Grade 4 rectal prolapse.

I can only say, soop, that you are in my prayers each night. I can’t imagine how awful your situation is.

Endless patience soop, no clever answers though. Sourcing the pads is progress, a small step to recovering some dignity, hopefully the consultant will respond promptly.

Thank you for your continuing support. Especially for private messages that have helped me source useful aids of one kind and another.

I have just spoken to a nurse in Campbeltown who is to supply me with upgraded incontinence pads. They will be delivered to the surgery tomorrow. I then phoned Ross Hall, held on for some twenty minutes, because all the lines are busy, and my enquiry will be passed on to the consultant's secretary. I need written confirmation ASAP of the findings carried out under anaesthetic in order to take the crowd funding route forward. Also, my GP , away on other duties right now, also needs a copy in order to keep my case alive on the NHS. It's a nightmare. I dream about different scenarios. The frustration aspect of the dreams is akin to trying to run when my legs refuse to respond.

We've all experienced such dreams. My heart goes out to any one who is in a similar position. I would never call an emergency help line unless it was absolutely justified.

Please, if you have the patience, continue to add to this forum. It helps enormously.

JenniferEccles, yes, of course, you are quite right that ambulances are meant for emergencies only. However, an untreated rectal prolapse is potentially dangerous, with the ongoing possibility of gangrene, ulceration or haemorrhage.

Ah yes, the night time patients. Where dd is working, A&E is at its busiest at night. People come in then because they think it’ll be quieter. There have been waiting times of up to seventeen hours for non-urgent cases in her unit yet people are prepared to wait that length of time to ask for some free paracetamol or a Tubigrip for a sore wrist. I find that utterly baffling.

Marydoll good luck with your appointment.

Soop, I was thinking about the lack of notes from your previous op. I can’t help thinking that that is a bit of procrastination on the part of the authorities. I’d have thought people quite often end up in hospital without their medical history being available - would they refuse to treat a heart attack victim from overseas because they couldn’t get the notes from the patient’s previous valve replacement? ?

Thank you very much maddyone
The sense of entitlement in some people is truly unbelievable. It must be so difficult for doctors to remain professional in their dealings with such folk.

SueDonim
….it’s really, really not what medics spend six years training for, is it?

No Sue, it absolutely isn’t. Six years in medical school, followed by two years as a Foundation Doctor, then a year as a junior doctor in a psychiatric hospital (with a view to becoming a psychiatrist, but changed her mind) and then a further three years spent in GP training. That is what my daughter did in order to become a GP. And then she’s asked for sun lotion and nit lotion. She refused both, but told me that the patient would simply go to one of the other doctors in the practice who would probably prescribe it in order to get rid of them. They think nothing of wasting doctors time and don’t care about people like soop who desperately need the care of the NHS.

soop please go back to your GP and don’t be brave, tell him/her just how truly awful your situation is.

JenniferEccles all good wishes for your hip op and a speedy recovery.

It was very common for people to ring during the night because they thought ‘It would not be so busy’!!!

It just goes to show that some people not only have little respect for doctors but also that they think doctors don’t actually need to sleep!

OH was a GP - he was once called out in the middle of the night by a panicking man to go miles and miles to a man who was "stuck on the toilet" - as it is not uncommon for elderly people to come to grief on the loo when they get up in the middle of the night my OPH duly set off. When he got there the man was sitting in front of the TV supping a can of beer - he was fine; just a bit constipated. I asked OH what he did and he said|: "I treated it by the direct route and I do not think he will be calling us in the middle of the night again!"

It was very common for people to ring during the night because they thought "It would not be so busy"!!!

Soop - I am very sorry you are facing so many stumbling blocks to get your much-needed surgery. It makes me despair that the NHS is in such a state that someone like you has to think of raising money for help. IN a much lesser way, I am in the same boat and have been seeking private treatment for a failed hip replacement - I can still walk with a stick so no help forthcoming from NHS. I sincerely hope that you will get the treatment you need soon.

Oh and best of luck with your preliminary appointment in a couple of weeks Marydoll
I hope you don’t have to wait too long for your operation if that’s what’s decided.

Thank you too Marydoll

Oh my goodness, MOMB! How did you manage to stay civil (as I imagine you did!)?

Maddyone it’s really, really not what medics spend six years training for, is it?

The thing is, in A&E, each of these cases takes up a minimum of 1.5hrs. Doctors aren’t allowed to just say, ‘No, go away and buy some paracetamol for 35p from Tesco.’ The patient has to be checked over, a history taken, advice given and notes written up. All while juggling with other patients and responding to any crash calls etc. Dd says she’s lucky if she can get through seven patients during a 12 hour shift.

Hetty dd says the charge nurses are the ones who lay down the law! They will tell awkward patients exactly what’s what in a very firm manner indeed. She says it’s very impressive.

Oh thank you mumofmadboys
That’s very kind of you.

Jennifer, good luck from me too.
I have an initial appointment to see about a hip replacement in a couple of weeks. Things seem to be moving again.
I was told the waiting list was very lengthy, this appointment has come out of the blue! Procedures never phase me, but this time, I'm really nervous. Perhaps its due to the presence of Covid.

Hope all goes well for you Jennifer

In the days of being a GP on call from home, a patient once rang me at 3 am to say they couldn't sleep!!!

Ah, the dreaded IT problems!
It’s probably the time of day to feel a bit cross isn’t it?!
I am as I’m tired and should be asleep by now but my blasted hip is keeping me awake, hence I’m on here!
I’m having a total hip replacement next month though, so although I am getting very nervous I realise how lucky I am that I have reached the top of the list and now have a date for the op.

Soop, could you say to the surgeon you will struggle enormously to find 25 K and can he offer you a better price? It seems an incredibly high figure and presumably fairly arbitrary.

Yes, I realise that, I am just rather cross.

I may have to pay for a knee operation myself but it doesn't seem as necessary somehow.

The l went for a wander, got lost in amongst all these pop-up adverts! I had an IT problem.

Oh I completely agree Calistemon (what’s happened to your missing l?!).
We shouldn’t have to fund our own treatment when that’s exactly what the health service is for. It’s shocking, but as soop has said, she thinks she would be facing a long wait for her treatment unless she was prepared to have it done privately which apparently would cost an outrageous £25,000.

I was just putting forward an alternative to the crowd funding idea, which may come to nothing, as presumably it relies on complete strangers making donations to the treatment.

Why should anyone have to crowd fund for a procedure which will alleviate such misery and give a better quality of life to an older person and should be done by the NHS?

I would also be in favour of looking into taking out more equity from the house, even though you have already done that in the past.

But why?
If someone has paid into NI all their lives why should they have to pay £25,000 just because they are older and in real need of treatment?

I do take the point about 999 being for dire emergencies but people call 999 for ridiculous reasons.

I am really surprised that a few people on here are suggesting calling 999 for an ambulance for Soop.

Ambulances, especially now, are only for life or death emergencies like heart attacks, strokes, chocking or when a person has been in a serious accident.

A and E is not the place to pitch up when we feel frustrated at a long wait to see a specialist, regardless of how dispiriting that must be.

I would also be in favour of looking into taking out more equity from the house, even though you have already done that in the past.

It’s been widely reported in the press that property prices up and down the country have leapt over the past year, so you might be pleasantly surprised at how much your home is worth now.

Something to think about if the crowd funding idea doesn’t appeal after you have looked into it.

I found this on the Age UK website.

Claiming Attendance Allowance won't reduce any other income you receive. ... If you're awarded Attendance Allowance, you may become entitled to other benefits, such as Pension Credit, Housing Benefit or Council Tax Reduction, or an increase in these benefits if you're already receiving them.