I feel let down by the medical professionals

[ChazBaz]

I had a heart attack January 2020 triple bypass followed this. One phonecall from cardiology 3 months after it and an ECG in A&E last year nothing else. No one seems concerned about the pains in the chest neck and shoulder. The getting breathless just sitting there. The cognitive issues and the constant tiredness. I don't work I was medically retired I'm 52 and feel so much older. Am I wrong to feel let down or is it normal the lack of medical care.

[Blackcatsooty]

dear Chazbaz

In my opinion, the NHS is broken. Far far too many people as patients and far far too few resources. I was stupid enough to need A&E on 22nd December. The large hospital was filled way beyond capacity. GP appointments are scarce and to be blunt you need to be fit to see a GP or fit to go to hospital.

So quite categorical….lack of medical care is normal.

There remains very good services in odd pockets and still many really good medical staff.

I am still in shock by what I saw in A&E.

The BHF nurses will help you. Do try ringing them. Then do try your GP., she/he will help you when you break through their access procedures.

Then perhaps chase your MP.

Best wishes

Sooty.

[Heythrop51]

Reading here it does seem the norm has become to discharge you back to your GP at the earliest opportunity. I think part of the problem is underachieving middle management wanting good stats. Have you raised your issues with your GP as things do not sound right? Your bio says you have diabetes. Is your HbA1c level back in the normal range?

[Lcfc85]

sorry to hear about your situation and feeling let down. Maybe try giving them a call or your gp and explain your feelings and worry?

If you have done this and they are saying they ain’t concerned about the pains then you have to take this as a positive. I hope you get the outcome you are after

[10gingercats]

This is probably difficult for you if you are not well but I am finding,on behalf mostly of husband, that the more proactive you are the more gets done. I go to the hospital and ask about long waits for appoints. I have been to the GPs surgery and waited until I can see someone . It is all effort but can get you answers to the questions you want. You have to keep pushing. Do you have a partnet to help with this?

[ChazBaz in reply to 10gingercats]

I'm beginning to see that I now need to push just to get peace of mind that's all ok. On a separate note do you have 10 ginger cats 😁

[Hidden]

Unfortunately I have to use the NHS for a number of issues. I see that the system is under pressure and so sometimes things don't happen in a way as I would like. But when I do have contact with NHS staff (when its my turn)) they are generally attentative and professional and I would really have no cause for complaint on that account. I am afraid there are issues that you just have to put up with when dealing with the NHS at the present time, and corrective change is not going to happen soon, if ever, but if you do have ongoing health issues you have to be pro-active in getting the best attention you can muster, rather than just becoming frustrated at what you perceive as a poor response.

[ChazBaz in reply to Hidden]

Lower field I have no complaint about the NHS they have been wonderful to me. Its more of a feeling of your ok now so that's that. I know we went straight into lockdown and that's played a huge part and it's why I've probably been less active in seeking answers.

[Hidden]

Hello

I can see you joined over 2 years ago and now done your first post and I am so pleased you have and hopefully feel welcomed even though you have been on here a while

I would feel very let down to in fact I would be beside myself and can totally understand why you do to

I know we have issues with the NHS and some areas are better than others but that does not help when we are not getting the care we need

It can feel like a battle sometimes dealing with the Doctors etc and when you are already feeling so low one you do not want to get into but you have to this it is your quality of life and at the moment it does not sound like it is good at all for you

Keep pushing with any little strength in you that you have which may feel none but do it

Get on to your Doctors tell them straight how you feel , tell them how you are suffering even tell them you feel you are not been listened to and you have suffered long enough and now you need to be referred back to the Hospital as you cannot go on like this

It is a new year and push yourself in making sure this year you get the care and answers you need

Don't let them fob you of keep pushing and keep talking to us and hopefully we can help by you knowing we are here and listening and supporting you the best we can

You can do this make it your mission this week to make sure you get to either speak with your Doctor or an appointment and don't take no for an answer

Please let us know how you get on x

[ChazBaz in reply to Hidden]

Thank you for understanding what I was trying to get across. This is a wonderful place that has helped through some dark times.

[Hidden in reply to ChazBaz]

Hello

I am pleased it has helped you get through some dark times and I hope you will push for answers and things will soon be brighter you deserve it x

[Hidden]

Dear you

So sorry you feel the way you do and in my opinion rightly so.

All serious illness are a powerful thing and the way that the NHS deals with them can leave you thinking " what the bloody hell has just gone on " as it did me and many others.

You are pushed along prodded and pulled, cut and sewn and dumped back into the wide world, then the shock kicks in and believe me when I say that for some of us that shock can be as bad as the illness.

There are answers for you but you can no longer wait for them to come to you, you have to fight { wrong } to get them.

Phone your GP / health team / help lines and get some of that worry from your thoughts, if you feel that you need help { I did once I recognized it } with any mental issues then please get that ball rolling as well.

Take care

[ChazBaz in reply to Hidden]

Thank you

[Anon2023]

hi. I’m so sorry that you are feeling this way and I can completely empathise with what you are going through. After nearly dying last January as I was effectively left to my own devices for months other than an occasional phone call from a cardiac nurse who was more pessimistic than the grim reaper! I learnt to be more assertive and ask for reviews etc as I found that the NHS in its current state is not proactive at all and it’s easy to be forgotten. My GP I’d the worst culprit. Although I know they are incredibly overstretched it doesn’t mean that you deserve a second rate service. I was medically retired at 47 and feel much older too although I’m grateful not to have to face work too on top of my health problems. I would encourage you to become your own advocate and push for the treatment that you need.

[Chappychap]

Given the dates you mention I suspect that lock down prevented you receiving face-to-face Cardio Rehab?

If so that's a terrible shame.

I had bypass surgery a few years before you and I found Cardio Rehab was THE pivotal experience on my road to recovery, many other people on this forum feel the same way. It gave us the luxury of plenty of time spread across six sessions to put as many questions as we wanted to a group of specially trained and vastly experienced cardiac nurses. And all in a motivating and supportive environment.

It also spelt out to us that, following our stents or surgery, what's really important isn't contact with cardiologists, but medication and life style changes. They are the two things (indeed the ONLY two things) that can reduce our risks of future heart attacks and strokes.

It's natural that, following a shattering experience like a heart attack, we want lots of medical contact. But for the great majority of us, suffering with heart disease/atheroschlorosis, medical contact won't really change our outcomes.

We could be constantly tested by cardiologists, it might make us feel better, but it wouldn't make much difference to the key outcomes, will we have another heart attack/stroke and will we die younger than we otherwise would? The only things that matter in this respect are medication and life style changes, and we can get on with those by ourselves. Or rather, we could get on with those provided we received the help and support that face to face Cardio Rehab is designed to deliver.

The second part of your post is about ongoing symptoms. That's a different matter. Here you need to contact your GP (or A&E/111 in emergencies) and request a referral to the cardiac unit of your local hospital for further tests. Under the UK system it's your GP who is the gatekeeper to all and any specialist services like cardiology. If you suspect you're suffering re-stenosis and a return to angina following your bypass surgery, then you have to progress this with your GP.

Good luck!