Trust in the NHS - do you?

[T00ts]

I confess I have bypassed the system several times over the years especially when my career was at stake. With a knee injury NHS didn't cut it, so off I went privately (no pun intended). The specialist couldn't have been nicer promising to operate on my knee personally through the NHS. On  the day, I'd had my pre-med only then to find that the houseman was doing it. I walked out before anyone could reach a scalpel. Future promises of another op were avoided.

It's too late now and I guess I have always hoped that the NHS would come good, but especially since past 60 they change my meds usually to generic brands, without consultation and with dire consequences for me. It then takes time on a knife edge to rectify usually because they won't believe that they do not work exactly the same, or I often have allergic reactions. I wouldn't hesitate to take out private health care and wish I had done it years ago. Throwing money at inefficiency is a hiding to nowhere. The trouble is that too many lives and life quality is being lost through basic negligence.  I honestly don't know how much longer the general public will put up with it. That's one march I really would attempt to join.

The major difference I have personally found with Private care, is that for some reason the patient becomes intelligent suddenly. I fail to understand why I am somehow viewed differently because my Bank card is directly involved.

 

[Barry]

Loads , plie -pointe  all part of a footballer daily training

Not to mention pointeing up the brickwork.

Take the hospital pharmacy as an example. My younger daughter thought she wanted to be a hospital pharmacist so worked for a time at our local hospital dept. Drugs return from the wards unopened and very obviously unused. All sorts of drugs, some very expensive. They are all thrown in a container and incinerated! Every day regardless.

Someone tell me why that is such a good idea. Those drugs were only in the hands of medical staff, returned untouched, yet wasted.

I worked for nearly 12 months as a runner for the hospital pharmacy and often witnessed the same waste. What was also annoying was the blasé attitude on the wards. Pharmacy bags were returned to the Pharmacy as empty and we would find medications inside them that had not been accounted for. We did not destroy all drugs returned to the Pharmacy. Opened packets could not be used, obviously.
The staff had to sign for the bag BEFORE it was opened as it had a numbered seal. I would not let them open it prior to signature and they knew what the rules were but thought they could bypass them. At the eye clinic one nurse told me that "You are the only person following the rules". I said, "I hope that's not true when you are dealing with people's eyesight".
I could write a book. It would be entitled "Always money for doughnuts".

Privatisation sounds like it could not be worse than what we have now. 

[cromwell]

When I was a boy I had 100% trust in the NHS. If I was ill, Mum would take me to the doctor's surgery. It was about 5 minutes walk on our council estate in Northamptonshire. In my teens we had a great family doctor, a Scot of great knowledge, and he looked after 3 generations of our family, knowing each one personally.
I had my tonsils out as a child and my aunt was a nurse on the ward where I was, which also built trust in the NHS.

At these times, the NHS was, I suppose in early years and had not become the behemoth it is now. It provided a quality of care to treat patients who presented with illnesses and did so the same day.

Today, I live in the relatively rich county of Kent, registered with our doctor in September 2020, and have never seen a doctor.
When I lived in the West Mids we had easy access to doctors. Appointments online made for the next day, in general, and I had blood pressure treatment for nearly 2 years. I had 3 types of tablets, each reduced my BP, but made me ill in a different way. The doctor did everything via his computer while I sat there and his computer told him what to prescribe. I liked him, but he didn't have the sharp decision making skills of my Scots doctor.

Since moving to Kent, I've had a poo test in the post and not a lot else. I avoid doctors like the plague. I'm not on any medication, so I should consider myself blessed.

I don't trust the NHS 100% any more - do you?

Yes your description of your boyhood is familiar I think though there are expectations of a cure for everything and a life long lived.

There are amazing things can be done now but I guess we should have some sort of payment to ensure we get the care we wish for,I too avoid them like the plague and the old doctor patient relationship we had even up to the nineties has gone.

Practises merged and a long list of doctors who I don't know,the pandemic brought us ask my gp which is apparently the future,the only problem is it's often unobtainable.

Perhaps the nhs should concentrate on the basics and emergencies,people who bugger of to turkey or South America for cheap cosmetic surgery should be made aware that when it goes wrong as it so often seems to do willof course have their lives saved but they will have to pay in the long run.

[T00ts]

Loads , plie -pointe  all part of a footballer daily training

LOL Oh yes I always used to tell my boys about the footballers/gymnasts/skaters using the same training. It gave them retort ammunition in the playground.

[Streetwalker]

Absolutely!!! Just how much pointe work did you do? 

Loads , plie -pointe  all part of a footballer daily training 

[T00ts]

When I was in my late thirties I had a sharp pain in my left foot when I put weight on it . I got fobbed off for two or three years with a strain , gout , arthritis ,pinched nerves in spine  bla bla .. Anyway eventually lost the will and paid to see a foot specialist at the local private hospital . Within a minute ,I kid you not ,one minute what the GP couldn't sort out in two years he tells me Ive got what he called ballerinas neuroma  . With two weeks I was at home with my foot up in plaster .

Seeing as we are sort of related it being a Ballerinas injury I was just thinking can I join in a class action with the outstanding compo ?

Absolutely!!! Just how much pointe work did you do?      

[Streetwalker]

Don't get me started. I could write a book. My Mum had high blood pressure. They diagnosed her with hypothyroidism and medicated her for that taking her off her BP tablets. She died of a heart attack a year later. I wondered why her GP rang me several times afterwards. I had never met her. I did some research - a guilty conscience comes to mind. My grandson's birth was definitely negligent. My daughter, a lawyer, felt sorry for the Chelsea and Westminster and didn't sue. Several years later she conferred again with her husband, also a top lawyer, and realised that she hadn't been thinking straight since baby's birth and had run out of time. I just had a quick look and the current outstanding compensation bill is something like £83,000,000! I think it's time to turn the screw.

Edit Sorry my mistake it's worse - £83 billion!!!!

When I was in my late thirties I had a sharp pain in my left foot when I put weight on it . I got fobbed off for two or three years with a strain , gout , arthritis ,pinched nerves in spine  bla bla .. Anyway eventually lost the will and paid to see a foot specialist at the local private hospital . Within a minute ,I kid you not ,one minute what the GP couldn't sort out in two years he tells me Ive got what he called ballerinas neuroma  . With two weeks I was at home with my foot up in plaster .

Seeing as we are sort of related it being a Ballerinas injury I was just thinking can I join in a class action with the outstanding compo ? 

[papasmurf]

What a predictable one liner. I'm glad you trust the NHS, by your accounts they have treated you very well.

They have, and continue to do so, apart from the disaster that is NHS dentists, but that is down to a government contract now 16 years out of date.

[T00ts]

I know the joke is that the NHS can "bury their mistakes".
Further to the OP, I ran out of time, if I think of my own family and friends:
My father was diagnosed very late with bowel cancer which had already metastasised into his liver. He only presented with tiredness and they did not follow up on his anaemia.
My mother-in-law was on warfarin and they changed her tablet dosing from number of tablets to milligrams. This resulted in a misunderstanding and she was overdosed by a factor of 5 - almost died.
Again my mother-in-law - called an ambulance in the middle of the night and left the door open to her flat so the ambulance crew could get in quickly. They took ages to arrive and she was dead.
My aunt had abdominal surgery and the surgeon nicked her bowel. She died of peritonitis.
My youngest child was premature and he stopped breathing after we had him home a few days. My wife saved his life using mouth to mouth and he was blue lighted to hospital. Whilst in hospital they put him on special care with an apnoea alarm. It took my wife to notice he was going blue, because the alarm wasn't working and the nurse providing special care didn't. Result, resuscitated again, suffered epilepsy for a while after, probably due to the oxygen starvation. He's now a father of two.
My daughter's experience when giving birth I won't give full details but it was medically negligent.
I think that is enough for now. T00ts has obviously similar stories - they seem to prefer to save money rather than lives.

Don't get me started. I could write a book. My Mum had high blood pressure. They diagnosed her with hypothyroidism and medicated her for that taking her off her BP tablets. She died of a heart attack a year later. I wondered why her GP rang me several times afterwards. I had never met her. I did some research - a guilty conscience comes to mind. My grandson's birth was definitely negligent. My daughter, a lawyer, felt sorry for the Chelsea and Westminster and didn't sue. Several years later she conferred again with her husband, also a top lawyer, and realised that she hadn't been thinking straight since baby's birth and had run out of time. I just had a quick look and the current outstanding compensation bill is something like £83,000,000! I think it's time to turn the screw.

Edit Sorry my mistake it's worse - £83 billion!!!!

[Barry]

I know the joke is that the NHS can "bury their mistakes".
Further to the OP, I ran out of time, if I think of my own family and friends:
My father was diagnosed very late with bowel cancer which had already metastasised into his liver. He only presented with tiredness and they did not follow up on his anaemia.
My mother-in-law was on warfarin and they changed her tablet dosing from number of tablets to milligrams. This resulted in a misunderstanding and she was overdosed by a factor of 5 - almost died.
Again my mother-in-law - called an ambulance in the middle of the night and left the door open to her flat so the ambulance crew could get in quickly. They took ages to arrive and she was dead.
My aunt had abdominal surgery and the surgeon nicked her bowel. She died of peritonitis.
My youngest child was premature and he stopped breathing after we had him home a few days. My wife saved his life using mouth to mouth and he was blue lighted to hospital. Whilst in hospital they put him on special care with an apnoea alarm. It took my wife to notice he was going blue, because the alarm wasn't working and the nurse providing special care didn't. Result, resuscitated again, suffered epilepsy for a while after, probably due to the oxygen starvation. He's now a father of two.
My daughter's experience when giving birth I won't give full details but it was medically negligent.
I think that is enough for now. T00ts has obviously similar stories - they seem to prefer to save money rather than lives.

[T00ts]

Toots has more or less summed it up , GP surgery's  are now a  referral service to specialist doctors  . My last visit had her (one of many GP's at the practice Google it ) I could have done that at home and saved myself the trip . The time before after after complaining about a cough that had/is lingering another GP at the same venue didn't even ask me to take my coat off .

The next step the specialist takes for ever and a day to see . In my own experience 12 months waiting for an initial appointment  and about the same for any sort of feedback is pretty common . I used to think if there is anything worth talking about they would be in touch but today Im not so sure .
So no I dont trust the NHS

On the other side of the coin though I know if I get hit by a bus falling out of the club later I think I will be in the best of hands

It's a hope isn't it but I guess it depends if there is an ambulance to pick you up out of the gutter and then on the queue in the hospital ambulance park. The latest is a welcome GP + nurse in the carpark to set up yet another triage. It all makes me so angry.

[Streetwalker]

Toots has more or less summed it up , GP surgery's  are now a  referral service to specialist doctors  . My last visit had her (one of many GP's at the practice Google it ) I could have done that at home and saved myself the trip . The time before after after complaining about a cough that had/is lingering another GP at the same venue didn't even ask me to take my coat off .

The next step the specialist takes for ever and a day to see . In my own experience 12 months waiting for an initial appointment  and about the same for any sort of feedback is pretty common . I used to think if there is anything worth talking about they would be in touch but today Im not so sure .
So no I dont trust the NHS 

On the other side of the coin though I know if I get hit by a bus falling out of the club later I think I will be in the best of hands 

[T00ts]

I saw a reference I think in the last week where someone recommended that it was long past the time when the NHS was run along business lines. Why is that considered a dirty word? No business would survive run the way the NHS is. Procurement/waste is rampant. Take the hospital pharmacy as an example. My younger daughter thought she wanted to be a hospital pharmacist so worked for a time at our local hospital dept. Drugs return from the wards unopened and very obviously unused. All sorts of drugs, some very expensive. They are all thrown in a container and incinerated! Every day regardless. 

Someone tell me why that is such a good idea. Those drugs were only in the hands of medical staff, returned untouched, yet wasted. She was so angry she decided to do something else with her life. That is only the beginning. 

[T00ts]

When I was a boy I had 100% trust in the NHS. If I was ill, Mum would take me to the doctor's surgery. It was about 5 minutes walk on our council estate in Northamptonshire. In my teens we had a great family doctor, a Scot of great knowledge, and he looked after 3 generations of our family, knowing each one personally.
I had my tonsils out as a child and my aunt was a nurse on the ward where I was, which also built trust in the NHS.

At these times, the NHS was, I suppose in early years and had not become the behemoth it is now. It provided a quality of care to treat patients who presented with illnesses and did so the same day.

Today, I live in the relatively rich county of Kent, registered with our doctor in September 2020, and have never seen a doctor.
When I lived in the West Mids we had easy access to doctors. Appointments online made for the next day, in general, and I had blood pressure treatment for nearly 2 years. I had 3 types of tablets, each reduced my BP, but made me ill in a different way. The doctor did everything via his computer while I sat there and his computer told him what to prescribe. I liked him, but he didn't have the sharp decision making skills of my Scots doctor.

Since moving to Kent, I've had a poo test in the post and not a lot else. I avoid doctors like the plague. I'm not on any medication, so I should consider myself blessed.

I don't trust the NHS 100% any more - do you?

In a word no. Much as the NHS is offered as one of the best it has become very evident how very far behind they are in diagnosis, treatment and definitely care. Over the years it has become a culture for laziness, waste, clumsy if not criminal management and serves itself rather than those who pay for it. I have one daughter who is lucky enough to have private medical care. The difference is astounding. There is a thoroughness in finding a diagnosis. The NHS does it by a process of elimination starting with the easiest/cheapest first until they reach a point where they either declare defeat or 'meds not ok'd by NICE for use in the UK'. The private sector goes for the jugular and eliminates downwards throwing in every test/remedy available. My other daughter has a tentative diagnosis that she has been waiting for for over 2 years. She only has that because she set the ball rolling by paying.  She was told the other week that normal diagnosis of her condition takes the NHS 8 years and she's lucky! 
The NHS is pretty good it seems in an emergency. Then all the stops come out with generally good outcomes. What they don't seem interested in is anything run of the mill, and if you are over 60 and heaven help you, a woman, well you don't figure much at all, unless by seeing you they tick a box.
GPs seem no longer to be able to make any proper decisions, their first port of call after the computer is to refer to a specialist and the inevitable waiting list, but at least we are no longer their problem.

We cannot and should not be spending the huge amounts on it with so little accountability, and I see that even this week the NHS refused to accept any challenging targets with the latest input from the taxpayer. They still got their money! Some years ago I was elected onto a panel that oversees our local Hospital Trust. An unfortunate title since trust has been so lost. I was finished when I learned that due to an underspend they bought carpets/paintings/decor for management offices in order to use up the funds for the financial year. Last year I ran my hand along a chair back rail for about 2m just to see at the local hospital. My hand was black! The private hospital is spotless.

[Barry]

I do, but [highlight]I don't trust the Tories[/highlight] to fund it properly.

What a predictable one liner. I'm glad you trust the NHS, by your accounts they have treated you very well.