NHS attitude to young/middle aged males

[THX]

I've been to the doctors for advice on the following;

Testicular cancer.
Depression.
Fractured skull.
Sore throat.

You know which gained the greatest response?
The sore throat. They gave me around 130 tablets of codeine, which served only to encourage my unhealthy enthusiasm for opiates.

The rest I was told to go away, come back if it gets any worse. Which, given that I'm still alive, couldn't have been terrible medical advice. But I'd have appreciated a little support (especially when I thought my right bk was going to kill me)

[Mr Whippy]

Flibble said:

hman said:

If you were in the US or soemwhere else without NHS you would have to have health insurance to deal with this - and its not cheap!! This is coming to us in the next 5 years or so.

The US spend twice as much as any other western nation on healthcare for a service that isn't really any better than anywhere else. Not something we should aspire to! They're trying to move towards a more nationalised healthcare system (albeit slowly) since theirs is so bad.

The NHS is pretty screwed but it's well worth saving.

I think most of it's problems are just general policy and that is screwed up by bad middle to upper management, and as always the huge elephant in the room for most big services, liabilities in pensions/benefits.

Some of these policies for stomach bands and fixing botched surgery seem to cost plenty despite those using those services having ultimately brought these problems on themselves.

How far down the line do you go with supporting these things when the emergency and general health sides of the service are struggling?

It's all about give and take and it seems a growing minority just abuse the good nature of society generally, but it is especially damaging in the NHS.


How we get over the benefits/pensions liabilities issue is a tough one.

I know for the schools at least most of them are just greedy scum and as teachers they should be setting an example to the younger generation, instead all they are doing is kicking them all in the balls and saying they'll live a life in higher debt to help pay for the lovely retirements of their teachers. Nice.

How that is in the NHS I'm not sure, but I bet the liabilities promised for many back when 'times were good' make for pretty scary reading!

[dave_s13]

On the other hand, our gp practice are very good. No complaints here.

With regard to NHS terms and conditions. For front line staff, it's st anyone that thinks we are all living it up and looking forward to a comfortable retirement is deluded.

[thepeoplespal]

alock said:

Tell them you have private cover and watch them fall over themselves for the referral fee.

I was getting regular pains in my arm, saw 3 GPs over 5 appointments over 9 months. Nothing.

One eventually hinted at physio but was muttering about a 4 month waiting list on NHS. I said I could go private and within 48 hours had been refered and had the £30 referral fee invoice in the post.

What £30 referral fee? This isn't something I'm aware of when patient's at my place have a referral privately rather than via the NHS.

[TwistingMyMelon]

Visited the NHS many times this year for others:

My step Son had pos Shingles: Saw a great consultant quickly, impressed

Misses is Pregnant with complications: Great support & great consultants and GPs

Gran broke arm, took her various times, great clinic and physio

Brother has bowel issues : I didn't take him, family aren't too happy with treatment and are going private

NHS has done a great job on 3 out of 4 of the above

The issue from my point of view is people clogging up hospitals and GPS because they dont look after themselves through being overweight, smoking, st lifestyles and it catches up with them.....Or they overdo it on booze at the weekend and clog up A&E. This then clogs the resources for people who need treatment .

OP, maybe, just maybe the DR is right and your condition isnt that bad and is right? Otherwise get a second opinion

A mate of a mate has seen 10 GPs now for a condition he has, each one has said he is fine, yet he rants all the time how bad the NHS is, when 10 independent professionals have all subtly told him he is fine!!

[alock]

thepeoplespal said:

What £30 referral fee? This isn't something I'm aware of when patient's at my place have a referral privately rather than via the NHS.

I got a bill through the post from my GP for the cost of writing the letter to refer me to the private physio. I have no knowledge of whether this is normal or not.

[AlfaPapa]

alock said:

I got a bill through the post from my GP for the cost of writing the letter to refer me to the private physio. I have no knowledge of whether this is normal or not.

This seems to be a fairly standard issue.

We were seeing it an increasing amount when I worked for BMI, to the point that we were trying to work up schemes to counter the initial cost to the patient.
We also went to a great deal of effort to produce leaflets to be put in Doctor's waiting areas reminding people with private health insurance to let their GP know that they had that alternative option available... these were rejected many, many times because they were 'anti-NHS' and judged to be commercial. Our view was the more people used private insurance particularly for minor ailments for which treatment doesn't significantly improve someone's health and lifestyle the less the impact on the NHS and the better outcomes for patients.

As for the OP's issue. I would move GP practice to one where the GP would take the time to explain why they don't believe the standard treatment would benefit the patient.

[theshrew]

My local places are shocking.

Dr's - you need to know if your going to be ill 3 weeks in advance and when you get one you just get told to take some anti biotics. If its not better in 7 days come back.
Hospital - st hole treat you like rubbish.

Although on the flip side ive had to take my young daughter to hospital a couple of times the last few years. They were really good with her. Suppose that will change when she gets a bit older though.

[Moonhawk]

theshrew said:

Dr's - you need to know if your going to be ill 3 weeks in advance

To be honest - this kind of thing is more about the attitude some of the receptionists.

When you ring up in the afternoon saying you have just taken ill - the last thing you need is the receptionist telling you that, to get an appointment today, you should have rang at 8:30am. Clairvoyance must be a wonderful gift for those lucky enough to be bestowed with it.

Some also seem to think they are qualified to make a clinical decision/diagnosis over the phone. My granddaughter was refused an appointment with the doctor a few weeks back because the receptionist thought that it didn't sound serious enough and would only give her an appointment with the nurse. Her mum duly took her to see the nurse who took one look and said "nothing I can do - she needs to see a doctor"! (this is the same practice I went to BTW).

[AlfaPapa]

As has already been said - vote with your feet and register at a different GP practice. They are private businesses paid per year by number of registered patients, you move, your funding moves with you.

The magic word for an on the day appointment is 'urgent'. Whilst it doesn't happen anymore, GPs used to be paid an incentive for having the choice of three urgent slots available on a particular day when the local commissioner rang up to audit... Old habits die hard and if you ask for an urgent slot you *should* get one.

[br d]

OP, in no way meant to make light of your issues (I have had similar experiences) but this might make you laugh:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzEhoyXpqzQ

[jackh707]

OP, can you be more specific about what's wrong with you?

[jackh707]

OP, can you be more specific about what's wrong with you?

[ewenm]

jackh707 said:

OP, can you be more specific about what's wrong with you?

jackh707 said:

OP, can you be more specific about what's wrong with you?

He's seeing double

[Oakey]

TwistingMyMelon said:

Visited the NHS many times this year for others:

My step Son had pos Shingles: Saw a great consultant quickly, impressed

Misses is Pregnant with complications: Great support & great consultants and GPs

Gran broke arm, took her various times, great clinic and physio

Brother has bowel issues : I didn't take him, family aren't too happy with treatment and are going private

NHS has done a great job on 3 out of 4 of the above

The issue from my point of view is people clogging up hospitals and GPS because they dont look after themselves through being overweight, smoking, st lifestyles and it catches up with them.....Or they overdo it on booze at the weekend and clog up A&E. This then clogs the resources for people who need treatment .

OP, maybe, just maybe the DR is right and your condition isnt that bad and is right? Otherwise get a second opinion

A mate of a mate has seen 10 GPs now for a condition he has, each one has said he is fine, yet he rants all the time how bad the NHS is, when 10 independent professionals have all subtly told him he is fine!!

That's been my experience over the last five years, can't afford to go private though. Because I'm 32 they dismiss something like bowel cancer because "you're too young". They should tell that to all those young blokes who've died of bowel cancer in their 30s (most recently that footballer whose name escapes me).

I've seen numerous GP's over the years and had enough blood tests to start my own blood bank service. My last visit resulted in me splitting my head and a trip to A&E!

They were falling over themselves to help me out then (probably worried I'd sue)!

[Moonhawk]

jackh707 said:

OP, can you be more specific about what's wrong with you?

No.......this isn't an episode of embarrassing bodies

The specifics aren't relevant to the thread.

Edited by Moonhawk on Wednesday 16th July 10:04

[Rib]

TwistingMyMelon said:

Visited the NHS many times this year for others:

My step Son had pos Shingles: Saw a great consultant quickly, impressed

Misses is Pregnant with complications: Great support & great consultants and GPs

Gran broke arm, took her various times, great clinic and physio

Brother has bowel issues : I didn't take him, family aren't too happy with treatment and are going private

NHS has done a great job on 3 out of 4 of the above

The issue from my point of view is people clogging up hospitals and GPS because they dont look after themselves through being overweight, smoking, st lifestyles and it catches up with them.....Or they overdo it on booze at the weekend and clog up A&E. This then clogs the resources for people who need treatment .

OP, maybe, just maybe the DR is right and your condition isnt that bad and is right? Otherwise get a second opinion

A mate of a mate has seen 10 GPs now for a condition he has, each one has said he is fine, yet he rants all the time how bad the NHS is, when 10 independent professionals have all subtly told him he is fine!!

I'm with you on this, I have spent a hell of a lot of time with various part of the NHS with Asthma and Crohns (and all the bits that come with it) and on the whole its been fantastic, yes its not perfect but VERY good which alot of other countries envy.

BUT the amount of people I have seen in A&E and GP's which I just think 'seriously!?!?!?' aswell as people not looking after themselves as much these days, the era of health and safety etc is just making people cause a fuss out of nothing. just this weekend on a visit in A&E, a young lad (late teens) had been brought in by his mum as he had had the runs for a few days and felt unwell. when bloods back with normal CRP levels along with other things (curtains really don't help give you privacy lol) they didn't feel there was any need to investigate further. All hell ensued by the mother and eventually they agreed to do a colonoscopy, surprise surprise, came back clear. Then just to make things even more laughable, after him whining non stop that his canular hurt (their really not that bad!) when the removed it she demanded antibiotics because it looked red and sore, this time they told them to ps off, just a bit more politely.

sad thing is, this isn't an isolated incident, there was also another guy who had been brought in in his boxers, had no clue how he got there other than he remembers watching the football and then being tazered by the police after admitting to taking extascy and alot of booze and refused help from the councillors - why is this bloke having our money wasted on him only for him to do it again and again and refusing help!??!


It also staggers me how rude people are to nurses who I have found 90% of the time are some of the most hard working and nicest people out there, only times I have had issues is in big hospitals at night when they are fill in staff, not fully employed by the hospital.

[thepeoplespal]

AlfaPapa said:

As has already been said - vote with your feet and register at a different GP practice. They are private businesses paid per year by number of registered patients, you move, your funding moves with you.

That funding you are moving is £65 per year AlfaPapa, with the formula for a young men making it worth even less (as you don't visit that often & you don't have a chronic disease the GP gets less funding for you). So unless your practice is massively under the cosh with numbers dropping like a stone, it probably won't make a big difference to them, unless you visit less than twice a year. If you visit much more than 4 times a year you will be costing the practice money, so the marginal cost of your departure will not really hitting them in the pocket that much. (Hope this comes over right, as trying to state the reality rather than troll)

If you are really interested in getting checked out and referred, try going to a training practice & booking in with the Registrar, just done an audit of referrals and found that Registrars have a referral rate that is 4x normal GP rate. That's if you can find one, being a GP is such a toxic environment to work in at the moment, that young Dr's are starting to completely avoid it, training places still going spare and an unprecedented 3rd recruitment drive has been opened up again to get more trainees.

[Bill]

Moonhawk said:

No.......this isn't an episode of embarrassing bodies

The specifics aren't relevant to the thread.

To be blunt, it does look like "young/middle aged males" in the title should read "hypochondriacs". If four different GPs didn't see the need to actively treat your condition, perhaps it didn't need treating.

[mph1977]

Moonhawk said:

theshrew said:

Dr's - you need to know if your going to be ill 3 weeks in advance

To be honest - this kind of thing is more about the attitude some of the receptionists.

When you ring up in the afternoon saying you have just taken ill - the last thing you need is the receptionist telling you that, to get an appointment today, you should have rang at 8:30am. Clairvoyance must be a wonderful gift for those lucky enough to be bestowed with it.

ah this old chestnut

people whinge and moan about how they can't get appointments , all to often they expect clairvoyance from the receptionist

oddly enough if you ask for the right thing it's a lot easier to get what you need.

only ask for your list / named GP if you need them - if you don;t get on with one of the other partners / salaried GPS you can always say no if they are suggested - many GP riactice have several qualified GPs as well as a registrar or two ... for 95% of people 90+% of the time any GP in practice you are registered with will be appropriate
ask for an urgent or emergency appt if you need it ,not just 'an appointment'

Moonhawk said:

Some also seem to think they are qualified to make a clinical decision/diagnosis over the phone. My granddaughter was refused an appointment with the doctor a few weeks back because the receptionist thought that it didn't sound serious enough and would only give her an appointment with the nurse. Her mum duly took her to see the nurse who took one look and said "nothing I can do - she needs to see a doctor"! (this is the same practice I went to BTW).

and more than hlaf of the stuff people *think* needs an urgent appointment could be dealt with by a Nurse especially if they hold the master's level Independent prescriber qualification ... but then again as we've seen with A+E there are some people who would prefer to be seen by an FY2 Doctor on a 4 month casualty rotation rather than a Master's prepared Nurse or paramedic practitioner with years of emergency care experience.