Following a recent accident it has transpired /or come to light that the criteria for many NHS services has become so restrictive that many who ought to be entitled are just simply being refused. This site has a title which suggest Action on behave of NHS but some of NHS regulations are not aimed at improving patient services & care or come to that taking into account all of a patients illness criteria plus social background and family status. Care does not just cover patient treatment for illness. What part does the NHS have to play in a patients care package in the community to allow them to remain independent & free of hospital admissions where ever possible.? Or is it just a case of all treatment has to go through the GPs gateway process.? I would love to hear any feedback
Service criteria: Following a recent... - NHS England: A Ca...
NHS England: A Call to Action
Service criteria
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The problem is "many who ought to be entitled"
Who says they are entitled? Not everything is black and white and each case is different with different needs.
You may not think so but multidisciplinary meetings are held to assess individual needs, which all are weighed against guidelines, individual treatment requirements and, as much as possible, individual circumstances . Not all personal circumstances are known about or are even remotely possible to accommodate for.
I've been involved in the process for years and it's a very tough gig, not every one is happy with decisions usually because their expectations are not met rather than being given less care than they need.
Hello there, I agree it is not easy to make multidisciplinary decisions. However there are occassions that are not covered by that type of process. Do you feel a person with a broken uncasted limb should have to travel to hospital by their own or public transport for follow up clinics.? Or that a person living alone /over 65/ disabled with broken upper limb should manage without any care for 10 days, then because they have done so be only offered a morning wash? I realise many people feel the system does not give enough, I personally from experience feel the system for assessing does not meet basic needs on occassions. I have been sent home from hospital after operation & aneasethtic without a non urgent ambulance or discharge care and on one occassion with an hospital acquired infection. Sorry I realise some people have large expectations of what care should be, and fortunately in my case I have had good & bad response. Later this month I will have to take two bus journeys to the trauma clinic to see the specialist, I am only one of possible thousands who do not fit the non urgent ambulance criteria come to that it seems that even broken bones don't come into criteria for 999 ambulances either these days. Guess its to do with the failing NHS that is overload with patients expecting more. Come on now even disabled have times when their heallth hits a crisis outside of their normal managing health capacity.
A lot of the time (a heck of a lot of the time) we rely on the patient to tell us what they want and need. If someone has been discharged without an ambulance to take them home then they are deemed to be OK to travel. There is a lot of experience in assessing this kind of thing within the teams.
You might have wanted an ambulance but your fitness to go home would have been considered to reveal that you didn't need one - and that's the difference to understand.
"hospital acquired infection"? Why can't you go home? Antibiotics will work just as well at home as they do in hospital.
If someone does have to travel back to hospital they should state that they cannot travel unassisted and request transport, their case will be considered, but an uncasted fracture is not a reason for an ambulance. Was the fracture diagnosed and the individual sent home? Where was the fracture? When was the fracture? Was it displaced? Have they already had treatment.
Or, as we find with many complaints that we deal with , what you were told by the patient was not factually accurate in the slightest !
It is important to realise that not all fractures are casted these days and, again, that is something you need to consider and understand.
There are a hundred reasons to come to hospital = each and every one similar but a world away from the next same issue.
You might want an ambulance to come and pick you up and bring you to your appointment but you might not necessarily need one.
I don't want to get into an arguement with you, but I have been discharged from hospital on more than one occassion with no ambulance offered just told I need some one with me to go home. In fact on one occassion I had to ring my neighbour at eight oclock at night and carry a commmode down to the car park to his car or wait till after midnight for an ambulance with a broken shoulder.
Antibiotics were not given because the discharge doctor did not check for infection when he was told of a problem, neither did the senior nurse. I had to contact my own GP for antibiotics. If he had listened to the patient it would have taken only five minutes to establish if the patient was right or wrong. That's what he is paid for.
No one is fit to go home following an operation we the patients just chose to go home without ambulance or the choice is made for us.
I have had three upper limb breaks so am aware no casts are used hence the reason why it is difficult to manage if you live alone, making staff aware of this makes no difference to the decision to send you home alone. Yes my fracture was diagnosed and I was sent home on all three occassions. It was diagnosed as Greater Upper Teburosity excuse my spelling. I have a witness to my diagnosis. And I don't get my facts wrong unless I am given the wrong information in the first place. Complaints in my experience just get disbeleived and the powers that be always find in favour of the staff even in mis diagnosis cases.Now here is a case for you what medical issue allow ambulance transport? Because I personally would like to know and you seem to have the answers. Oh and not all patients are factually incorrect but we are treated like everything is our fault.
There is no "argument " to get into. You just don't understand that going home with someone with you is a million miles away from requiring an ambulance to take you home. You didn't need an ambulance.
Complaints don't get disbelieved but rather an element of trying to manage expectation has to occur.
There are many, many people who are fit to go home after an op. Again this is about your expectations as there is not one key component to requiring an ambulance but from what you've said so far you are, respectfully, don't require one.
I can guarantee you that the system doesn't protect staff from complaints of negligence which is different to mis diagnosis, the latter of which is used as an appropriate teaching opportunity. This is generalising but there's always cases where staff have been disciplined for missing something.
Apparently I don't need an ambulance ever or medical care. After all broken bones mend their selves without intervention given time don't they. I can buy a sling at the chemist Oh how do you know I went home with someone other than the time I mention when my neighbour came to save waiting for an ambulance.How do they know I do not need an ambulance no one asked me or asked about care at home. I did not mention negligence but would remind you that lack of care constitutes negligence just the same as chopping off the wrong leg or failing to do the correct tests or give the correct treatment. All they do is tell myself and many others your not entitled . You did not answer my question about what illnesses entitle you to an ambulance?, of course I don't need to know really because after this I will not be needing a doctor or ambulance. I can treat myself after all I am doing that anyway, only thing I can't do is write a prescription or perform surgery , if I lived in USA I could buy my pills on line plus inhalers along with thousands more like me. Thanks for discussion it at least allowed me to voice my opinion which does not differ from many others in my type of situation.
A lack of care does equate to negligence but saying its negligent to not provide an ambulance is not negligence in the slightest. That is entirely down to your attitude and lack of willingness to understand that there are other patients in far, far greater need than you.
This is adequately demonstrated by your insistence that I give an illness that requires an ambulance transport. As I said right at the start each and every patient is different - there are no specific conditions that automatically warrant an ambulance for patient transport needs; everyone is dealt with on an individual assessment.
Of course they know if you need an ambulance to take you home; they've been treating you haven't they? They've seen you're fit for discharge and therefore will look at method of discharge.
Just be thankful that you don't need an ambulance; that's always good news as it means you're relatively fit and well!
In my case there is one final side to the story, I am presumed to be able to use a car or taxi and it has nothing to do with my health at all. I have more than one health issue that limits my mobility including a sight defect to the left. I have COPD, arthritis in feet and hands, non essential hand tremor,high blood pressure & gout in left foot, and at the time a broken shoulder, of course my granddaughter was able to bring me home after leaving her own children with someone else. I agree others have far reaching needs especially of frailness however what happened to equal treatment according to need?, because I am not alone in being left high and dry in crisis situations. I beleive it is also the onus of the hospital to arrange care at home in such crisis another assessment that seems to have been totally wrong in my case and I wonder how many more, I am registered with social services as disabled, living alone with aids to assist my daily living and as stated before I do not miss inform I have difficulty in even holding with two hands let alone one. Just could not leave this issue with you thinking I am weller than I am or that I am not disabled. Bye for now PS It was even insisted I sign for prescription when I could hardly hold a pen never mind write.
This is the problem - you want an ambulance but don't need one. There's a world of difference between what you want and what you actually need.
Despite what you think you are still very much in the "well" category!
You could possibly get patient transport service though, if funded in your area. The hospital should have all the details.
Yes, you do need to sign for your prescription, or have a nominated individual sign for you on your behalf.
Sorry when talking about criteria it was about non urgent patient transport & care. Not 999 or emergency ambulances for an accident and not necessarily my circumstances personally. it seems to all have been confused as far as I am concerned I had an accident resulting in shock and broken bone which should entitle me to accident transport to hospital for assessment and treatment, return home should be considered for non urgent patient transport in veiw of disability for any patient not just in my case, as they obviously presumed my relative had a car anyway. Oh the ambulance was summoned by a bystander not myself at scene of accident. I have requested for patient transport for a visit to a hospital outside my area and have been refused, grounds I can use a car or taxi. That's just me personally if I cant have transport then I can't travel so will not be able to keep this so called important scan on a well person (now I am being sarcastic) o h I have been told I have osteoporisis but no scan has been done. these are personal facts to do with why I need patient transport. Nothing to do with the criteria being prohibitive to most.
As for prescription it was insisted I sign, a possible other person was advised it would be best if the patient signed.They are reconsidering my patient car request in veiw of other details submitted but it could still be refused once I have an appointment. Any way I have to go to hospital today, my granddaughters last time as she will be returning to work off maternity leave and will no longer be available. Bet you weren't expecting such a long saga, I can assure you this was not mean't to be about my personal experience I was just curious as to what criterias were nowadays my granddaughter however is disgusted with the outcome. I fear for other elderly not as WELL!! as I am presumed to be.
I too, was told that the spinal surgery that I desperately need is no longer available on the nhs as of 2016 when the strict criteria was implemented at the hospital I attended a few years ago. The consultant came outright and said the only way I would get the surgery would be to pay private. It's disgusting how the government are putting a price on people's health and how the nhs is now operating as a profit organisation. The size of your wallet will determine what kind of treatment people will receive. I'm unable to obtain health insurance nsurance as I'm now classed as having pre-existing conditions and was told by every single health insurer that the only way I would be able to get around my predicament would be to self pay. I've been self paying for numerous second/third opinions for the past 6 years trying to get taken seriously and this is without chiropractic, physio, Bowens technique, Electro-acupincture sessions, a private MRI that I have paid for. It's cost a fortune and 6 years later I'm still no further on. My back has got worse and it's a case of either gritting my teeth and suffering with the agonising pain or finding the money via a bank loan to get the surgery. I really am not happy about this at all. It's disgusting it really is.
Sorry to hear you are another one of the victims of criteria decisions. You can challenge it but it is a hard, time consumming journey that can still lead nowhere. I was on the way to seeking legal advice the other day, because the criteria in many cases does not fit the constitution pledges. It's the patients that are suffering no matter what walk of life they come from. Like yourself my only option is to pay for private treatments that may not work financed from my equity in my home. But even those sources are not infinite are they?? I would challenge if I were you , it is disgusting but as I am informed many of 7us are too well to meet the stringent criteria. Good luck and best wishes for a speedy solution for you.
Hi Katie, so sorry to hear that you are going through the same thing yourself. It really is shocking and bad when people are having to sell possessions, re-mortgage their homes and so forth to pay for treatment. I had no idea that you could challenge the hospitals decision with regards to the 'strict guidelines' that have been implemented. The amount of money that I have spent on chirpropractic sessions, osteopaths, physio, acupuncture, the bowens technique and electro-acupuncture equates to hundreds of pounds. You try anything just to get some temporary relief and to help with your mobility. My father even paid for a private MRI as my previous GP denied me that. He said nothing would show up and then repeatedly told me it was fibromyalgia and told me to accept it, manage my own pain and to stop wasting his time! I could barely lift my legs let alone walk. I even attended the A & E department in 2012 and they just felt down my spine and said there was nothing wrong with my discs and prescribed naproxen. I was offered no X-Ray or anything. My back had gone a few times prior to this but always rectified itself after a while but sadly, in 2015 my back went completely and everything was cracking, the nerves were literally pulsing and at the same time I felt the ligaments snap around the coccyx area and my coccyx crunched. Also, it felt like someone was literally shoving a knife into my lumber area and into my ankle bones at the same time along with this intense burning prickly heat sensation. The pain was horrendous to the point were I was literally vomiting on the laminate. I dialled 999 from my mobile but never hit the call key thinking it would ease up and that someone probably needed an ambulance more than what I did particularly if they were having a stroke or something. This was the biggest mistake because here I am 6 years later no further on. The consultant I saw this week (23/07/18) agreed with all I said that its disgusting what this government are doing with regards to privatisation. No one is going to meet the strict criteria as time goes on. The NHS has gone from STP's (sustainability transformation plans) to ACO's (accountable care organisations) which is the American Model to UHC (universal health care). I told the consultant im unable to obtain health insurance as I am now classed as having pre-exisiting conditions due to the NHS repeatedly fobbing me off and passing the book. I was told in 2012 when I had to attend A & E regarding my feet/ankles that it was an acute and complex case which I have since been told when I saw the consultant regarding my feet/ankles after being told by a different consultant that nothing could be done and it was just a bit of general wear and tear. Needless to say, I challenged that and said its not just a bit of wear and tear as I have it in black and white from when I paid to see someone regarding my feet/ankles in 2012 as I wasn't getting anywhere with the NHS then. I then said to the consultant who tried fobbing me off 'so when my feet/ankles' pack in completely which they will if someone doesn't surgically intervene would I end up in a wheelchair. His response to that in a I dont give a shit attitude was 'yes'. I was supposed to be happy about that. I think not when I knew something could be done. I then borrowed the money from my dad to see the consultant that I paid to see in 2012 regarding my feet/ankles again. I just reeled it all off and I said its not on and I said in 2012 when I attended A & E regarding my feet/ankles they were horrified that I had been battling this for 23 years. I then put it to the consultant I words 'could he help me, would he help me because if not I was going to get another opinion with a consultant at a private hospital that offered a payment plan'. He looked at my MRI that had done and said surgery it is. I could have hugged him and thank god I got to him when I did because otherwise I dont think I would have got the surgery to my left foot/ankle on the NHS with all the cuts. It feels a lot better now its been operated on and im on the list to have the other foot/ankle done. I have also been speaking to a consultant over in spain. I went onto that health tourism and selected 3 countries. I went into my email a few days later and there was an email from a consultant in spain. I was so shocked that someone had got back to me. You wouldn't get a UK consultant emailing anyone. I was asked to email back with what I have been diagnosed with and was told to include my symptoms and describe the pain etc. A few days later the consultant in spain got back to me and said that based on the information that I had provided, that it sounded like I needed spinal fusion. He gave me the prices and its a good 7 grand cheaper than what it would be to have it done here in the UK. Obviously, the consultant cant say fo definite until hes seen me but even the consultants fees are less than half of what UK consultants charge for a second opinion. Im just waiting for some reports to be printed off by my GP and its then a case of ringing the hospital in spain, getting a flight and taking it from there. Im going with an open mind and its a case of then seeing if im eligible for a bank loan to pay for the treatment. What also angers me is the fact that the government want people back at work but how can we when we cant access treatment. Im so pleased that I had electro-acupuncture though because it was that along with sheer determination that got me walking again but things are far from being right. I have spinal stenosis, a fractured coccyx, disc degeneration, lumber lordosis, decreased signal, spondulosis and A & E said there was nothing wrong with my discs and a previous GP fobbing me off with fibromyalgia and denying an MRI. Its disgusting it really is. I even had a rheumatoid arthritis consultant in 2012 telling me it was fibromyalgia and that if I had my ovaries removed my back would be a lot better! I was having gynae problems and I had to go for a pelvic scan. I have nothing wrong with my ovaries and it turned out I had fibroids. I did laugh and said thank god you haven't told me it was fibromyalgia lol! I was sat telling my cousin what ive been told and he said who the hell have you been seeing. I said these are supposed to be qualified consultants and said for what its worth I might as well have seen a flaming witch doctor. I then said how the hell ive not had a break down with it all is beyond me as its been like banging on wood. I said, you dont suddenly wake up and fake that you cant walk and you dont fake that you struggle to put your feet down do you and then said you dont go round all these different foundation trusts hoping that someone will take you seriously and provide the necessary treatment unless your a flaming hipercondriac. He lives in Sweden and he said this just wouldn't happen overseas and he said they get people sorted health wise. I said, we should have the best health care system in the world with all the money people have paid with NI contributions and tax over the years but instead the government has been siphoning the money off to private sectors and whoever offers the highest bid they get the contract in the NHS. More and more private bays are also beginning to emerge in hospitals and the government are now introducing what is termed 'hospital lodging fees'. How dare they and again its ok for them as they can afford the best treatment whereas the ordinary folk in the street cant. It angers me and there is going to be a lot of ill people walking around undiagnosed and treated as they wont be able to afford medical fees. I had to obtain my medical notes last year for the DWP as they kept saying I was physically fit to work. I then appealed and I had my tribunal in January this year. Thankfully I won my case but in January next year it will mean that I will have to go through the same thing again if im not sorted the best I can and ever will medically. Regarding my notes, you should see some of the stuff that they've written. There are also so many contradictions and I could sue the NHS if I really wanted to. Theres one particular report regarding my feet/ankles that said I seemed very disappointed that nothing surgically could be offered and the consultant had totally contradicted his boss who is the consultant that has operated on my left foot/ankle. People have said go for it regarding getting a solicitor involved but ive said I cant really be bothered as I just want the whole thing wrapping up the best I can as im sick of hospitals, correspondence and GP appointments. Its been my life for 6 years for my back and 23 years for my feet. I just haven't got the fight left in me to battle it. I really hope that you get sorted bless you. I sincerely mean that and thank you for your kind words within your reply to my previous post. Keep your chin up - we will get sorted if its the last thing we do 
Xx
Hi there, now your story rings loud bells to me. I did see a solicitor and I do have grounds like yourself to sue but it is just a waste, My life has been ruined by some medics but not all. only thing is there incorrect medical facts keep returning on the records and misleading other medics. My arthritis like yours as been around for a long time plus gout now but I got the same pathetic excuses. in fact to the extent they kept coming back with NAD to spite broken bones that would show old scarring on xray, blood tests normal I was told but they were not, even the recorded result I have a copy of. My granddaughter thought they were treating me as crackers or MAD not NAD. Why don't you have a chat with Pals, it cost me nearly £2000 in 1992 to take a case through a solicitor and beleive me it was the biggest waste of money &time but did uncover lack of care on certain issues. I have also been subject to misdiagnosis on more than one occassion. And this expression it's just a bit of wear& tear at 3o years old is just another excuse for not treating what they see as milder arthritis, but what about the constant pain??? The raised uric acid levels in gout can cause a stroke just the same as high blood pressure but NHS does not treat high uric acid unless you have repeated attacks of flare up gout in anyone year. I am told even cancer patients are coming against refusals of treatment now. hope you get some help with pain and times get a little better. I hear they are about to send me to the NHS gym for physio for my latest broken bone, we shall see how much foot pain that brings back. thanks for your reply and support we need to stick together on these matters , even medics get problems in their treatment & get labelled wrongly.xxx Keep your chin up too
Hi Katie, don't get me started about nhs physio! In 2012 I was sent to my local hospital for physio if you can call it that! I was sat in the waiting room waiting to be called through and there were people with walking frames the lot. Not that they can help that but when this woman came through and said who's for the OA classes and the rest of the cripples stood up I thought omg youve got to be joking. We had to all literally stand in a semi circle and this Jude stood there and said, to the left, right regarding our legs. We then had to march on the spot and we were then told to go on mini trampolines and exercise bikes. I refused to do either with my back, feet and ankles. We then had to go over to the wall and were expected to go up on our toes and ease our feet down. I refused to do that too because it would have triggered the ligaments/tendons to crack. Even when I put my trainers on a woman sat next to me said what the hell is that. I said it's my feet. She then said to me, what the hell are you doing here and I replied with your guess is as good as mine! There was a poor bloke who'd had a stroke and they expected him to do everything that everyone else was expected to do. He said to me this isn't physio and I said no it's not. Basically, what they were doing was slinging everyone in these classes to free up cubicle spaces regardless to what medical problems people had. This Jude who conducted the classes could barely look me in the eye as she knew I shouldn't have been there. When it got to week 4 I said this is of no benefit to me whatsoever and I said I wanted to go back to the physiotherapist I'd been allocated. This Jude then said are you sure and I said 100 percent. She then handed me these leaflets that had been photocopied and it was info regarding OAP swim, OAP walks, Thai Shi. No wonder she looked embarrassed. I was fuming to be honest and as soon as I saw what the procedure was for their so called physio I stood there and thought to myself how much is she getting paid to do this shit! We'd all been told at the beginning of the session that if we didn't turn up we had automatically discharged ourselves. I don't like being bullied either. The following week after week 4 of the classes the physiotherapist looked embarrassed too. She sat down and said she thought I'd been very patient but if anyone had have said to her would I get better in a few months her reply to anyone who asked would have been a definite no. I said at that point, well with no disrespect but no one is going to get better at this place as no one is getting any hands on. She had also asked what it felt like when I walked and I'd happened to say it felt like my left leg was dragging. I then said to her you don't think I've got one leg longer than the other do you by any chance and with that she literally got me to lay on the bed and got a tape measure out and measured my legs. She said, yes you have one leg longer than the other by an inch! She then said we've come to the end of the road so I'm going to have to discharge you and send you back to your GP. I had an appointment with the consultant I paid the first time regarding my feet/ankles and I told him about the so called physio. When I got to the bit about the exercise bikes he was literally frowning and said it sounds like circuit training. He then said did I not receive any hands on and I said no nothing. With that he slammed his own down and said they've not done a single thing that I've specifically stipulated that they should do. I showed him the apt cards and he said so 22 appointments minus the 4 for the OA classes for what. He went ballistic when I told him about the tape measure business. He said right lay on the bed and he said raise your knees and said this is how you check to see if anyone has a limb longer than the other. He then said, when he's training trainee orthopaedics he tells them to not use rulers or tape measures as their hands can slip. I said, well the physiotherapists hand definitely slipped that day didn't it. We did laugh but it's not funny really is it. The foot/ankle consultant then said he would be either writing or telephoning the physio department at the hospital and would be raising these issues. At least he was and still is on my side thank god. He's the only consultant who I have had a good experience with as the others have been dire. It makes me wonder where the hell the hospitals are getting them from. Maybe from the street offering £500 per shift lol! This just wouldn't happen overseas. This will make you laugh... Shortly after physio discharged me that film cocoon was on TV. I was sat chuckling away to myself as that's what the OA classes where like regarding the scene were that physiotherapist goes into the residential home saying to patients to the left, to the right with their legs. When I was talking to my cousin who now lives in Sweden I said, I don't tell many people about some of the stuff that I've been told by these so called health professionals as people would think I was making it up. I said they'd be sat there thinking god it's like one flew over the coockoo nest lol! We did laugh. I hope your experience at physio is a positive one and too right re we've all got to stick together. X
Hi there I won't make this one too long, I have been using Physio for many years on and off. I found like you that group was a little impersonal, for instance I was expected to lift a medicine ball when I can't even lift a cup with two hands at that time I had a broken bone too. But managed to make the senior physio stop and think without moaning or complaining. another lady was unable to lie down due to fear so I used to go and hold her hand, which made them realise she had a problem. My physio and hospital doctor appointment should be straight forward. I have a dexa appointment in afew weeks, but will have to make a two hour journey on public transport, as I don't fit criteria for non urgent patient transport. Best Wishes for a pain solution for you I know Physio is not for all but with arthritis the muscles do need to be strong but not all of us can stand heavy implode of exercise especially if feet are affected & other parts are not working well, do we ???
Hi Katie, I'm pleased it's not just me that had a bad experience with hospital physio. I agree, that when people have arthritis that exercise can help but like you say, how are we supposed to do exercise when we are in the state we are. My current GP put me into a private physiotherapist that he uses and although the physio guy had a really good reputation and wasn't the type of person that dragged people into his work place week in week out to get as much money from them that he could, he couldn't do much with me due to my medical problems. He used to wire me to this machine and used a metal probe which then identified where the pain was coming from. It used to highlight on the monitor and even he said Jesus, for someone my age he had never seen anyone's back in such a state for someone my age in his entire career. He compiled a lengthy report to give to my GP and he said he just couldn't do anything else for me. He did this deep massage one day and it took almost 10/12 days for things to calm down after that. By the time I'd got home I could barely get up the stairs to get laid on the bed. It was horrendous. I had an appointment booked in and I explained what had happened and he said to go back to my GP. My GP was shocked to see me again as he was expecting me to say the physio had worked. At that point, I demanded that my back was fully investigated as there was something seriously wrong and that it wasn't just my coccyx causing the pain and mobility problems it was everything within my lumber area and actual spine. That's when i finally got the MRI done under the NHS which revealed all that's wrong etc. At one point, I actually had to get my go to reiterate the actual diagnosis as I'd been told so many different things. My images to my MRI and for the X-ray that were conducted in 2016 came through the post this morning and I'm just waiting on the hospital to send me the password to open the images that are now on the audio CD. Once that arrives, I will be ringing Spain to get an appointment to see the consultant I e been liaising with and getting the flights sorted. I can't wait to get there. I have such a positive vibe about this consultant but I aren't getting my hopes up either. I'm just basically going with an open mind and if he can't help I feel sure that someone out there will be able to. I'm not giving up on it and will continue to battle it just like I did regarding my feet/ankles. It's just as well that we have strength of character as many would have just given up by now. I will keep you posted and keep me posted with regards to your upcoming hospital appointment and the outcome. Speak to you again soon. Xx
Well things are moving for you, soon you should be able to contact Spain and see if there are any other options for you, sadly back problems are sometimes hard to resolve, so hope if that is the case they can give you better pain management opt
ions. My thoughts will be with you. I'm hoping to get a transfer from trauma to Physio, then I see Rhuemy in September. Will let you know how Monday goes.Bye for now & good luck xx
Hello there...what the general response to your post will be very interesting to read. I'm afraid I dont think it wise for me to put my opinions down,as I'm sure the moderators would delete it! What really "gets my back up" is how the treatment you receive can depend on your postcode. I support everyone of our NHS workers,its not their fault that they are governed by red tape and have to reach targets,so discharging patients they really would rather keep in.
On another note,how are you doing with your recovery?
Know the feeling of having to be careful what we say. any way in answer to how am I recovering quite well with help from the NHS staff that do care. I am after all a patient on the patient experience panel as seen not all patients have good experience. And I understand some have too higher expectations. Oh and I worked for the NHS & social services so understand how things are, did not paticularly want to experience the trauma department again but that's life. Do feel more attention should be paid to patients personal health & circumstances in order to see if they fit the criteria for certain services, I have received an apology in respect of them not accepting I live alone and am in my 70s with more than one disability, so all is not lost, but a shame my granddaughter had to complain to get this far.
Hi again, terrible that it took your Granddaughter to complain before thongs started moving,so to speak. Thank goodness for caring,loving granddaughters! I'm glad that you are making progress to a full recovery but I honestly found it SHOCKING,to read what some dear members have had to endure with their dealing with our NHS. It really upsets me when simple,obvious things are governed by red tape and therefore a far ,far from ideal outcome arises.
Thank you for bringing the subject up and to kick start a load of comments.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend as its not so hot!!
Yes it is lovely to have a cool breeze, breathing much improved today. I'm glad to find that others have had similar problems on NHS but if we don't expose failings or unacceptable proceedures then no one knows the faults from a patients point of veiw. They only see the publisised good acheivments, not all changes are for the better or value for money. Complaints are often covered up rather than discussed with patients as well as staff. I hate being discussed in multidisciplinary meetings without being involved in the decision. How can anyone make a valid decision without all the correct facts.? These are just simple basic questions. Anyway I am waffling on now, so better stop have a good weekend , no garden to water. Speak again soon
"Care does not just cover patient treatment for illness" and this is clear in all NHS Guidelines. A multidisciplinary team decision is incomplete and invalid without considering the entire Care given/proposed/denied and this has to include mental, physical and environmental factors. Many GPs and other doctors, nurses, CPNs etc. restrict their advice and opinions in the climate of ignorance or disrespect of other clinical guidance or other specialisms who therfore never get to be consulted or engaged in the decision.
A prime example is a common disrespect or disengagement of of Carers who are trying their best to prop up a worsening NHS Service. If there was a Carers Strike tomorrow, hundreds would die - in my opinion - but still we are regularly told to keep out of the care process, though we likely know far more about the patient's condition and progress than any practitioner.
Thank you Lowtech, at last a voice who appreciates all the aspects that should be considered when doing multi disciplinary meetings and that care is not just a packet of pills for the current ailment, especially at GP level. You are right if it were not for carers & volunteers many services would grind to a halt, care is also about being aware of some of the difficulties arising at times of crises as well as ongoing difficulties that many patients and families encounter due to health issues, which often needs a carers input to highlight or even a patients input. But many failings are due to how services are run and the input when reaching decisions. Many of the people who decide the process are the same ones from similar departments, or persons who represent so called patients responses, once again the same representatives often from small minority groups set the criteria. Although it seems they work for patients best interest it often works out to be not so, rather the opposite of agreeing with the more influential financiers. Remember staff are only allowed to do what they are told which is not always the best for all concerned or the most caring approach. As you are aware this is just my opinion.
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