GP's, NHS & sportsmen - a rant

[molehill]

Have to say our GPs practice is faultless, same day appointments often and certainly by the next day, brilliant service for the years we have been here. But once you leave the surgery and head towards a hospital the system can be less than perfect!

[Marco]

After a 5 minute wait in the queue I spoke to a receptionist and to my surprise was offered an appointment at 9.15.

The GP, a chap in his 30's, who looked a bit of a sportsman himself, was very understanding of my concerns and complimentary of my fitness. After checking my BP he listened to my breathing and did that tapping thing on my back and chest with his fingers. He said everything seemed fine but suggested further investigation. After telling me the proposed plan of action he the sent the referral details to my phone for me to make the relevant appointments.

I now have blood tests back at the surgery this afternoon, a chest X-ray in the local cottage hospital tomorrow and an appointment in the "Lung Service" department in Royal Chesterfield Hospital on Monday.

We can only dream of service like that around here; last time my mother (in her mid 80s) tried to make an appointment it took eight weeks to get an appointment, with any doctor at any time. I can't remember the number of phone calls and attempts to book online (which never worked) but it was a considerable number.

I also haven't forgotten when I was isolating after having major surgery in 2020, either. The hospital told me to isolate for two weeks, as the death rate for people who had had surgery like me and caught Covid-19 immediately afterwards was over 35 percent. The problem was that the dressing needed inspecting and changing. When I phoned up to make an appointment with a nurse, and not a doctor, they flatly refused - so I had to queue-up in a waiting room at a hospital. That is how much that practice values its patients lives.

I don't think it will surprise anyone that the first thing I did when well enough was register with another GP practice. I don't know if they're any better, as I haven't seen a doctor, but I take the view that they can't be as bad.

[molehill]

A friend up the road caught flu a week ago, after several days in bed she phoned the GP who immediately had her ambulanced to hospital (she has an underlying heart condition) and that is where the NHS grinds to a halt. She has pneumonia and was in quite a bad way, on intravenous antibiotics etc.
She has a bed for the night and during the day is turfed out to sit in a chair (still connected to a drip) all day whilst the bed is used for others.
Trying to get her back to local cottage hospital and home asap where we can look after her properly. Currently Mrs Mole is sorting out all her washing and cleaning the house, others walking her dogs and someone else visiting in hospital - how rural communitie help each other.

[Mike T]

A friend up the road caught flu a week ago, after several days in bed she phoned the GP who immediately had her ambulanced to hospital (she has an underlying heart condition) and that is where the NHS grinds to a halt. She has pneumonia and was in quite a bad way, on intravenous antibiotics etc.
She has a bed for the night and during the day is turfed out to sit in a chair (still connected to a drip) all day whilst the bed is used for others.
Trying to get her back to local cottage hospital and home asap where we can look after her properly. Currently Mrs Mole is sorting out all her washing and cleaning the house, others walking her dogs and someone else visiting in hospital - how rural communitie help each other.

Whilst sitting out of bed during the day when in hospital is a good idea if people are up to it - less muscle wasting, a lower risk of clots in the legs, a lower likelihood of needing rehabilitation prior to discharge - to have somebody else use her bed during the day is weird. If that person is ill enough to need a bed during the day, they will also need a bed for the night. And if they don't need to stay overnight, why are they not dealt with in a chair?

Best wishes to your friend.

[molehill]

Thanks Mike, I believe they are simply short of beds etc. so heaven knows what is happening, patients being shunted around but by all accounts the situation has been pretty poor. But hear this all the time from the Welsh hospitals. Apparently she took a turn for the worse yesterday with a further bad infection, hope she has a full time bed now but everyone is very concerned.

[PeteS]

I finally saw a NHS consultant for a long running hip injury today. Nothing so severe that I need an op but a steroid injection should hopefully calm things down. If not a new MRI. This is good news and another great thing about the NHS when you finally get seen.
Conversely, I have had both an MRI and orthopaedic consultation privately and advised to stop running.
Today's consultation, although not entirely contradictory, indicated a different prognosis.
I'll live with that.

[ritsonvaljos]

Interesting to see. Since I reached 60 I never seem to have been away from the GP surgery and/or getting referred to hospital. They mean well and it's good to get checked out, even if it shows there is nothing seriously wrong. They have picked up on some things that they think might be abnormal, which in reality might be normal for a distance runner for many years, such as when taking readings of the resting pulse rate and blood pressure. However, it's better being checked out and no further action required than not being checked out and something serious happens later on.