Trust me mate bloody NHS is in a mess .tge other day was in London hospital, altogether waited 24 hours, no food no drink, don't blame doctors but the nhs is in a mess..
We dont have an NHS at the moment. I had a stroke in December 2015. We have moved to a rural area and one concern was that we live miles from a hospital.
Well 999 called about 7am. Paramedic arrived in two minutes, ambulance in 5 minutes. Straight in to a resus room. Nurse sat by my bed until taken to ward.
What a difference, I was very impressed.
Then I read about Mrs palpman and I get quite depressed.
Add to that , my GP wrote to me asking that I book an appointment with him. Rang surgery for two weeks without getting through.
Put simply, we don’t have an NHS any more. I guess all staff are swamped with Covid cases.
Colin
Government have done what they've always wanted to do.. Killed the NHS. Now they sell it off in bits to their chums...
Sorry to hear your awful story but glad the conclusion was good. I felt very abandoned the night of my heart attack being left for 55 minutes waiting for Portsmouth ambulance to get to me. Clearly others have worse experiences.
I just assumed if you were phoning with obvious heart attack symptoms you would only wait upto 20 minutes for a blue light to appear.
I’ve had two subsequent call out since sept 2020 and have to say Essex ambulances got to me within minutes.
Our poor hospitals are under such strain but the nurses and doctors as always are doing their best.
Luckily as I said your wife had a good outcome .
Here’s to a healthy future for you both but it was a very distressing time for you .
It seems to me there is a huge disproportion between the care you get with your gp and the struggle to obtain any test or scan when you have any symptoms , and the good quality of care once you sadly reach the hospital for some reason. It should be the opposite, good care before to prevent people ending up in A&E.
I am really sorry to read about your wife's experience.
I have had some awful experiences in A&E pre pandemic as well.
I came home last night from my latest hospital admission.
I accidentally took double doses of my Diltiazem and Nicorandil. My blood pressure could have dropped dramatically which for me could lead to a severe coronary vasospasms.
I rung 111, who advised me I needed to go to A&E, with a can you get there yourself, we have no ambulances at the moment, a minimum wait of 2 hours!
I arrived at a large north London A&E at midnight. It was like the Marie Celeste in the reception area. I am used to arriving into bedlam.
I was quickly seen, moved to a pod with a reclining seat. I was left to my own devices with chest pain.
I had an encounter with an obviously,
over stressed co coordinator who was off hand with me when I told her I had chest pain.
I was seen by a very junior doctor at 3am, who ran away to find the on call Cardiology reg.
I finally got the morphine I needed at 4.30am. I was admitted to the ward at 6am. Second dose of morphine.
Everything settled and I was home 7pm yesterday evening.
I met and spoke to some very stressed and weary staff. Most were caring.
The Cardiology registrar in A&E in particular he had met me before.
It's going to take sometime for the NHS to recover from the Covid pandemic.
I’m so sorry to hear about the stories above and I hope your wife is fully recovered. I must say however that I disagree with the comments about there ‘being no NHS’.
I’m very proud of our NHS and yes there are remarkable times and some awful stories, but also some great ones. Every country is in same situation and have many similar stories.
Following on from a double bypass a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer six months ago and have battled though both with the support of a magnificent NHS Oncology Team. Everyone is exhausted by the last two C19 years, but we will come out of it strong if we stick together. Let’s not politicise what has been a truly earth shattering time for the human race.
There should be no blame here, Be well, be hopeful, and be kind everyone,
I find it very difficult to believe that it took 5 hours for an ambulance to arrive after phoning 999 and describing heart attack symptoms (why did you phone 111???), sorry, I just do. And as for the comments some have made on here regarding the NHS during the unprecedented situation we have endured, they should be ashamed of themselves.
"On Saturday evening my wife's arm and chest started paining and it felt like someone was tightening a band around her chest.
Her normally low BP shot up to 210/110 and she had a headache.
This to me is a possible heart attack" Plus you have stated you are a part time medic - seems like a cast iron 999 call to me, year and a half or not? Like I say I doubt it would take 5 hours under those circumstances, and with the greatest respect, it did kind of sound like you were criticising the NHS.
Actually I just now asked my wife and she said the ambulance was called at 22.10 and it arrived at 03.30 am.
Please point me to where in my post I was criticising the NHS.
I posted this with the aim of saying later that the NHS will be further compromised or deeper in dire straits than it is now due to Covid when winter flu starts. My last post some hours ago reflects this.
Well we will have to agree to differ then, to me the whole tone of your OP seemed like a criticism, and judging by some of the usual few moaners jumping on the bandwagon along with people disagreeing with you so did others. I think if you read it through the negative aspect of it is obvious, if not what point were you making exactly? The problems due to Covid are unprecedented and obvious, and yes we will have to live with them for years to come, as everyone knows, or should do. And I still doubt that a 999 call describing heart attack symptoms would result in a 5 hour response, sorry.
There is no doubt how badly Covid has affected not only people suffering from Heart Disease but many other conditions. It is nobody's fault, or at least we will probably now never know if it was or not due to the prevention of the WHO properly investigation it by the Chinese regime. I don't really see the point when the situation is griped about when the world is also facing many other massive problems, it is not just simply a matter of throwing money at it, we simply do not have the resources in an ever increasing population many of whom are elderly. Those of us who are able need to do everything in our power to try and keep as fit as possible to try and avoid problems, but I fear looking around me at the ever growing obesity problem things can obviously only get worse, it is something we will have to live with unfortunately.
Correction. It was 5 hours and 20 minutes. It's sad that when some people post something in all sincerity someone will study it for hours until they and only they see something pleasingly negative in there minds.
Let us hope you do not need to go to A & E in the near future, wait 8 hours without food or drink and then have them try to send you home as they were “unable to help “. I had been sent there by my GP as he was unable to get my cardiologist to respond to his requests to see me. I have now won compensation for the appalling treatment I received from the NHS - and this was pre pandemic so no excuses!
I have indeed had to visit my local Eye A&E on far too many occasions over the last year and a half, along with 2 operations. The treatment has been tremendous and probably saved the sight in at least one eye, and this right in the middle of the pandemic. I also received first rate treatment for my CVD, which has resulted in me being able to enjoy a full and very active life. Looking at your profile you also seem to have benefited from some pretty amazing treatment as well? I will be happy to see 75 personally! I think the policy upon admission is not to provide food or drink until the problems are diagnosed in case you need immediate treatment, could be wrong on that but makes sense. Well done on the compo front did you donate it to a hospital related charity?
No I only asked to be compensated for what their poor treatment cost me. I could have asked for more but I am not greedy. I just wanted an apology which I got. If they are allowed to get away with negligent treatment they are never going to improve. Look at how much they have paid out in compensation claims.IncidentalllyI have just contacted my heart nurse with concerns only to be told that I have been taken off their list as I am on maxim doses and thay need space for new patients. My heart failure has not gone away. She said consult my GP. I replied that he had retired suddenly and I am left with various locums paid £100 an hour who are totally unfamiliar with my case even if I can get an appointment in the next month.
As for your comments on my age do I detect ageism at play. Perhaps you think I should be taken out and shot to save the NHS trouble?
Incidentally rubbish re the food and drink - if you had someone with you they could go and get supplies. I didn’t dare in case I lost my slot.
You sound very smug about your treatment, I hope it continues as you get older….
The NHS is a rather large organisation - to lump them all together and say they’re broken is just plain wrong…yes, some services are struggling (I’ve had issues myself), but others are doing a cracking job in tough circumstances. I think we’d all be better to throw our criticisms towards the current government and their shambolic handling of the NHS both pre and post Covid.
I too experienced this last nite ... got to the hospital at around 3 in the afternoon .. had tests done .. to be put in another room awaiting another blood test ... if I'd not spoke up I'd still be waiting for the blood test to be taken .. which in turn had me there at nearly one o'clock in the morning waiting for hospital transport to take me home ... not happy
But you were treated were you not? If you were not happy with the NHS taxi service why didn't you call one yourself, after all you were seen free of charge at the time? And yes I know we all pay for it through our contributions but surely you can't complain because they couldn't take you home as speedily as you wanted? I think some folks on here should try going and living in some parts of the world where there is NOTHING in the way of medical treatment, or where you have to pay big time via insurance charges.
My brother recently died but the services really took all the care they could of him. Political point making doesn't help anyone, it's really upsetting to read.
The nhs is a wonderful thing but it is struggling, when my heart issues started it was in the middle of covid, I was sent to A&E seen right away, sent for X-ray done right away seen by the doctor again, all done very fast and in a kind manner. A lot of problems are covid but also for people turning up to A&E with nothing really wrong with them or because they have been fighting or drinking. We need to stop all the talk of the NHS being broken on here because there will be people reading these posts who are having chest pains but don’t do anything about it because of what they are reading on here. The doctors nurses cleaners cooks ect are all working as hard as they can, it must be heart breaking for them when all they hear day after day is the NHS is broken and people complaining about what happened to them.
Exactly my thought, I have driven my husband to A&E on numerous occasions rather than wait for transport or Ambulance and 999 operators have said if possible get yourself there rather than wait. Plus if you arrive through the door as normal you are usually triaged quicker than going via Ambo where the Paramedics have already assessed whether you are an emergency or not.
Yes I do have a car but I applied my mind and saw fit to wait for an ambulance.
Firstly because she could have gone into cardiac arrest and helping her in the car would be difficult in traffic.
Secondly. I would not have gotten near A&E due to loads of ambulances queueing up. She would have had to either sit outside on a chair in the queue or wait in the car for something to happen.
If you were worried about cardiac arrest the situation was serious enough to call 999
I had my heart attack very early morning , by the time my husband was told to call me an ambulance at 6am , they were here at 6.20am . I was blue lighted to a hospital miles away so the ride was 45 mins. I was stented as soon as I went through the hospital doors . I still had my shoes on . I was sitting up in the ward by 9am . Like many I fear for the nhs with the problems they have . I also have two daughters who are nurses and have worked through this entire pandemic who are exhausted. I can’t fault how I was treated that day and they saved my life. For that I shall be forever greatful.
Sorry to read this and hope your wife is feeling better.This wasn’t my experience at all. I was taken into hospital recently after becoming unwell while shopping. The ambulance arrived within about 15 mins.
I was taken to A&E where bloods were taken an ECG done plus and X-ray.
My Troponin levels were raised so another blood test was done 3 hours later. The levels had risen so I was admitted onto a ward where I was seen by a Cardiologist. He changed my medication and told me I was now on his waiting list for an angiogram plus I’ve to have an echo. I was discharged after 48 hours with a discharge letter and supply of pills. My care was excellent.
So sorry to read your post! I worry what will happen when I'm in need of an ambulance. Past few weeks I have had scary symptoms- pain in between shoulder blades , tingling and numb left arm, tight chest, feeling of fullness and 'heartburn. Plus extreme tiredness. But I haven't call anyone and hoped it'll pass...I've had AVR 14 months ago and haven't been seen by anyone since my op!!!!
I'm on Bisoprolol, Atorvastatin, Apixaban, and some other meds not related to my heart problems.
I recall the times before 2020 when during the night I have had strong palpitations for up to two hours and did call 999 and they were with me within 10 minutes!
On few occasions I went to the hospital with them and waited to have blood tests to see if I had HA and did have to stay over night...other times they have assessed me at my home or in the ambulance parked outside the house..they were the good old days!
I dread to have to call them now.
My daughter said she will take me to A&E if there's need when I told her how I worry...but! will she have any petrol left ? She just managed yesterday to get some but it will soon go, as her and her husband have to travel to work, etc. So this situation now adds to my stress.
NHS is in a mess, true, it has been starved of money for years of Tory rule... but we can't really blame the NHS , the culprit is the present government who is he'll bent on destroying it and selling it off to the highest bidder. I fear the situation will worsen .
Thank you for asking. She is fine now. Seems it was a temporary constriction of the arteries leading to the heart. The GTN spray together with the diazepam sorted it out.
I strongly recommend you see your GP asap as the symptoms you describe are exactly what my wife had except she had sudden secondary high BP of 210/110.
As the original poster of this thread I apologise for the members who said negative things about the NHS. I in no way said or meant anything derogatory about the NHS. They are doing the best they can under the circumstances.My concern now is about how bad will this get come winter. Parents will rush their kids to A&E thinking they have Covid when they actually only have the common flu.
Perhaps this is the reason why children are now getting flu jabs.
Totally understand, you are worried about your wife , you should have heard my husband at the paramedic when they were taking pictures of my heart readings on his phone and I’m sitting having a heart attack. He’s American and has private health insurance through his job . On the day of mine , even if I went private there is no way I could have been treat any better or faster . It was wonderful how speedy my treatment was . I do get it how your feeling and the frustration. Hug her tight , she will be ok . She has you guarding her and taking care of her .
We need to be very careful that we don't shutdown any adverse comments about the NHS just remember the S in NHS stands for Service and we are all entitled to that Service no matter the pressures the NHS is under !
I went to the Dentist today and it was a Face to Face meeting, she couldn't fix my filling over the phone nor can my GP listen to my Heart over the phone.
I really do believe we are moving to a Dr Google service, hence " speak to your Pharmacist" He/She will give you an over the counter medication a lot cheaper than a Prescription. Drs will soon be out of work if they are not very careful They are not providing the Service bit of their contracts i.e. Face to Face appointments which it was before Covid 19 really Nothing has changed now as we move back to Normal still the same number of Doctors in my Practice as pre Covid but the Surgery is almost Empty every single day
We are the generation living a lot longer than previous generations hence we have more complex problems which need treating.
This is to all readers really, no one person in particular. I am proud to work for the NHS in mental health services and apart from 6 weeks off following my HA in February and stent fitted I have worked all the way through this awful pandemic. I am proud and will shout from any and all rooftops about the amazing Team of people and fantastic Consultants I am privileged to work with every day. Our patients are seen face to face and some people have had horrible and tragic events going on in their lives in the last 18 months not just due to Covid. To the detractors I say get a grip and be glad you are here to moan and groan about how bad things are, there are tens of thousands I am sure would have loved to have been still here to moan with you. Grow up and stop bloody complaining about things you have no control over and get on with living the best life you can while you can. For crying out loud, we are all adults. If you need an ambulance call one, if you need to get to a hospital faster than they can get to you, if you ask them how long they may be due to current demand, get there however you can as soon as you can. Don't wait and then complain about having to wait. I am not a Nurse but if I was I am sure this would have been a much stronger response after reading some of the comments.
Sorry you are the reason for my comment about not shutting down criticism of the NHS it is not all brilliant as peoples comment demonstrate. It is a very expensive service which no one complains about paying for but like a shop if you don't get the service you pay for you complain.
I am not the reason for anything you do or say. Your comment was on before I posted. We all have different experiences and some are good and some not so however we are all still here thanks to the NHS.
" stop bloody complaining about things you have no control over and get on with living the best life you can while you can. For crying out loud, we are all adults"
If you don't get the Service you have paid for you are entitled to complain, that is what my comment referred to. Sorry you couldn't understand that before your rant !! I am grateful for the Service I have received Bypass and Stents, but I paid for it through a Collective Insurance Scheme, called National Insurance Contributions, that's why I feel a right to complain if needed. I don't want to argue over this and spoil a decent thread I just feel I needed to reply.
Sorry to hear about your experience..But my sister had a completely different experience, she was admitted to Gloucester hospital last Thursday and she told me how well she was looked after, in fact she couldn't praise the staff and procedure enough..maybe she was just lucky..🤔
That's the very same hospital I'm talking about.It was a pity it happened on a very busy Saturday night when Cheltenham Hospital was closed.
I repeat here that the staff are super but they are overwhelmed by Covid and the fact that all the wards are full does not help.
I'm sorry you had such a bad experience, and I agree there are many problems with the NHS, but I have had several trips to A&E in the last 18 months and have had the appropriate treatment quickly. I was also referred to another hospital with a specialist heart unit and the cardiologist there spent an hour patiently explaining my condition and the procedure options available to me. He has since contacted me by letter and phone regarding further tests. Not only that, if it hadn't been for the care and dedication of several surgeons at our local hospital, my son would not be here today. He was on a DNR notice, but they kept fighting, and pulled him through. They do a wonderful job under very difficult circumstances, and things do go wrong, but we are still very lucky to have an NHS.
I'm not complaining about the NHS or the staff at all. It is not their fault that Covid patients has filled the wards and taking up most of the resources. It was just coincidence that my wife fell ill on a Saturday night of all all nights.
The media did report a 6.5 hour waiting time and a queue of 69 people on that Saturday afternoon.
It is not a good time to be ill that's a sure thing!!
My experience with the NHS some three months ago when I had my HA was absolutely brilliant.I called 111 at about 9.00am on a Tuesday morning, by just after 10.30am I was 20 miles up the coast in Scarborough hospital, by 11.30 I'd had an ECG, echo gram, chest XRay and blood tests done, they told me I'd has a heart attack and that I was being admitted.
I was really well looked after and six days later I was transferred to Castle Hill for my angioplasty.
About three weeks after I had a bad day and called 111, within an hour I was being blue lighted to Castle Hill.....within a minute of arriving I had an ECG and bloods taken....during the next two hours I had a chest XRay and the most thorough Echo gram I have ever had.
I was kept in overnight and discharged with a slight change to my medication.
The NHS and all their brilliant team members were absolutely superb.
What is supposed to happen is if you have the symptoms of a heart attack, you call an ambulance. The paramedics arrive, target time, 10 minutes, they assess you, do an ECG.
If the ECG shows ST elevations, then it's a direct transfer to a heart attack centre.
Bloods taken and then into the cath lab if necessary.
If you have the symptoms of a heart attack, no ECG changes, no rise in tropinin, then it's considered not to be a heart attack.
I am a well seasoned traveller on this journey. I have episodes of unstable angina which land me in hospital at least once a year.
I know the procedure and about elevated ST and non elevated but the problem lay with all the ambulances having patients in them while waiting hours to get a position inside A&E corridor before they could respond to new patients.
They triage patients. No one with an ST elevation would I expect be left in an ambulance unseen.The NICOR audit showed during the Covid surge, that the majority of patients with high risk ST elevation heart attacks were still being treated within the recommended 150 minutes.
Priority goes to the sickest patients.
There are alot more sick people about seeking help which they perhaps put off because of difficulty accessing care elsewhere.
I agree 100%. The paramedics keep track of the patients vitals on their machine that also sends the data to emergency nurse in charge. She decides which patients are next to be called into A&E. That's how my wife understood it to work.
I also had to wait 5 hours beyond my appointment time for a recent cataract operation, because the surgeon involved had to attend to a trauma patient as an emergency. My 12:30 slot turned into 17:30 one and I did not get home until 8pm, also with no food provided although I took my own just in case. Was I annoyed? No, just relieved that it had been done, particularly under the present circumstances. I think some people forget the unprecedented situation we have been, and still are, in.
Having to wait for a cataract procedure if fine as you have a spare eye.😊Having to wait 5 hours when you think you could be having a heart attack is totally another story.
As I say, I doubt anyone would wait 5 hours if they thought they were having a heart attack, I certainly wouldn't. There are other means of getting to A&E in the unlikely and very rare circumstances that an ambulance is not available.
Well, we did wait while we thought it could be a heart attack. I have no apparatus but have been a volunteer medic for years and recognized that it could be a restriction of blood to the heart. It was not too serious and I was not too concerned.
I gave her a diazepam under her tongue so she became less concerned.
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