Supporting NHS

What a year your family has had! Hope you are all recovering and doing better now.

Hope you will all do well for the rest of the year.
When it works, the NHS is great.

Absolutely

Having worked for the NHS for the last 17 years of my working life I can say that whatever is wrong with the NHS is nothing whatsoever to do with the nurses, midwives and healthcare assistants. They do their utmost, in overworked and understaffed hospitals, to deliver the best care they can provide. The crisis in the NHS has everything to do with both Tory & Labour Governments having made a total hash of it for decades. Lovely that NanaTuesday took the time to let us know her positive experiences.

Goodness, NanaTuesday, that's quite a list.
Like you, I give thanks to all who keep the creaky old ship that is the NHS afloat.
Over the last year, three friends have received long, expensive treatment for different cancers. All seem to have been successful.
My youngest DD is an insulin dependent diabetic. She has been kept well, and has had excellent care, during her second pregnancy recently, resulting in my healthy new GC.
Shaky though it is, the NHS is a jewel in our crown.

Today, absolutely zero help from GP receptionist (we went in person so as to avoid the dastardly ^hanging on the telephone^😡

Rang 111, they sent prescription to local pharmacy, we picked it up, all in under 10 minutes, including phone call 👏👏👏

(vital meds for DD)

Absolving nurses etc of any responsibility at all for shortcomings in healthcare is neither helpful nor accurate imo. It's the sort of mindset that means complaints are not taken seriously because 'it could never be a nurse's fault'. Nurses are like any other professional group - they range for excellent to making you wonder how they've kept their registration. It's good to hear the OP has had really positive experiences but it's not right to accept that some of us in appallingingly sad situations have had quite the opposite. What I've said applies to doctors as well btw

I wish I could be so enthusiastic. DD daughter left quite, literally at deaths door because a doctor forgot one necessary test in a telephone appointment. Three wrong diagnosis over 18 month. All this rather erodes ones confidence in the NHS hospital system.

No 'system' is ever perfect.
Heartening to hear NanaTuesday's story.
Horrible when you are so seriously let down.
Still happy to have it.
Better service in some countries and much worse in others. Thinking USA.

I've found NHS do emergency response quite well, the wait and delays for non emergency can be dire, death may come first.

The nurses were the absolute worst part of my hospital stay.

They're very kind in outpatient appointments, but quite, quite shockingly different on the wards.

Seen too much of hospitals over past 18 months. Husband is back in hospital following a second stroke last week and son is still having chemo for pancreatic cancer. Some parts are excellent, others very poor. A nurse yesterday was giving my son some drugs and he noticed they were the wrong ones. She double checked and he was correct! Usually the chemo staff are really good and have been since January when he started.

Communication throughout is pretty hopeless. He has never been seen by his Consultant, never had a scan since he started. His major surgery at Addenbrooke's was really good.

So yesterday we were told my husband was being moved to a smaller hospital much closer to home later that day. I got to hospital with my son for chemo and they said there was now no bed. He was very upset - that’s how his stroke has affected him. The discharge woman apologised and said he would have to wait. I explained that it is a 60 mile round trip every time I visit him and with taking son I am just about on my knees.

I went outside rang the other hospital myself and was told there was a bed! I ran around the ward looking for her to tell her what she needed to do. Half an hour later a male nurse came and said he WAS moving to the other hospital. She kept out of my way. Result! But it shouldn’t be down to me to do their work.

Sarnia ,
Too often we hear the negative comments re our NHS staff .
I can honestly say that in my 2days of Hospital care every one from the Surgical Team to the Porters ( who were dressed immaculately in black waistcoats ) were exemplary in both care giving & respect.
Added to this my own DD2 resigned from the NHS herself just 3 weeks ago unfortunately after 20plus years of service. Nursing was not a job for her as like others it is a vocation however it became increasingly difficult for her to maintain her home work balance when the working hours consistently increased over & above the 3 days she was contracted .

Primrose53

I am so sorry to hear this how absolutely awful for you with both your Son & DH both requiring treatment & hospital care .
You did well to fight your own corner & arrange the transfer. Keep your spirits up 🙏

Sarnia

Having worked for the NHS for the last 17 years of my working life I can say that whatever is wrong with the NHS is nothing whatsoever to do with the nurses, midwives and healthcare assistants. They do their utmost, in overworked and understaffed hospitals, to deliver the best care they can provide. The crisis in the NHS has everything to do with both Tory & Labour Governments having made a total hash of it for decades. Lovely that NanaTuesday took the time to let us know her positive experiences.

From1986-1995 I worked in hospitals both sides of the Scottish Border helping people cope - literally, from the cradle to the grave - with health, relationship issues and or, occasionally, system failures. From 1995-2005 I was employed by the Ministry of Defence to arrange support and care for military personnel and their families in Scotland, Northern Ireland and the North of England. I cannot recall a single occasion when it took longer than a couple of weeks to arrange the necessary support. Sure Start was a particularly valuable resource set up by Labour. Occasionally we had to approach military charities for funding but the state's Health and Care system generally provided the moneys and services required. However the first couple of years in this post found me dealing with brokenhearted career service personnel who were being made redundant by the Conservative Government......
From 2005-2012, I worked for a local authority in the community but took 'early' retirement in my 60's because it was clear resources were dwindling rapidly under the Conservative "Government".....

It's obvious that things are going to vary, not only from hospital to hospital, but also from ward to ward.

MissAdventure

The nurses were the absolute worst part of my hospital stay.

They're very kind in outpatient appointments, but quite, quite shockingly different on the wards.

That’s been my extensive experience too MissAdventure. Outpatient care has nearly always been excellent and caring. Nursing staff on the wards I was in frequently left a lot to be desired.

I feel absolutely traumatised by my treatment, and I don't feel I'm an emotional person ordinarily.

I'm quite stoic.

Maremia

No 'system' is ever perfect.
Heartening to hear NanaTuesday's story.
Horrible when you are so seriously let down.
Still happy to have it.
Better service in some countries and much worse in others. Thinking USA.

I don't actually care about other countries - things could be worse? Yes and they could be better. On threads like this we see the whole range of experiences and many of them are simply not good enough

Last time I was in hospital, only one night was about 4 years ago. I couldn't sleep because of the pain I was in and I watched the night nurse sat at the desk opposite our bay.

For three hours she was asleep with her head on her arms. The rest of the time she was on the phone to family and friends organising her social life.

MissAdventure

I feel absolutely traumatised by my treatment, and I don't feel I'm an emotional person ordinarily.

I'm quite stoic.

Having been in the same hospital MissA I have upmost sympathy for you.

I watched the indifference from the majority of the nursing staff towards bed bound elderly patients with tears in my eyes.

I complained and was brushed aside.

The nursing assistants were very helpful and kind, (HCA’s) and worked really hard.

Re Maremia remark suggesting health care in the U.S.A. isn’t good. Have you been treated there or are you going on what you’ve read in the newspapers? Regarding the N.H.S. I’m afraid it is in very poor state and I speak from being involved with it over the last 3 years. They are woefully short staffed not helped by people calling in ‘sick’ because they can and will get paid.
Last week for instance I was in a walk in centre and the waiting crowd were that half the staff were off sick so the wait was even longer than normal. It had been going on for days. Next day another urgent treatment centre, nurse said only 50 % in again. Called in ‘sick’ was she told me quite normal. I know it must be a nightmare to work in a hospital these days but just leave and stop creating even more problems. It’s been like this for years, none of this is new. It’s too big and out of control sadly. And as everyone lives on and on it will only get worse in my view,

Why not make comparisons with other countries?
Sometimes that's where you learn new practices, procedures, methods, even recruit staff.
Consultants go to conferences abroad, compare statistics, then bring back new ways of delivering their expertise.
You may not be interested, but I am, especially what's happening in the USA, simply because there are popular politicians who wish to push us in that direction

And my experience of nursing staff on wards full of elderly people is unprintable. If you go to the desk and raise an issue you are told how busy they are. Some are but some definitely are busy on their phones which isn’t nursing as far as I understand it. But we are brainwashed being told the NHS is the envy of the world. It keeps Jo Bloggs in their place and ‘ever so grateful’ in spite of the fact it isn’t true and all tax payers are paying for this mismanaged chaos. I do know what I’m talking about as well.