In praise of the NHS

[selectortone]

mods: I hope this isn't seen as political. If you think it is then please delete it.

Did you know that private hospitals in the UK don't have A&E departments? If you have a problem after a procedure at a private hospital they leave it to the NHS to pick up the pieces.

Yesterday my daughter had a minor operation that involved a general anaesthetic. She has private healthcare through her company and the op was carried out at the local private hospital. Very nice.. private room, shower in the loo, choice of lunch.... all very posh.

Brought her home at 5pm. Throughout the evening she was a bit breathless and in the morning she was like a severe asthmatic, couldn't catch her breath at all. I called the private hospital and they told me to take her to Bournemouth General, the closest A&E.

I was there all day and she is in the AMU (Acute medical Unit) tonight. You read all these stories about 3 hour waits in A&E, well... we were there 5 minutes when the triage nurse called her. Got a summary of her symptoms and she was being wheeled to the Major unit two minutes later. The Major unit is for "serious injuries and illnesses". She was seen immediately by an intern, then a doctor, then a consultant. A pulmonary embolism (blood clot in the lungs) was initially suspected but quickly ruled out by a blood test (done and results returned within 15 minutes) and a chest X-ray indicated pulmonary oedema (fluid on the lungs) - probably caused by a bad reaction to anaesthetic administered at the private hospital.

She's recovering and hopefully within 48 hours she'll be fine. The doctors and nurses at Bournemouth General were absolutely brilliant today. Nothing was too much and the genuine concern and calm professionalism blew me away. They even got a consultant anaesthetist to call the private hospital to get the details of the anaesthetic procedure she had there, and then come down to the ward and reassure her that she was going to be OK.

I just wanted to write this because my eyes were opened today. The NHS gets so much bad publicity these days. Every night there seems to be something bad about the NHS on the news. And yet there they were today to pick up the pieces when private medicine couldn't cope.

Thanks.... very stressful day. I needed to vent.

 

[RogerS]

Terry...fear not. Fingers crossed for you and your daughter's speedy recovery.

Yes, you are 100% correct that Private Healthcare doesn't have any A&E. But I wouldn't necessarily condemn private health because of that. Mistakes happen anywhere. My 95 year old mother was given the wrong medicine the other day at the Care Home. Fortunately no ill effects but just as easily could have been (although if truth be told, given where she's at physically and mentally if it had proven to be a fatal mistake then she would have been ecstatically happy and neither my sister nor I would have given the Care Home any grief).

But I digress. Mistakes happen both NHS and Private ...and don't forget that a large percentage of consultants on the Private Healthcare circuit are also consultants at an NHS Hospital !

I agree with you, though. Bottom Line - the NHS is brilliant.

 

[selectortone]

...and don't forget that a large percentage of consultants on the Private Healthcare circuit are also consultants at an NHS Hospital !

Indeed they are. When my late wife was first diagnosed with cancer we were at Poole General (NHS). When I mentioned that I had private cover through my company she was quickly carted over to the private Harbour Hospital over the road. I could almost see the pound signs revolving in the consultant's eyes. The consultant, surgeon and oncologist both flitted between the two hospitals. I could see them scurrying between the two from my wife's bedroom window. It never sat well with me, especially as all the major stuff like radiotherapy, MRI scans and anything that needed major medical plant was done, under the private health cover, at Poole General. She became very sick and eventually died, so I wasn't going to quibble about queue jumping, but it always niggled in the back of my mind.

 

[Woodbloke]

Terry...fear not. Fingers crossed for you and your daughter's speedy recovery.

I agree with you, though. Bottom Line - the NHS is brilliant.

:text-+1:

The NHS is fantastic, end of story.
A couple of years ago after the usual tests, I was diagnosed with a 'mild, non-aggressive' form of Prostate Cancer (that's a day that I won't ever forget as time seemed to pass very slowly). Within six weeks of the diagnosis, I had a Radical Prostatectomy using the Da Vinci robot to remove the Prostate Gland, which turned out to be a complete cure for this disease. During the same op, an umbilical hernia was also fixed, which would have needed general surgery at some point regardless of the cancer.
The op was carried out at a private hospital in Southampton used by the NHS for this procedure.
Quite the most worrying concern was that almost the whole process of setting up dates and times for the op was done over the 'phone...I never received any sort of confirmation letter telling me when and where to go for the op; had I not been within three feet of the 'phone when it rang, the bottom line is that I may have missed the slot.
Throughout the whole of that summer/autumn of 2016, all the NHS staff that I came into contact with were unfailingly superb, even though it was quite evident that they were under an enormous amount of pressure - Rob

 

[Woodster]

I’m glad to hear your daughter is recovering ok. My recent trip to A&E confirms what you’ve said, I received excellent treatment.

 

[AndyP]

Nothing political in your post at all.
Glad you daughter has got sorted out and is recovering.

Good news stories about the NHS will never make the news. None of the emergency services will ever judge the how and why of why you need their help. Without private hospitals the NHS would be in an even worse state.

 

[Jimmy Mack]

Once you're infront of the health care professionals the NHS is second to none, it's just getting there that can be tricky and where the lack of funding becomes evident; logistic systems are archaic.

It's true about the NHS picking up the pieces when private practice goes wrong or becomes an emergency and it's worth noting that private consultants, to practice, have to do a minimum quota of NHS work before their private work, 35 hrs I believe...so they must be fatigued.

Hospitals vary, my wife works in the NHS and has just left the York Trust (20 million in debt due to poor management) to return to Jimmy's in Leeds. She has half the number of patients and twice the number of support staff here! It'll be life changing for our family happiness. She was so stressed in dealing with acute medicine last Christmas at York that we found ourselves in the delivery suite with the probability of jnr arriving at 25 weeks!... Scary stuff. Excellent care at Jimmy's and much needed signed time off steadied the boat...though keeping her from work was near impossible (NHS staff are uniquely doggedly committed to the team, even when they are under ridiculous pressures!).

My point, I suppose, is the majority of NHS staff are fantastic and 100% committed, but the level of care (exhausted staff) and access to professionals varies from one Trust to the next.... Speaking from personal experience, having been that person stuck in A&E doubled up on the floor with excruciating gallbladder pain for hours... Once transferred, the NHS dept that removed it were fantastic!

Selectortone, all the best for your daughter's speedy recovery.

Sent from my Moto G (5) using Tapatalk

 

[Rod]

Yes all the best with your daughters health.

Most of my immediate family are connected at the front face of the NHS so I’m very biased towards it.
And although I have private medical insurance I’ve heard many stories of patients having to be blue lighted from private hospitals to NHS ones to be fairly concerned about using them.
All my health problems started at the young age of 70 when I was diagnosed with bowel cancer when our local NHS slipped into fast overdrive.
It was thought curable but sadly I’m one of the 10% when this turned out to be not the case.
I’ve been fighting it ever since with great care and dedication from the NHS around here.
I’m actually writing this from hospital having been ambulanced from home direct to a bed in the Acute Surgical Unit. My Stoma stopped working making me violently sick, so I’m nil by mouth for a few days with a tube down my throat until things start working properly again. Scans etc have shown this not to be cancer related which is good news. I’m feeling very hungry so must be on the mend [emoji3]
Incidentally with family living in Leeds I’ve visited patients in Jimmys many times. A great hospital with a great record.

Rod

 

[9fingers]

I hope you are fighting fit very soon Rod.

Take Care

Bob

 

[Malc2098]

:text-+1:

 

[RogerS]

Get well, Rod. Fingers crossed.

 

[Rod]

Thanks for your good wishes, I’m feeling a lot better and was allowed to have a small drink of black tea this evening but still with the NG tube inserted. Maybe soup tomorrow [emoji3]

I normally come prepared for hospital stays but this was a bit sudden and I didn’t gather some of my hospital kit like ear plugs.
Fortunately the hospital keep some, as they will be a necessary attire tonight with two loud snorers in the bay already trumpeting away!! [emoji53]

The not so good aspects of the NHS

Rod

 

[tracerman]

Rod , yes get well soon .

Are you in the Southampton General as you were once before ? . If you are and you need anything brought in , let me know , I live within walking distance of the hospital . If it saves your folks coming all the way from Winchester , let me know . I mean it .
Steve

 

[Rod]

Hi Steve

Yes I am and thanks for the very kind offer.

Hopefully I won’t be in much longer.

I’ve got a window slot and the weather is awful as you must know.

Rod

 

[AndyP]

Looking forward to soup, you must have been bad. Hope you are home soon Rod.

 

[Rod]

Thanks

Yes clear soup for lunch then a thicker soup and a clear jelly for supper but I can have coffee today.
[emoji4]

Rod

 

[Rod]

Light Diet today then hopefully home tomorrow
Saw the hospital’s pigeon chaser out of the window:

Rod

 

[Newbie_Neil]

Hi Rod,

I hope that your recovery continues.

All the best,
Neil

 

[Jimmy Mack]

Hi Rod,

Hope you're not in too long. All the best with the recovery.
Jim

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[TrimTheKing]

Glad everything got sorted Terry, and the post is absolutely fine as Andy said.

Rod - hope you're back home and settled soon.

Sadly we lost my FiL to bowel cancer and Acute Myeloid Leukemia mix at the weekend, but to echo all comments here, the NHS were bang on the money as soon as he was referred by the GP but sadly he was beyond any kind of medical intervention by that point.

Perhaps if the GP had looked a bit closer back in August and not just treated him with laxatives for constipation he may still be with us...

 

[Woodbloke]

Rod - hope you're back home and settled soon.

:text-+1: - Rob

 

[Rod]

Thanks folks I was back home on Tuesday afternoon.

Sorry to hear about your FIL Mark, my sincerest condolences.

The regular “poo sticks” testing failed to pick up my initial bowel cancer and it took two major bleeds before the GP was kicked into action.
After confirmation of the diagnosis I’ve been treated very efficiently and quickly and cannot complain at all.

Rod

 

[techauthorbob]

I too have nothing but praise!

About a year ago I straightened up from washing the car and had a pounding heartbeat that was really painful.

A quick trip to the quack and a scan showed that I had a stage one heartblock. Unfortunately due to a total cockup by the doctor and clinic this rumbled on for a month. After my wife becoming more concerned than usual (''tis but a scratch!), she arranged for me to see a private consultant. I got tagged onto the end of his list, saw him at six o'clock, was in Bradford Royal Infirmary at eight o'clock, had a Pacemaker fitted the following lunchtime and was home at teatime, less than 22 hours overall - wellimpressed.

It turned out to be a stage three heartblock. My pulse was around 28 at this time (low is 40)! The doctor even let me drive the day it was diagnosed - now THAT could have been fatal.

Had several checks since, All done very efficiently and quickly.

Bob

 

[Jimmy Mack]

Wow Bob... Just wow. That's some story. Glad for the happy ending, sounds like a very close call!

Sorry for your family's loss Mark.

Good to hear you're home Rod; as good as the NHS is, it's still good to get home.

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[AndyP]

Good news stories about the NHS will never make the news.

Prime example this morning about the operation carried out on two unborn babies to correct spine defects carried out by NHS staff in an NHS hospital (Universtity College Hospital London) at no cost to the patients.

Does NHS get mentioned? - not once.