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Thread: The NHS, Your experiences.

  1. #1
    Dickie Davies' love-child Cruella's Avatar
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    The NHS, Your experiences.

    I'm sitting in my sons hospital room in Coventry. It's a brand new hospital, the facilities are amazing. He has a room on his own with ensuite shower and toilet! A bed with remote control adjusting positions. Playstation, pull down TV and telephone with internet access (4p per minute). A sofabed for mum to sleep on. Much to Jakes disappointment they have teachers here giving them school work! The staff have been extremely efficient, no long waits, he was admitted, preped and operated on all by 11am. I was wondering what experiences others have had with the NHS. Throughout the last few years, my family have unfortunately had to use them a fair bit. I have nothing but praise in each case.

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    Re: The NHS, Your experiences.

    I've always found the NHS to provide a good service, on all of the occasions that I've required to use them.

    Apart from the nurse who, when plastering my broken wrist on 1st April, told me that they only had luminous green or purple. And then "found" the cupboard full of the normal white stuff 10 seconds after she'd finished....

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    Re: The NHS, Your experiences.

    Quote Originally Posted by Cruella View Post
    I'm sitting in my sons hospital room in Coventry.


    Nothing too serious I hope. Here's to a speedy recovery.

    As for NHS experiences, I can chip in a little, and will doubtless have more to add in a couple of weeks. Gearing up for an operation (in exactly a week's time, come to thing - I'll be in hospital this time next Thursday)

    Rightly categorised as 'important, but not urgent' - so I've been waiting nearly six months, but that's not been a problem in any way. And so far - yeah - it's all been quick, friendly and efficient, from the referral my first appointment, to the pre-op assessment, all's been very impressive so far.

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    Dickie Davies' love-child Cruella's Avatar
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    Re: The NHS, Your experiences.

    Quote Originally Posted by straycat264 View Post


    Nothing too serious I hope. Here's to a speedy recovery.

    As for NHS experiences, I can chip in a little, and will doubtless have more to add in a couple of weeks. Gearing up for an operation (in exactly a week's time, come to thing - I'll be in hospital this time next Thursday)
    Not serious no, he had an operation 4 months ago. Unfortunately the wound has never healed therefore he has had to have it reoperated on and stitched. So hopefully after 4 months of 'Hospital at home' coming to change his dressings every other day, it will all be over now.
    At least if my experience is anything to go by, you'll have Forum access to keep you entertained!
    Hope all goes well, I'm sure Joolee will look after you as long as you leave the nurses alone!

  5. #5
    Registered User Shodan's Avatar
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    Re: The NHS, Your experiences.

    My experiences of the NHS:
    Top dollar, good pay and working package. Just a shame about the <insert swear="" word="" here=""> that is my manager.

    p.s. I work for the NHS.

    Oh and I should add that the NHS have been good to me since my first day here - I was actually deemed as a gonna shortly after birth due to many defective parts. But after some excessive rallying (good ambulance drivers) and a newly made specialist machine (for the time) I was made to live. Yay for me, but not so for the people that now have to put up with me. LOL
    </insert>

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    Re: The NHS, Your experiences.

    Hey Guys I am alive

    Without the NHS I’d be dead a long time ago

    And that goes for a lot of my mates as well

    I really get pissed of with people who sue Hospitals for trying to save their lives

  7. #7
    TiggsTours
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    Re: The NHS, Your experiences.

    Luckily I haven't had too much experience in this field, but my view has always been that the service the NHS provide is second to none! I've always felt that it is the best medical service in the world, and the only problem is that it is sadly underfunded, leading to the unfortunate long waiting lists (in some cases).

    My father is currently being treated for cancer under the NHS, and his service has been fantastic! That said, there are currently 2 machine in Sussex for screening all the cancer patients that go through the system, there used to be 3, and soon there will only be one. My father was told that the other machine is now sitting gathering dust in a hospital wing that had to be closed down due to lack of funding. A £15,000 machine just doing nothing. When they close the other cancer ward in sussex (leaving just one to treat all the cancer patients in an entire county) that too will probably just sit and gather dust.

    In the meantime, where my parents live there is a small hospital, which is now used purely for recuperation. I was born in that hospital, as was my brother, when there was a natal ward. There used to be a top psychiatric ward there, and my parents remember when there was an accident and emergency! Now, the nearest A&E is in Worthing, 8 miles away, or Brighton, 10 miles away. They are now trying to close the hospital in my parents town, and the A&E in worthing, leaving a total of 36 miles between the two A&Es to be served!

    My best friends husband is a paramedic, I don't know the technical name, but he's one of the ones who is trained to carry out emergency procedures at the roadside, or in the ambulance. There is now talk of cutting back on the paramedics, and there is a chance that he may end up without a 2nd medic in the ambulance, meaning that, if you are in the back of his ambulance dying, he has to choose between jumping in the back and keeping you alive, or driving the ambulance to get you to hospital!

    The problem isn't the standard of care the NHS give, the problem is the lack of funding and backing that they get from our government in order to do so!

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    Registered User Shodan's Avatar
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    Re: The NHS, Your experiences.

    Quote Originally Posted by philsmove View Post
    I really get pissed of with people who sue Hospitals for trying to save their lives
    Agreed ! Thats annoys me too.

    I really wish the NHS was better managed and effectively funded. As I work quite a lot with their computer systems and payments systems and lots of other stuff I can't talk about, I can see lots of areas for improvement that would immediately solve a lot of NHS problems.

    I mean for starters, just don't ask about the amount of paperwork and reports and stuff the DoH want.....

    Still, the kind of work I'm doing right now with their computer systems should actually start saving the NHS money in the long run on administration and support costs. So I like to think I'm helping to better the NHS - after all they deserve my life as technically I was dead on arrival.

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    Registered User CeeCee's Avatar
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    Re: The NHS, Your experiences.

    Originally posted by Shodan
    I really wish the NHS was better managed and effectively funded

    Learned this week that the NHS can make me laugh when I least expect it.

    Mission - to replace a light bulb on an piece of emergency equipment, which is used daily and is still under warranty.

    • Call to the hospital's maintenance department. Not their job.
    • Message for the department handyman. Not allowed to do it.
    • Written message to my manager. Days off.
    • Phone call direct to manufacturer, will call me back.
    • Call from manufacturer's engineering department, will call me back.
    • Another call from manufacturer's engineering department, will pass message on.
    • Further phone calls to exchange serial numbers and job numbers.
    • 4 visits from the engineer, 3 to tell me that he'd be back later with the correct bulb.

    It took three days.

    The whole event was farcical and I defy even the mighty comic genius Ricky Gervais to make it funnier.
    No wonder the NHS is financially challenged.

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    Re: The NHS, Your experiences.

    Damn NHS,

    I went in for an ingrowing toenail and they ended up amputating my arms, legs and entire body, and now I look like this:

    Seriously though, I think it all depends on where you live and whats wrong with you. I suspect they're good at the serious stuff like saving peoples lives and that, but for sports injuries I just don't bother any more.

    Some years ago I used to do pole vaulting and I had a recurring hamstring strain which had lasted for about 4 years. I went to my GP who sent me to the Royal London Hospital where I was told I had a suspected spondylysisis (or something along those lines nots sure how you spell it) which is something like a stress fracture of the vertebrae which I had probably got from one of my many pole vaulting accidents. I dutifully plodded up to the Royal London Hospital every month or so for 2 years on the advice of my GP (who refused to refer me to the Sports Injury Clinic I asked to go to). The doctors disagreed what was wrong with me and just did test after test and no actual treatment whatsoever.

    In the end I gave up and saw a trainee shiatsu massage practitioner who more or less fixed me in one treatment!

  11. #11
    TiggsTours
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    Re: The NHS, Your experiences.

    Quote Originally Posted by Paulthetrainer View Post
    Damn NHS,

    I went in for an ingrowing toenail and they ended up amputating my arms, legs and entire body, and now I look like this:

    Seriously though, I think it all depends on where you live and whats wrong with you. I suspect they're good at the serious stuff like saving peoples lives and that, but for sports injuries I just don't bother any more.

    Some years ago I used to do pole vaulting and I had a recurring hamstring strain which had lasted for about 4 years. I went to my GP who sent me to the Royal London Hospital where I was told I had a suspected spondylysisis (or something along those lines nots sure how you spell it) which is something like a stress fracture of the vertebrae which I had probably got from one of my many pole vaulting accidents. I dutifully plodded up to the Royal London Hospital every month or so for 2 years on the advice of my GP (who refused to refer me to the Sports Injury Clinic I asked to go to). The doctors disagreed what was wrong with me and just did test after test and no actual treatment whatsoever.

    In the end I gave up and saw a trainee shiatsu massage practitioner who more or less fixed me in one treatment!
    That's not necessarily an NHS thing though, that's down to the individual (doctor or consultant). I went through 5 years of being tested on private medical care (alot of tests were very obtrusive, requiring stays in hospital) for a condition, they kept on and on insisting it was a particular condition, no matter how many times I told them that wasn't what I thought it was, the symptoms didn't sound quite right, and it was only when I moved and changed GP (NHS), that my new doctor finally listened to me, agreed that what they were testing for didn't sound right, and insisted on putting me in for a series of different tests (OK, I had that done privately) that I finally got a correct diagnosis.

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    Re: The NHS, Your experiences.

    Quote Originally Posted by TiggsTours View Post
    That's not necessarily an NHS thing though, that's down to the individual (doctor or consultant). I went through 5 years of being tested on private medical care (alot of tests were very obtrusive, requiring stays in hospital) for a condition, they kept on and on insisting it was a particular condition, no matter how many times I told them that wasn't what I thought it was, the symptoms didn't sound quite right, and it was only when I moved and changed GP (NHS), that my new doctor finally listened to me, agreed that what they were testing for didn't sound right, and insisted on putting me in for a series of different tests (OK, I had that done privately) that I finally got a correct diagnosis.
    Yeah, I guess its easy to blame the organisation as a whole when the performance is down to individuals within it, some of whom are good and some of whom are not. However, surely someone ought to have been overseeing your treatment, looking at what was being spent on you versus your lack of recovery, and suggesting an alternative approach if the existing one was obviously not working? Having said that, its good that despite the treatments not working, they didn't give up on you altogether but perhaps that determination could be better channelled....

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    Re: The NHS, Your experiences.

    Sorry, this is a long one

    My experience was not good!

    It was just my bad luck that my husband had just changed jobs and therefore we were between private health covers

    I went to the Doctor with severe pains and basically, before I went I did some research on the net.into my symptoms and had almost diagnosed myself with Gallstones but I needed a scan to confirm.

    So the doctor wrote a letter and I had to ring for an appointment, now here's a funny thing, I was told that I couldn't be put on the waiting list, as the waiting list was longer than 13 weeks and the government didn't allow waiting lists longer than 13weeks (it wasn't good for the figures ), so I had to be put on a waiting list, to be put on the waiting list!

    I was in a lot of pain, so bugger it, blow the cost, I paid £250 and had the scan done the following day!
    I was right and it was one very large singular gallstone!

    I took the X-rays straight to the consultant (private) who agreed, I needed an operation and fairly urgently, due to certain yukky symptoms, that were an indication that things were looking grim and may turn into something far worse, like pancreatitis!

    Back to my Doctor with the report!

    She made several phone calls and referred me to the Wittington, where apparently had had the shortest waiting list!

    After that, my operation was cancelled twice, once at 8pm the night before I was due in and both times I'd been through all my preliminary checks, which have to be done within 2weeks leading up to the op, so that proved to be two days wasted, for both me and the NHS staff, who did the nursing and the administration!

    Finally, the day of the op came. I was booked in but made to wait in the waiting room of a men's surgical ward, as they had no beds. I then had to undress in a loo and get onto the trolly in a corridor and hand over my belongings, even though they didn't know which ward I was going to end up in after. My confidence was not high

    The op went OK (phew) and I woke up in a 6 bedded bay of a very large mixed ward but apparently none of the staff knew who I was or why I was there and none of my belongings could be found!

    The things I witnessed during my four day stay, will upset me for the rest of my life.

    This is just one story....An old lady in the bed opposite, had had a very large op and was looked worryingly ill. I heard every conversation the doctors had ((they weren't very discrete) and understood it was extremely important for her to keep drinking and to be gently turned every couple of hours but she was so weak, she couldn't reach her water, and the tea the tea-lady provided, was put infront of her and simply taken away again, when it was cold.

    The place was filthy! The toilets were a total disgrace, I wont pull punches, every time I went in there, I felt sick!

    I went out of my way to blatantly take some of the nurses disposable gloves, and soak paper towels in that special disinfectant stuff they use and clean the door handles, taps and seat, etc. On one occasion a nurse, informed me that wasn't for patients use, so I asked her to accompany me to the bathroom but she declined my offer and said, OK, I'll let you off this time!

    The following morning, I woke to the most ungodly smell and without thinking, I complained to my fellow patients!

    Suddenly, the poor old lady opposite burst into tears and confessed that the smell was coming from her and that she'd had an accident. She explained that she'd rang for assistance but no one had come.

    So I rang 'my' bell on her behalf and we all comforted her.

    A nurse arrived to see what was the problem with 'me' and I explained but she told me, she was aware of the situation and told me off for ringing my bell when it wasn't MY problem!

    She then proceeded to pull the curtain round the old lady and left again!

    Nearly an hour passed and I couldn't bare it any longer, I felt so sorry for the old lady, that I went to find someone.

    I limped slowly to the nurses kitchen and found one sitting in there, I pleaded with her to help but she said it wasn't her job but she'd let someone know!

    Nearly 2 hours passed before that poor lady had some clean clothes on and a clean bed!

    What kind of germs could we have all been exposed to, with our fresh scars

    Back to me, my tummy felt like it was about to burst and I was getting severe cramps, so a nurse suggested a muscle relaxant via the drip! The next minute, I got terribly blurred vision and could hardly see at all. I was very frightened! To be fair, its apparently a very very rare reaction and when the nurse realised what was happening, I was surrounded by staff within minutes and given the appropriate antidote.

    But I was still left with the problem of pain and cramps. To put it bluntly, my stomach had gone into shock and stopped working and gas was building up, so the experts explained that I needed lots of fresh vegetables and fibre to kick start it all again.

    That has to be the biggest joke going... because, because of the mix up on day one, for some reason, I never actually got to choose my own menu. I simply got whatever the person being discharged that day had ordered.... wait for it... Macaroni cheese and mashed potato, NO VEG, followed by jam roly-poly and custard... Very healthy, NOT!

    When the Doctor came round the following day, he tried to insist that in order for him to be happy to discharge me, I needed to have gone to the loo

    At which point, I turned into Nikki off of big brother... need i go on?
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  14. #14
    Registered User mrs_warwick's Avatar
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    Re: The NHS, Your experiences.

    My mum is a community physio for the NHS. Her trust have recently advertised for a manager to oversee the re-organisations necessary due to lack of funding. The post was advertised with an £80,000 salary.

    My most recent personal experiences have been in the Leicester maternity and children's units. The worst part of the whole experience was the food. In the children's unit, they offer food for the child but not the parent. My (then) not quite 2 year old daughter was admitted at 2am with suspected meningitis. We were given our own room, there was a bed for me and a cot for her but we co-sleep so she came in with me. Not that either of us slept well. She was offered breakfast (eventually, when found someone to ask about it) but I had to wait for the visitors' cafe to open so I could go and buy food for myself. I wasn't even offered a cup of tea. At lunch time the choice for her was chicken nuggets, chips, pizza, chips, fish fingers, chips or some pasta mess that looked like something the dog had thrown up. Luckily for her, she was still breastfeeding so she wasn't entirely dependant on the solid food choice. There was no fresh fruit available. I had to wait for my husband to show up before I could eat.

    I have friends in Leeds and Reading who have had similar issues with the quality (or lack of) of the food. My Reading friend has dairy and wheat allergies. She went in for an elective Caesarean and discussed her nutritional requirements in advance. On the day, the ward had no record of her diet, and the dietictian had no idea what was safe for her to eat. By the time they had gone through the menu (this was *after* the op) and found something she could eat, it was too late to get a message through to the kitchen and the kitchen refused to prepare something for her.

    I know there are some extremely caring and hardworking people in the NHS, but there are also a lot who can best be descirbed as a waste of space.

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    Re: The NHS, Your experiences.

    just one question, why should the nhs provide food for people who are not patients? That means there will be less money to spend on all the other things you want / patients need. In some countries the family are expected to provide for for the patient.

    Its refreshing to hear some good reports on this thread, thanks.

  16. #16
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    Re: The NHS, Your experiences.

    Lord Warner (Minister of State (NHS Reform), Department of Health) Hansard source

    The NHS Litigation Authority 2005-06 accounts report expenditure of £591,586,000 on clinical and non-clinical negligence claims in the past financial year. The accounts include a provision, as at 31 March 2006, of £8,344,980,000 for all outstanding cases including an estimate for incidents that have occurred but not been reported

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    Re: The NHS, Your experiences.

    Little update - Thursday gave me a bit more personal experience to comment on.

    Hernia operation - quite a minor procedure, it seems (in medical terms, anyway) - all went very smoothly. The staff were all very professional and efficient, and almost all very warm, friendly and reassuring.

    The single exception being the surgeon, who seemed to be making an effort to conform to stereotype - somewhat humorless and cold, and pretty useless in his post-op 'advice' - he claimed I mustn't lift "heavy weights" for six months, but will be able to dance in two weeks. Yeah - right. He seemed to leave in a hurry after that one, possibly in case i asked any more questions...

    The doctor who did my pre-op assessment gave some far more detailed and practical advice, and I know who I'll be paying more attention to

    Overall, highly impressed. The only real bad thing is that despite the growing population in the area, and increasing need for hospital facilities, the hospital is scheduled for closure in March, in a cost-cutting exercise.

  18. #18
    Registered User Beowulf's Avatar
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    Re: The NHS, Your experiences.

    I had many many eye operations when I was a child. And for the most part the hospitals were clean and efficient.

    There was one operation , in Ayr, which was pretty traumatic. Dirty rooms, kinks in the gas hose (meaning instead of going out like a light I drifted off very slowly and felt like I was dying), unfriendly staff etc.. however that hospital was closed down not long afterwards.

    I later had a "long term" illness that meant I was in hospital for an extended period undergoing lots of tests. I have to say I have no bad memories of that time.

    My ex fiancée had to have an emergency operation when she stared haemorrhaging , and again I have nothing but praise for the NHS again.

    I think they do a great job

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    Registered User Northants Girly's Avatar
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    Re: The NHS, Your experiences.

    Last week my friend had an appointment to have a small operation on their eye so I went along too in order to drive them home afterwards. However, the op didn't go ahead as the hospital hadn't received their notes!
    Would have been nice of them to phone us before we set off and I'd taken a day's leave

    Nevermind though - it's now been postponed till 23 Dec - in time for Xmas

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    Re: The NHS, Your experiences.

    Lets just say that without the NHS I would not be able to dance at all!

    A variety of reasons which would bore you all to death, so not going to be repeated.

    All I will say is that I think my, and my family's tax money was / is well spent.

    Whitetiger

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