently, sent gp a photo, got a call an hour later, walk in centre appointment at 7pm. Antibiotic prescription in the pharmacy immediately.

went to A&E with my 2 year old who couldn’t weight bare post fall. Saw a nurse practitioner who was amazing, x ray and review within 3 hours!

free contraception! My sister lives in the US and the only contraceptive available on her insurance is the contraceptive vaginal ring… the coil is $1000!

I know I’ve been lucky and haven’t needed services much but I’m grateful

It is more than a few. This thread alone is a few mins long. Loads and loads and LOADS of positive stories out there

Of course there are. NHS employs lots of excellent doctors, nurses and other AHP. But "loads and LOADS" of positive stories don't give the full picture.

I'm pleased that a previous poster's dad had excellent end of life care including pain relief. My mum didn't. Nor did thousands of others. Do you want to bet on you and your loved ones being lucky or would you like some degree of certainty?

My MIL has had excellent NHS care. My uncle and FIL have not. It shouldn't be a lottery.

I'm not so full of praise unfortunately. The NHS broke my Dad who went in after a fall and living with Parkinson's. When they released him he had to go to a care home as he lost the ability to walk and toilet himself as a result of them not administering his meds correctly and also never helping him out of bed to move about over two months. He lost a lot of weight too. Similarly another relative taken in with a heart attack, spent two days on a trolley and only fed white toast before eventually getting onto a ward and getting treated on day three.

So there should be! It receives billions of pounds of taxpayers money every year!

Yes when it works it’s brilliant

but that poster was denying it was brilliant for anyone

LOL! You actually quoted me saying no such thing! Here ya go:

so you are denying the multiple experiences just on this thread alone
Not at all. But a few anecdotes don't provide the full picture.

@Westcoe

Thank you for asking. Im ok, chemo was brutal and will take time to recover from. I will be on medication for the rest of my life. But I am here.

I am most outraged though that my chin hair has reappeared very quickly but my eyelashes fell out this week. 😉

Yes exactly. Sometimes it's great, but my mum died this week directly due to incompetence and lack of care by multiple staff at a variety of levels in the NHS, so I'm not feeling very positive towards it right now.

I think the mixed ones are those who paint the more negative experiences, which we obviously wouldn't have if everyone had been lucky enough to be treated well.

I have always found treatment experience excellent, but mine had been tarnished by my poor choice of prescribed medication. I'd probably still think it was good if it hadn't happened 🤔

One of my dc has had hundreds of thousands if pounds worth of emergency and non emergency care.

If we lived in the US she would probably have bankrupted us.

I have colleagues in the states who have opened my eyes that even with insurance, they still face delays, struggle to access the latest treatments. Our employer provides good cover but there are still large co-pays. You can pay a $5,000 co-pay to have a baby even with insurance.

It's the sometimes that's the problem through isn't it? It shouldn't be sometimes great, or even sometimes adequate, every patient deserves that, and we all know someone who hasn't received great care.

Sometimes is the key word. I’ve just been discharged after 3 weeks. 3 nights in an and e reception then on to a bay of 4 which had 6 beds. No privacy - curtains wouldn’t fit. No space. Couldn’t get table over bed they were put at the end of the bed. Couldn’t move because of drip lines, fucking awful.

I live in a country where we don’t have an NHS equivalent but health insurance has to be provided by your employer. Best of both worlds.

As with most things in life, there's an element of "luck" involved in the experience someone will have regarding the NHS.
It depends on the ailment you have, where in the country you are, the time of day/month/year your personal need arises and, not least, the member(s) of staff you encounter as you are dribbled/rushed through the system.
On balance though, I'd rather have it than not and when it works well, it is excellent.

I do think some peoples expectations for very elderly people are misguided and unrealistic.

I've heard people on hear complain after a parent in their 80s or older has died or deteriorated with complications in hospital after things like falls etc. Often there have been delays to access treatment or medical pathways not offered - but people of this age are much more frail & vulnerable and aggressive treatment isnt always worth it, they have the odds stacked against them. Its very upsetting, but yes, old people will die, much more frequently & easily.

If there are capacity issues, I would expect a child or young adult be prioritised for treatment rather than my elderly mum & mum would agree.

Two years ago DH had dizzy spells at work (not ideal when he’s a bus driver) so he came home and phoned the GP. An hour later we were at hospital being seen by almost every department imaginable to rule out as much as they could all in one day. He then had other tests spread out over the next few weeks and was cleared to drive again shortly afterwards. This was all over the Christmas period as well so a chaotic one at the best of times.

Last year my heart condition started acting differently so I was taken in to A&E as they had to rule out a heart attack. Was seen pretty much straight away then got the all clear a couple of hours later after multiple tests and checks (and the only real delay was waiting on blood results to see if they wanted me to stay in or not).

Then in December I went to my GP about awful peri-menopause symptoms. She referred me for a non-urgent scan to check for fibroids. I went from that scan in mid-February to being diagnosed with endometrial cancer in April then having a full hysterectomy at the start of June (then the great news that I needed no further treatment around 3 weeks after surgery).

We had the most amazing care from every single person every time and tbh I’m actually still trying to come to terms with the rollercoaster I’ve been on this year as I had so many appointments, scans and the like in just that short time.

I just wish everyone would have the same speed and care that we’ve been lucky to have. It’s one reason I wouldn’t want to move away from where we live as we have such a great GP practice, never had an issue getting an appointment and all the staff are lovely there and listen straight away. And hopefully while we had great treatment, we hope to not have to deal with any more hospital trips for a long, long time.

I don't want to worry you @Shatenoeuf but, it's not only "old people" who will die.
None of us are getting out alive!

Being grateful isn’t sanctifying, even in the broadest sense. I think it’s only possible to improve it if people are aware of how the alternatives work and also agree in principle on whether it should remain or be dismantled. You have to agree on the objectives before you can discuss strategy and policies

also agree in principle on whether it should remain or be dismantled

Or improved. Vastly. People keep banging on about the US, I'm advocating for a European model.

I don't believe for a minute you only waited 5 minutes for an x-ray.

Well I did! Genuinely