Bad practice...not acceptable

[shasmac]

I am becomming more and more annoyed by some peoples experience of treatment by NHS personnel. Sometimes I feel that we may be too accomodating of professional bad practice! I think it may because we 'appear' to have the NHS 'free' when we are getting treatment. We really should remember that we are in fact paying a lot of money through many different channels of tax...they are not doing us a favour...or working out of a sense of charity. Everyone in the NHS is getting paid a salary to deliver a professional health care service...in the GP's & Consultant's case, a hell of a lot of tax money. We are not an inconvience nor a bunch of charity cases and should expect a decent level of service. OK, rant over.

[earthwitch]

hear hear!

I've lived somewhere else that has a national health service, and while it had its difficulties (very few meds on the free list, long waiting lists, shortage of specialists in some areas), the biggest difference was that they took patient concerns seriously, and expected patients to want to be well informed (and get access to their notes often), and to complain when they felt things went wrong. And not only that, if they did get complaints they took them seriously.

Here, I have doctors who make me think I am asking to see confidential state documents if I ask for a copy of a doctors letter, who tell me I can't possibly understand and will just misinterpret if I ask for test results, and got really offside with me when I used a patient advocacy service to try and ask a couple of questions about my treatment (when it wasn't even a complaint). I've known a number of people whose relatives have suffered badly and died, because their early concerns about health problems weren't taken seriously, and yet the families haven't made any complaint at all. And I get really annoyed when they pull the psychological card (theres no evidence of any disease therefore it must be all in your mind) because they haven't taken the time to really investigate thoroughly, or even read your old notes properly.

Rant over. The culture of the NHS has to change. it can do that very easily without any extra money, and it can become a whole lot more efficient in the process if the culture changes.

[Hidden]

I agree, as a retired nurse, I am appalled at the state of the NHS. Standards have gone down & basic care is not there anymore.

The staff on the whole are lovely but they have got into a culture of not caring or even practicing the basics.

I am not afraid of raising issues as I feel I can having worked in the profession however "joe public" doesn't feel they can as it may affect their level of care.

[Barrister]

I totally agree. I too was a nurse and quite frankly I am often ashamed to say that when I see the way some nurses treat patients today. There is a complete lack of care. Too often patients are ignored and considered to be an inconvenience. The attitude of the NHS is " we could get on with our work so much better if we didn't have to deal with patients"! The NHS seems to forget that patients are the reason that it exists. Clemmie

[norfolkjo]

Me too . Have had some fantastic care but some pretty poor care too . My problem at mo is every thing is automatically cause of PsA and I worry things get missed.

[cathie]

I wonder where we're going with this? I'm in Scotland and the privatisation hasn't gone as far as in England though the way the funding works from Westminster means broadly that cuts in England are reflected here. I remember the nhs in the 1950s when as a child with appendicitis I had inappropriate nursing care. On the whole I find I'm treated with respect and kindness on too frequent visits to hospital. I can see senior medics unable to manage their workload and going for technical fixes when a bit of time with patients would resolve things better by communicating. We need to be careful how we criticise and what we wish for, I think.

[helixhelix]

I'm with Cathie on this one, as my main experience has been of great people trying their best to deliver a professional and caring service . Of course I've had the odd bad experience, but nasty people join the health professions just as much as anything else. And nasty people are patients too, and abuse the service and the staff as well. When I see how some people behave I wonder that anyone bothers to try to help them.

Too me the problem is with the overall health policy that has abandoned principles set down when the Health Service was first established, has got the funding wrong, and seems to think that adding in more bureaucracy will solve problems.

[cathie in reply to helixhelix]

Yes. I think the bureaucratic approach has encouraged the technical fix approach which means that drs tend not to listen to us

[Victoria-NRAS Partner Moderator NRAS]

Hi all

We certainly get mixed reports from people who contact us through the helpline, and sometimes we hear of appalling treatment or people being spoken to quite rudely by NHS staff, but we also often hear of healthcare professionals really going the extra mile for their patients, so hopefully it's not a problem across the board.

If you do have a very negative experience, look at what you rights are in terms of making a formal complaint.

In England this would be through PALS (Patient Advice and Liaison Service):

nhs.uk/chq/Pages/1082.aspx?...

In Scotland, it would be the Patient Advice and Support Service (PASS):

cas.org.uk/patientadvice

In Wales, it would be The Community Health Council:

wales.nhs.uk/sitesplus/899/...

In Northern Ireland it would be The Health and Social Care Board:

nidirect.gov.uk/make-a-comp...

It is always recommended that you first try to resolve issues with the individual or department you have had a problem with, and if you are worried about having this conversation with them it might help to have a partner, friend or relative present for support.

Kind regards

Victoria

(NRAS Helpline)

[Jeanabelle60]

from reading this i think it may be a regional thing. i read where rhuematiod drugs are delivered to the door. i have to collect mine every week from the hospital pharmacy. this, for me, it really a minor thing though. i was diagnosed 3 years ago and personally i have to say that i have had a first class service from the top to the bottom of the scale. my consultant has gone out of his way to accomadate me with regards to appointments when i was almost unable to walk. my rheumy nurses, every one of the, have been a source ot comfort and support from day 1. they were and still are a life saving support to me. my gp has sat and listened to me and helped me with every request be it medication, services, appointments and just a listening ear.

i live in the north of ireland and to be very honest i have no complaints what's so ever. of course it would be great if i didn't have to wait so long for appointments and if i didn't have to collect my injections but, for me, it is a small price to pay for the amount and quality of attention i get from my health care providers.

i want to acknowledge that not everyone is getting the care that they need and deserve. i'm really sorry that you have to suffer this along with the suffering we go through with the disease. however, i thought it should be said that not all NHS health care providers are like that and i want to say how greatfull that i am to have such a quality service and dedicated providers.

[Paulineg]

I am really sorry to hear of your bad experience with the health service that you are receiving. I cannot speak highly enough of the rheumatoid staff that I have met. Nothing is too much trouble for them. They answer all questions that I ask and even answer some that I haven't thought of asking. They all go the extra mile. This also applies to my GP who has bent over backwards for me. Unfortunately I can't get any assistance from my husband who is totally blind and if it wasn't for the help and advice I receive from my medical people, I really would give up!!! I hope your treatment improves.

[Kittykatxxxxx]

Completely agree with this.