Thank You Nhs ..... ?

[Paul]

With the events of recent times there has been a public outpouring of gratitude towards our NHS, the front line fighters in the battle against the pandemic. But has this actually manifested in anything more than words, and a few evenings stood on our doorsteps clapping? Are we doing anything more tangible to demonstrate that gratitude. 

Sadly, my recent experience suggests not. 

Jamie, our eldest came into hospital, from where I write this missive, on Tuesday for surgery which hasn't quite gone as we might have hoped. An expected one or two nights stay has already become four, and looks likely to run into weeks. I have to say I have been very disappointed by the behaviour of some accompanying parents. There are those who, bearing in mind we are in hospital in a local lock down seem to feel the rules on visiting don't apply to them. Parents lucky enough to be taking their little darlings home who are happy to leave their bed space looking like a bombsite with litter on the floor, toys all over the bed. Parents who seem unable to make and strip their own folding beds but wait for the nurse to do it, who could much better spend their time doing something more important, like being a nurse rather than a maid. 

Most disgraceful though the lady, and I use that term loosely who had a raging argument with staff, bad language and all in the middle of a children's ward because visiting dispensation was given to the father of a little girl with down syndrome to visit briefly last night to try and settle the little tot who was getting quite upset and crying for him. No madam, that doesn't mean your sister should be allowed to visit your teenager with a septic foot. 

The staff have been wonderful to Jamie and I, so thank you NHS

Its a shame those three little words seem to be so quickly forgotten by so many. 

[Hylander]

Unfortunately ,  the great unwashed as I call them ,  the ungrateful that sit on their back sides all their life and expect everything to happen for them and be paid for them , and it is,   are far too commonly found these days,  and as for bad language to a nurse ,  they should not have to put up with any of it.    I can forgive a person in extreme pain bad language but that is all and then afterwards they are usually the first to apologise.        

I hope Jamie is a bit better today.    He is in the best of hands.

[Ray]

Best wishes for Jamie's quick recovery and return home.

There are some in this country who really could do with learning manners, gratitude and the fact that their air of entitlement I'd completely misplaced!

[Polly]

All the best to Jamie whom I once met and helped off a boat at LBBY , nice little lad then. 

[Cheesey69]

Gratitude? Sense of entitlement?

you do realise this service isn’t provided but payed for?

Its a service payed for by workers in this country to be used by those in need and sometimes by those who have yet to contribute and those who need it more than most. 
NHS isn’t a gift it’s a paid for service. 
that said, bad behaviour is bad behaviour and no excuse  

[Ray]

It's about how you behave to the people who deliver the service not about how it is paid for.

[YnysMon]

The last line says it all. I don’t understand why such bad behaviour seems to be on the increase.

I also think that it’s very easy for us to forget that not all countries have universal health care. Yes, we do pay for it, but thank goodness that we have the NHS. Let’s not take it for granted.

[Chelsea14Ian]

Paul I wish Jamie all the best and hope all goes well.I agree I have nothing  but thanks to the care I have received  in hospital, during  this very worrying  time.I do have issues  with our local GP surgery  though. They are not doing face to face appointments. For example due to my COPD, my breathing  is checked every August. Not this year,I had a phone appointment, question s asked and given a new puffer.My pneumonia was checked out by a Ambulance crew.I would very much like to speak   face to face to a Doctor  but our surgery is not doing so.Yes covad is a problem, but I fear many will die due to not being seen.

[floydraser]

12 hours ago, Paul said:

Most disgraceful though the lady, and I use that term loosely who had a raging argument with staff, bad language and all in the middle of a children's ward

Which is why there are more and more cctv cameras in hospitals, and rightly so. 

I don't wish to make light of the issue but that woman needs a colonoscopy then she may realise that these are NOT the people you should be rude to.

[Hylander]

9 hours ago, Chelsea14Ian said:

Paul I wish Jamie all the best and hope all goes well.I agree I have nothing  but thanks to the care I have received  in hospital, during  this very worrying  time.I do have issues  with our local GP surgery  though. They are not doing face to face appointments. For example due to my COPD, my breathing  is checked every August. Not this year,I had a phone appointment, question s asked and given a new puffer.My pneumonia was checked out by a Ambulance crew.I would very much like to speak   face to face to a Doctor  but our surgery is not doing so.Yes covad is a problem, but I fear many will die due to not being seen.

I totally agree with you regarding the local GP surgery.    From what I gather here where I live they just dont want anyone at the surgery unless you kick and I mean kick hard.    You have to fight to be seen.     In the majority folk never bother the doctor for no reason and if they have concerns or an ongoing concern then it should be addressed and not just dismissed under the excuse of Covid19.      I have had a problem since March and my surgery keeps saying they are not able under Government guidelines to treat me,  well well, isnt it funny that they gave me a phone number of a private concern that apparently can treat me.   So as I am so frustrated with waiting , I am paying for my treatment, for the second time.   Already paid for my treatment over my 60 years of working and paying a full stamp.   I started work at 15 and worked well passed 60 but then that was the last time I paid for my stamp.

Saying all that ,  at no time would I be rude to any member of staff at the surgery.    Nor would anybody with any manners.

8 hours ago, floydraser said:

Which is why there are more and more cctv cameras in hospitals, and rightly so. 

I don't wish to make light of the issue but that woman needs a colonoscopy then she may realise that these are NOT the people you should be rude to.

Goodness me dont frighten people who may read this are just about to have a colonoscopy.      

 

 

[SteveP]

55 minutes ago, Hylander said:

I totally agree with you regarding the local GP surgery.    From what I gather here where I live they just dont want anyone at the surgery unless you kick and I mean kick hard.    You have to fight to be seen.     In the majority folk never bother the doctor for no reason and if they have concerns or an ongoing concern then it should be addressed and not just dismissed under the excuse of Covid19.      I have had a problem since March and my surgery keeps saying they are not able under Government guidelines to treat me,  well well, isnt it funny that they gave me a phone number of a private concern that apparently can treat me.   So as I am so frustrated with waiting , I am paying for my treatment, for the second time.   Already paid for my treatment over my 60 years of working and paying a full stamp.   I started work at 15 and worked well passed 60 but then that was the last time I paid for my stamp.

Saying all that ,  at no time would I be rude to any member of staff at the surgery.    Nor would anybody with any manners.

Goodness me dont frighten people who may read this are just about to have a colonoscopy.      

 

 

Being rude to staff can never be excused, but having a colonoscopy needn't be a worry, I always watch mine on the Doctors screen.The only time you need to worry about a colonoscopy is if you start enjoying it.

[webntweb]

2 hours ago, Hylander said:

Goodness me dont frighten people who may read this are just about to have a colonoscopy.      

Had one last year and because I have sleep apnoea it would have been unsafe to sedate me.

I found it slightly uncomfortable but didn't experience any pain even when they removed a polyp and also took another sample for a biopsy.

[Paul]

12 hours ago, Chelsea14Ian said:

.I do have issues  with our local GP surgery

Sadly the General Practice system is broken and that is the cause of many of the issues in our hospitals. The GP in our village is by no means the worst but you are still more likely to see a Unicorn than a Doctor unless you have a long term underlying condition, everything else is dealt with by telephone and prescriptions where needed go electronically to the pharmacy across the road. This is not a COVID measure, it has been this way since John The Baptist complained of neck ache. We complain of unnecessary use of A&E but many of these people have tried to see a Doctor and simply cannot get an appointment. 

The staff who are there do their very best, but there are just not enough of them. 

I sense a rant about foreign aid to countries who spend millions on space programs or armed forces and that money being better spent on our own NHS so before that develops further I'll slide the soap box back under Jamie's bed and tell you all that he is starting to show some small signs of improvement. 

[LizG]

4 hours ago, Paul said:

.............. under Jamie's bed and tell you all that he is starting to show some small signs of improvement. 

That's really good news!

With my own daughter back in hospital/treatment centre for a third chemo session we have gone from being so impressed with the speed of the original diagnosis to now frustration at the constant hiccups - mostly involving admin and communication!

Last week she was due to go back on Wednesday .  So the previous Friday she went to the local hospital for her PICC line dressing change and blood tests.  This was to check her neutrophil levels etc. before re-admission.  The appointment took 3 hours!  She also had to arrange a Covid test, and rather than go into London, they told her to get one locally!!! It had to be on Sunday or Monday at the latest.  So having failed to get a courier delivered one as the website was down, she went online to check availability for a local drive through test.  You couldn’t register until the evening before you wanted one and guess where the nearest was DUMFRIES (we live in Hertfordshire).  So she managed to eventually get a courier delivered one by phoning!  And belt and braces one in London at the Treatment Centre if all else failed! The courier one was delivered and collected!  So on Tuesday she waited for the doctor to call her between 2 & 3 but nothing.  This was to confirm her treatment and confirmation she would go in on Wednesday.  No one had told her the local hospital blood test clotted and was invalid so she couldn’t be admitted – they just said ‘oh yes we are expecting you on Friday’!  Eventually the doctor phoned very apologetically and my husband had to then do a 4+hour round trip to the Treatment Centre on Wednesday for another blood test and another Covid test!  On the way home the exhaust fell off the Fiesta (petrol so avoiding the emissions charge) so that had to be fixed.   The Treatment Centre is inside the congestion zone, the hospital on Euston Road isn’t!  But it got better!!!! On Thursday the nurse rang to say that the blood sample taken on Wednesday hadn’t been tested for the key elements that is the neutrophils and platelets.  So, they said come in in the morning as planned, they would do a blood test and as long as everything is okay, she would be admitted.  My husband could drive home, and if she did get sent home, they would arrange transport.  Well the blood tests came back, and yes the neutrophils were okay but the platelets were still down so she was told she would need to come home!  However, in the end the top doctor said she could be admitted and her treatment has started.  She is staying in what is called the Cotton Rooms which is attached to UCH London but has to monitor her temperature constantly - any spike and she will be back on the ward!  This chemo session lasts six days and is mega strong and she is going to have a very tough time!  She will then come home after four weeks and have a two week break and then return for the final session.  The good news that despite the treatment continuing the bone marrow test she had shortly before she came home last time showed the leukemia was no longer present.

Yes the NHS is brilliant but also has many faults!  She will also vouch that the food in the hospital is dreadful!

[Ray]

Very best wishes to her and you. You show as clear as can be the two sides of the NHS, on one hand an administrative dinosaur causing extra unwarranted stress to patients and families and on the other dedicated practitioners doing so much for us and our loved ones.

[YnysMon]

Yes, the NHS isn’t perfect by any means, and the constant Government interventions to rearrange the way it’s run probably don’t help. All this Covid disruption isn’t helping either. Lots of organisations have struggled since March with key staff being affected. 
Hope your daughter’s treatment isn’t affected Liz and that she gets well again.

I feel I’m fortunate to live in an area where there are several GP practices. About 10 years ago I checked out the NHS choices site and decided to move to a different practice that had far better reviews and better results on a number of measures. I’m so glad I did. Everything from the helpfulness of the receptionists (the ones in the previous practice were dragons) to the availability of appointments and the care from the GPs has been outstanding, including end of life care for my mother.

[floydraser]

11 hours ago, SteveP said:

Being rude to staff can never be excused, but having a colonoscopy needn't be a worry, I always watch mine on the Doctors screen.The only time you need to worry about a colonoscopy is if you start enjoying it.

I also watched the screen while joking with the nurse and technician about a TV documentary from the previous evening. But that's just me.

I was however, in awe of these people who choose to do this work for a career and afterwards I made a point of telling them all so.

 My serious point remains though; don't upset NHS staff.