As a small but I think important counter to the Doom'n'gloom around the NHS at the moment I thought that I would put up my latest interaction with this overwhelming leviathan.Saturday afternoon I Started to get a little bit of blood in my mouth,my initial thought was you idiot you have bitten your cheek. But after a couple of minutes I thought that possibley just maybe the could be a little bit more to it, and when sandy peered down my throat she agreed, actually she said a very rude word.
She then called 111 and explained the situation to the woman who answered the call, I was having less issues with clearing the blood out of my mouth. It was definitely starting to slow down, so I was entering into the "I don't want to bother them, they are busy people" phase. Sandy of course totally ignored me and explained the situation to the rather decisive lady on the phone, when clopidog and asprin were mentioned she said she was sending a ambulance with a paramedic just in case. So I settled down for the looooong wait because we all know that a ambulance is going to be at least a 4hour wait.
25 minutes after my wife picked up the phone the is a bloody great ambulance parked outside of the front door, and two green clad women with lots of bags and the first cousin of the machine that goes "ping".
Blood pressure cuff fitted ✅ oxymeter on finger ✅, 8sticky pads and Hart trace taken ✅ cold stethoscope use, strangely no, Rachel the paramedic explained that she kept it in a pocket so it was warm, she said that if I insisted she could get her spare from the ambulance as it was probably cold, I said that I could cope with it warm. Lots of ice lolly sticks and torches down the throat action , and being totally surrounded by lady paramedics and wife and next door neighbour, the was also a bit of men are such babies about removing hart monitor sticky patches stuff. I didn't enquire about how hairy their chests and calf's were.
Those two ladies stayed for almost two hours, and arranged for shropdoc to do a follow up phone consultation later on that evening, which they duly did.
Shropdoc also contacted my GP who called me at 8.10 on Monday morning and who saw me in the surgery at 5.20 that evening.
And at 3.15 this afternoon I had a camara down my throat and it turns out that I had some minor damage done during my endoscopy in January, which has just reard it's ugly head and will be delt with early next week.
Something to do with heat, probably the doctor will heat up a Bowie knife in a open fire and push it down my throat, or perhaps they have moved on with treatment options since I last watched rawhide.
That is the NHS I have been waiting for two years for nail bed surgery to sort out the ingrowing nail on my big toe, but just the mearest hint of real problems and it is 5,4,3,2,1 thunderbirds are go Virgil take TB1 and set up mobile control.
Feast or famine.
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Rogo23
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same with me back in February when I had bad Atrial Flutter. Dialled 999 as instructed to do if my AF lasted longer than ten minutes, which it did and ambulance was outside my house in exactly 18 mins. I must admit they have always been there for me when I have needed them. As you say, it’s not all doom and gloom.
Great story & good to hear you had excellent care. We had to call out 999 at the end of January, was told paramedics would take 40 mins but were here in bout 15/20 mins. 3 paramedics all doing different things, they only thing they couldn't arrange was critical care to come to the house as they were already with a patient. As it would have been about 20 mins before critical care would have got here it was decided it would be quicker to blue light to the hospital, where again the care couldn't be faulted, no hanging about, straight into re-suss. Lots of medical attention etc GP surgery is improving also. Phone call made to surgery yesterday afternoon to talk to a Dr, a home visit was arranged for today & another follow up home visit arranged for Friday.
When it works it works very well, hopefully things will continue in this way. We hear so many negative stories that it's good to hear some positives too.
Well I felt that good stuff is often drowned out by the bad, and the bad makes people nervous,we are not people who need more nervous.So I hope a slight counter to the bad news.
I totally agree. Someone posted recently about they'd watched a TV program about how bad things were, he said he was lucky to get his emergency care but he didn't think that would be the same for others, so good luck to those who need it, etc. The problem with that is, not only does that scare people unnecessarily but a TV program is highly edited in the favour of what will make the best viewing. Yes, of course there's problems with the nhs, nobody would deny that, but my husband has also had 2 stays in hospital this year, he was there for a week each time & his care was exemplary. Like you, I hope these type of stories help those who are worried about needing hospital care
Well-put experience. I've similar positive experiences from the ambulance service on the three occasions I've been hospitalised in the last 3 and a bit years (with excellent attention in the subsequent hospitalisations of 7, 7 and 2 days). The first two stays were so long because I got bumped down the list for angiograms as there were more urgent cases (and they conicided with weekends) - which is how it should be. When it comes to serious life-threatening events my experience is the NHS is very, very, very good. I had enjoyed a blemish free health record until joining the hearties, but I'm grateful every day for the treatment and still plodding along. Well I did cycle 50km on Monday and did Parkrun on Saturday so I'll take that.
Nice to have good news I also have found them very good at triaging; responding quickly and effectively to an emergency but (having to) respond slowly to my non emergencies.
Which is the way they have to deal with things, but bad news is headlines.Good results which are by far the most common outcome don't normally get the attention they deserve.
I will admit to regular grumbling about the ingrowing nail, a work accident involving a big hammer and the only day for thirty years I didn't wear steel toecaps, but hardly life threatening.
Hi all, reading the posts, I totally agree that, at point of emergency or real need for attention, the NHS is brilliant. I had need to call 111 on two occasions in one weekend and was sceptical of getting help, BUT I was told that a clinician would call me back within an hour, had a call, from a trainee call handler to say I hadn’t been forgotten. After about 5 hours, no call, so went to bed thinking I’d have to ring again. However at 1.45 am that night I had a call, frightened me to death in the middle of the night!! Anyway dr told me he’d arrange an appointment for me at my surgery for that morning, so I rang my surgery about 8.30am and was told ‘yes you have an appointment’ So the system worked, the problem is the run of the mill organisation, simple things like getting an appointment, Really hope your procedure has been done and that you survived the hot iron 😅😅
Your story here and the stories of some others showcase why, despite some difficult times and some problems, the NHS is the envy for many countries around the world.
I hope that you are feeling better, and you do have a talent for telling a story.
The blood has stopped so definitely better, now I am just waiting and as the waiting goes on the imagination gets better. Possibly it's not going to be a Bowie knife it's a oxy actaline welding torch, or possibly a star trek phaser.As far as telling a good story, if it is appropriate then humour is a large part of my life, and I try to share it, normally people like it. So that is a win.
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In Praise of the NHS
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