Unpopular opinion - NHS is useless
Discussion
Brainpox said:
272BHP said:
GPs are not really helping themselves here are they?
https://www.theguardian.com/society/article/2024/m...
The scheme is a good idea and is much needed.
At a guess: If a GP sends someone to a pharmacist from info gathered during the phone call with reception, then the issue happens to be more complex, who will be liable for any issues that come off the back of that?https://www.theguardian.com/society/article/2024/m...
The scheme is a good idea and is much needed.
I can imagine a GP being more confident giving routine stuff to on site nurses and paramedics, firstly because they are directly employed by the surgery, and also the doctor is available to assist if needed.
Some GPs don’t like the idea of pharmacists making money and can’t be bothered to operate the referral system properly. Apparently it’s three clicks on the system and that’s two clicks too many.
ucb said:
Why would a GP wants to send a patient who has not been properly triaged to someone with no training in diagnostic medicine?
Why would they waste their time with a system which does not allow them to assess and treat a patient and yet required then to remain as the backstop?
Modern Pharmacists are trained in diagnostic medicine as part of the Masters degree they now undertake, even old fossils like myself undertook diagnostic training at post graduate level in the early 00sWhy would they waste their time with a system which does not allow them to assess and treat a patient and yet required then to remain as the backstop?
As I understand Pharmacy First most of the traffic is patients going to a pharmacy (as they always have done) where they can be treated for certain conditions by the pharmacist. It’s the pharmacist who makes the decision whether to treat, not treat or refer to another health professional.Not many patients are being formally referred the other way from GP to pharmacy because of the reasons in the Guardian article, mainly because the computer system isn’t very good, but also because some GPs can’t be arsed to use it properly or have an anti-pharmacy bias.
This latter group are the ones who see flu vaccinations as “their” money and resent pharmacies getting in on the act.
272BHP said:
GPs are not really helping themselves here are they?
https://www.theguardian.com/society/article/2024/m...
The scheme is a good idea and is much needed.
Nope. Personally I think the GP’s have to take a lot of the blame for the bin fire that is the NHS at the minute. Since Covid it has become almost impossible to actually see a GP, even if you can get an appointment it is remote in 99% of cases, which I suspect most people don’t want. So they end up at A&E.https://www.theguardian.com/society/article/2024/m...
The scheme is a good idea and is much needed.
I've had the unusual (for me) experience of using the NHS over the past month or so as a patient rather than as a health professional.
I've had a "mole" on my head which has appeared and slowly grown over the past six months or so. Decided that it would be sensible to get it seen so went down to the health centre and asked for an appointment. Bearing in mind this was on March 22nd, the receptionist said the next available appointment for a GP was April 30th but said that if she sent we a link so I could send in a photo she'd make sure it was checked and they'd get back to me.
Went home, took a photo, sent it in and had a phone call that afternoon to say that they didn't think it was anything to worry about but emphasised they wanted me to have a GP appointment within three weeks, however they didn't have any appointments available but would be in touch.
I heard nothing back, so just before the three weeks was up messaged the health centre to enquire about my appointment saying that they'd emphasised "three weeks" which was " presumably a target from NHS England which were about to miss". About twenty minutes later I had a phone call to say that an appointment was available in half an hour's time if I was free!
Went down and saw a pleasant and straight-talking GP who examined me and said "You want to know if that's cancer?" to which I said I did. I quite like that, I cannot stand being patronised or talked down to- just give it to me straight! He wasn't sure but thought it was a seborrheoic keratitis, but to be on the safe side referred me to the skin cancer clinic at the local hospital. He said it was supposed to be a two week referral, but would probably take longer. He was wrong about that, because the appointment was eight days later and the very nice young female consultant confirmed the GP diagnosis so NFA
I was actually quite impressed just how quickly the NHS worked, once it got itself in gear, although it's apparent that a shortage of GPs is the critical factor.
I've had a "mole" on my head which has appeared and slowly grown over the past six months or so. Decided that it would be sensible to get it seen so went down to the health centre and asked for an appointment. Bearing in mind this was on March 22nd, the receptionist said the next available appointment for a GP was April 30th but said that if she sent we a link so I could send in a photo she'd make sure it was checked and they'd get back to me.
Went home, took a photo, sent it in and had a phone call that afternoon to say that they didn't think it was anything to worry about but emphasised they wanted me to have a GP appointment within three weeks, however they didn't have any appointments available but would be in touch.
I heard nothing back, so just before the three weeks was up messaged the health centre to enquire about my appointment saying that they'd emphasised "three weeks" which was " presumably a target from NHS England which were about to miss". About twenty minutes later I had a phone call to say that an appointment was available in half an hour's time if I was free!
Went down and saw a pleasant and straight-talking GP who examined me and said "You want to know if that's cancer?" to which I said I did. I quite like that, I cannot stand being patronised or talked down to- just give it to me straight! He wasn't sure but thought it was a seborrheoic keratitis, but to be on the safe side referred me to the skin cancer clinic at the local hospital. He said it was supposed to be a two week referral, but would probably take longer. He was wrong about that, because the appointment was eight days later and the very nice young female consultant confirmed the GP diagnosis so NFA
I was actually quite impressed just how quickly the NHS worked, once it got itself in gear, although it's apparent that a shortage of GPs is the critical factor.
The NHS is useless. And that is a fact! And it's also quite a popular opinion.
For reasons nobody seems to know, my lower legs and feet seem to be magnets for getting cellulitis. Maybe hereditary as my old man suffered with poor circulation in his legs and had the same issues. Anyway, the last time I got it, I just endured it, shovelled in the paracetamols and waited for it to sort itself out as I don't like bothering the doctors unless I'm about to die in the next 30 minutes. Predictably, the paracetamols did f
k all because it's a bacterial infection and ended up having to see the doc anyway, who then gave me an almighty rollocking for not ringing her sooner and then promptly bundled me off in an ambulance to the Leeds General where I was on IV ABs for 3 weeks and came close to losing my legs.
The reason for mentioning this dull back-story is because my GP said if it happens again, just go straight to A&E or call an ambulance if you can't get yourself there yourself or have someone available to take you. Fair enough.
Fast forward to this weekend just gone and started to notice pains in my lower legs and feet again. Went from slight pain to unbearable agonising pain in the space of 48 hours with my feet now looking like balloons, filled with fluid and gigantic blisters growing all over them. Can't even stand up as the pain is 11 on a scale of 10. Recalling what my GP had said last time, I wasted no time ringing for an ambulance in the early hours, feeling confident that the life-threatening nature of a cellulitis infection would have them dispatching an ambulance at some point today, which would be fine - I understand how fked up they are and there will be a wait.
Oh how wrong I was! After 100 questions on 999 when I gave an accurate account of the pain levels and severity of cellulitis, she informed me that no ambulance would be dispatched, because according to her flow chart, my pain level falls 2 levels short. When I understandably expressed my exasperation, she repeated the same questions she'd asked earlier, namely : "do you suffer from any mental health issues" to which I answered no, and then she informs me in that case she's unable to send an ambulance. One can deduce from that how to summon an ambulance in future....
Palmed off to "111" who I rang straight after, rather than waiting their "someone should ring you within 2 hours" nonsense. Exact same questions (what's the point? They have the log from 999 already on their screen), another 20 mins wasted, we can't do anything for you. You need to see your GP! GP last time says nothing to do with her, can't do anything, go to A&E ! More frustration as where I'm currently staying is not within my GPs catchment. Sorry nothing we can do for you, but I'll pass your case to a clinician, who should ring you back later today. I enquired who is this "clinician" and she said it's basically the same as her, but they have more decision making power. I said so why not just put me through to them in the first place if you can't make a decision instead of wasting another 20 mins of my time just parroting what the woman on 999 had said? Totally useless waste of time and money. I said to her I don't want a clinician, I want a doctor like right now to give me strong painkillers and ABs. OK, we if you don't want to go through our clinician, I can refer your case to the out-of-hours doctor for your area who will ring you back to advise you what to do. YES! GET IT DONE ALREADY!
Ten minutes later the OOH doc phones, brief discussion, some SMS GP thing to upload photos of the state of my feet and covered in massive pus-filled blisters, she rings back seconds later and prescribed me ABs and codeine to see how it goes for 24-48hrs then will reassess if there's no improvement. Pharmacy brought them round to me as they're only 30 seconds away. Some progress then, but, like last time, I predict this will be waste of time and I'll need to go to hospital for IV ABs.
But all this aggro and pointless box-ticking and flow charts to put as many barriers in the way as possible. If they employed all those pointless departments of remote phone "assessors" as ambulance drivers to just get on with the fking job with boots on the ground then most of this BS wouldn't even be needed. What annoyed me even more is their collective faux concern "if the problem gets any worse then you need to ring 999 to assist" . Give me a fking break with your lies ! You aren't going to do st if I ring back. You'll waste another 20 mins of my time asking the same 100 questions, waiting for me to say the magic "yes I am vulnerable and have mental health issues" phrase for you to give the green light to your raft of ambulances , but if not then "no, can't do anything for you, we're palming you off to 111".
Privatise the lot already and let the free market compete on price for pay-to-access. If you can't afford it then you can do the PH thing and "work harder".
For reasons nobody seems to know, my lower legs and feet seem to be magnets for getting cellulitis. Maybe hereditary as my old man suffered with poor circulation in his legs and had the same issues. Anyway, the last time I got it, I just endured it, shovelled in the paracetamols and waited for it to sort itself out as I don't like bothering the doctors unless I'm about to die in the next 30 minutes. Predictably, the paracetamols did f
k all because it's a bacterial infection and ended up having to see the doc anyway, who then gave me an almighty rollocking for not ringing her sooner and then promptly bundled me off in an ambulance to the Leeds General where I was on IV ABs for 3 weeks and came close to losing my legs.The reason for mentioning this dull back-story is because my GP said if it happens again, just go straight to A&E or call an ambulance if you can't get yourself there yourself or have someone available to take you. Fair enough.
Fast forward to this weekend just gone and started to notice pains in my lower legs and feet again. Went from slight pain to unbearable agonising pain in the space of 48 hours with my feet now looking like balloons, filled with fluid and gigantic blisters growing all over them. Can't even stand up as the pain is 11 on a scale of 10. Recalling what my GP had said last time, I wasted no time ringing for an ambulance in the early hours, feeling confident that the life-threatening nature of a cellulitis infection would have them dispatching an ambulance at some point today, which would be fine - I understand how f
ked up they are and there will be a wait.Oh how wrong I was! After 100 questions on 999 when I gave an accurate account of the pain levels and severity of cellulitis, she informed me that no ambulance would be dispatched, because according to her flow chart, my pain level falls 2 levels short. When I understandably expressed my exasperation, she repeated the same questions she'd asked earlier, namely : "do you suffer from any mental health issues" to which I answered no, and then she informs me in that case she's unable to send an ambulance. One can deduce from that how to summon an ambulance in future....
Palmed off to "111" who I rang straight after, rather than waiting their "someone should ring you within 2 hours" nonsense. Exact same questions (what's the point? They have the log from 999 already on their screen), another 20 mins wasted, we can't do anything for you. You need to see your GP! GP last time says nothing to do with her, can't do anything, go to A&E ! More frustration as where I'm currently staying is not within my GPs catchment. Sorry nothing we can do for you, but I'll pass your case to a clinician, who should ring you back later today. I enquired who is this "clinician" and she said it's basically the same as her, but they have more decision making power. I said so why not just put me through to them in the first place if you can't make a decision instead of wasting another 20 mins of my time just parroting what the woman on 999 had said? Totally useless waste of time and money. I said to her I don't want a clinician, I want a doctor like right now to give me strong painkillers and ABs. OK, we if you don't want to go through our clinician, I can refer your case to the out-of-hours doctor for your area who will ring you back to advise you what to do. YES! GET IT DONE ALREADY!
Ten minutes later the OOH doc phones, brief discussion, some SMS GP thing to upload photos of the state of my feet and covered in massive pus-filled blisters, she rings back seconds later and prescribed me ABs and codeine to see how it goes for 24-48hrs then will reassess if there's no improvement. Pharmacy brought them round to me as they're only 30 seconds away. Some progress then, but, like last time, I predict this will be waste of time and I'll need to go to hospital for IV ABs.
But all this aggro and pointless box-ticking and flow charts to put as many barriers in the way as possible. If they employed all those pointless departments of remote phone "assessors" as ambulance drivers to just get on with the f
king job with boots on the ground then most of this BS wouldn't even be needed. What annoyed me even more is their collective faux concern "if the problem gets any worse then you need to ring 999 to assist" . Give me a fking break with your lies ! You aren't going to do st if I ring back. You'll waste another 20 mins of my time asking the same 100 questions, waiting for me to say the magic "yes I am vulnerable and have mental health issues" phrase for you to give the green light to your raft of ambulances , but if not then "no, can't do anything for you, we're palming you off to 111".Privatise the lot already and let the free market compete on price for pay-to-access. If you can't afford it then you can do the PH thing and "work harder".
Edited by r3g on Tuesday 4th June 12:22
r3g said:
The NHS is useless. And that is a fact! And it's also quite a popular opinion.
For reasons nobody seems to know, my lower legs and feet seem to be magnets for getting cellulitis. Maybe hereditary as my old man suffered with poor circulation in his legs and had the same issues. Anyway, the last time I got it, I just endured it, shovelled in the paracetamols and waited for it to sort itself out as I don't like bothering the doctors unless I'm about to die in the next 30 minutes. Predictably, the paracetamols did fk all because it's a bacterial infection and ended up having to see the doc anyway, who then gave me an almighty rollocking for not ringing her sooner and then promptly bundled me off in an ambulance to the Leeds General where I was on IV ABs for 3 weeks and came close to losing my legs.
The reason for mentioning this dull back-story is because my GP said if it happens again, just go straight to A&E or call an ambulance if you can't get yourself there yourself or have someone available to take you. Fair enough.
Fast forward to this weekend just gone and started to notice pains in my lower legs and feet again. Went from slight pain to unbearable agonising pain in the space of 48 hours with my feet now looking like balloons, filled with fluid and gigantic blisters growing all over them. Can't even stand up as the pain is 11 on a scale of 10. Recalling what my GP had said last time, I wasted no time ringing for an ambulance in the early hours, feeling confident that the life-threatening nature of a cellulitis infection would have them dispatching an ambulance at some point today, which would be fine - I understand how fked up they are and there will be a wait.
Oh how wrong I was! After 100 questions on 999 when I gave an accurate account of the pain levels and severity of cellulitis, she informed me that no ambulance would be dispatched, because according to her flow chart, my pain level falls 2 levels short. When I understandably expressed my exasperation, she repeated the same questions she'd asked earlier, namely : "do you suffer from any mental health issues" to which I answered no, and then she informs me in that case she's unable to send an ambulance. One can deduce from that how to summon an ambulance in future....
Palmed off to "111" who I rang straight after, rather than waiting their "someone should ring you within 2 hours" nonsense. Exact same questions (what's the point? They have the log from 999 already on their screen), another 20 mins wasted, we can't do anything for you. You need to see your GP! GP last time says nothing to do with her, can't do anything, go to A&E ! More frustration as where I'm currently staying is not within my GPs catchment. Sorry nothing we can do for you, but I'll pass your case to a clinician, who should ring you back later today. I enquired who is this "clinician" and she said it's basically the same as her, but they have more decision making power. I said so why not just put me through to them in the first place if you can't make a decision instead of wasting another 20 mins of my time just parroting what the woman on 999 had said? Totally useless waste of time and money. I said to her I don't want a clinician, I want a doctor like right now to give me strong painkillers and ABs. OK, we if you don't want to go through our clinician, I can refer your case to the out-of-hours doctor for your area who will ring you back to advise you what to do. YES! GET IT DONE ALREADY!
Ten minutes later the OOH doc phones, brief discussion, some SMS GP thing to upload photos of the state of my feet and covered in massive pus-filled blisters, she rings back seconds later and prescribed me ABs and codeine to see how it goes for 24-48hrs then will reassess if there's no improvement. Pharmacy brought them round to me as they're only 30 seconds away. Some progress then, but, like last time, I predict this will be waste of time and I'll need to go to hospital for IV ABs.
But all this aggro and pointless box-ticking and flow charts to put as many barriers in the way as possible. If they employed all those pointless departments of remote phone "assessors" as ambulance drivers to just get on with the fking job with boots on the ground then most of this BS wouldn't even be needed. What annoyed me even more is their collective faux concern "if the problem gets any worse then you need to ring 999 to assist" . Give me a fking break with your lies ! You aren't going to do st if I ring back. You'll waste another 20 mins of my time asking the same 100 questions, waiting for me to say the magic "yes I am vulnerable and have mental health issues" phrase for you to give the green light to your raft of ambulances , but if not then "no, can't do anything for you, we're palming you off to 111".
Privatise the lot already and let the free market compete on price for pay-to-access. If you can't afford it then you can do the PH thing and "work harder".
I have to to agree that cellulitis does not require a 999 ambulance. Get in a car or taxi and go to A&E if it is that bad and you already know what the problem is. Why would you need an ambulance to provide transport. In reality its not even an A&E issue either and more of a medical admissions/assessment unit type of thing.For reasons nobody seems to know, my lower legs and feet seem to be magnets for getting cellulitis. Maybe hereditary as my old man suffered with poor circulation in his legs and had the same issues. Anyway, the last time I got it, I just endured it, shovelled in the paracetamols and waited for it to sort itself out as I don't like bothering the doctors unless I'm about to die in the next 30 minutes. Predictably, the paracetamols did f
k all because it's a bacterial infection and ended up having to see the doc anyway, who then gave me an almighty rollocking for not ringing her sooner and then promptly bundled me off in an ambulance to the Leeds General where I was on IV ABs for 3 weeks and came close to losing my legs.The reason for mentioning this dull back-story is because my GP said if it happens again, just go straight to A&E or call an ambulance if you can't get yourself there yourself or have someone available to take you. Fair enough.
Fast forward to this weekend just gone and started to notice pains in my lower legs and feet again. Went from slight pain to unbearable agonising pain in the space of 48 hours with my feet now looking like balloons, filled with fluid and gigantic blisters growing all over them. Can't even stand up as the pain is 11 on a scale of 10. Recalling what my GP had said last time, I wasted no time ringing for an ambulance in the early hours, feeling confident that the life-threatening nature of a cellulitis infection would have them dispatching an ambulance at some point today, which would be fine - I understand how f
ked up they are and there will be a wait.Oh how wrong I was! After 100 questions on 999 when I gave an accurate account of the pain levels and severity of cellulitis, she informed me that no ambulance would be dispatched, because according to her flow chart, my pain level falls 2 levels short. When I understandably expressed my exasperation, she repeated the same questions she'd asked earlier, namely : "do you suffer from any mental health issues" to which I answered no, and then she informs me in that case she's unable to send an ambulance. One can deduce from that how to summon an ambulance in future....
Palmed off to "111" who I rang straight after, rather than waiting their "someone should ring you within 2 hours" nonsense. Exact same questions (what's the point? They have the log from 999 already on their screen), another 20 mins wasted, we can't do anything for you. You need to see your GP! GP last time says nothing to do with her, can't do anything, go to A&E ! More frustration as where I'm currently staying is not within my GPs catchment. Sorry nothing we can do for you, but I'll pass your case to a clinician, who should ring you back later today. I enquired who is this "clinician" and she said it's basically the same as her, but they have more decision making power. I said so why not just put me through to them in the first place if you can't make a decision instead of wasting another 20 mins of my time just parroting what the woman on 999 had said? Totally useless waste of time and money. I said to her I don't want a clinician, I want a doctor like right now to give me strong painkillers and ABs. OK, we if you don't want to go through our clinician, I can refer your case to the out-of-hours doctor for your area who will ring you back to advise you what to do. YES! GET IT DONE ALREADY!
Ten minutes later the OOH doc phones, brief discussion, some SMS GP thing to upload photos of the state of my feet and covered in massive pus-filled blisters, she rings back seconds later and prescribed me ABs and codeine to see how it goes for 24-48hrs then will reassess if there's no improvement. Pharmacy brought them round to me as they're only 30 seconds away. Some progress then, but, like last time, I predict this will be waste of time and I'll need to go to hospital for IV ABs.
But all this aggro and pointless box-ticking and flow charts to put as many barriers in the way as possible. If they employed all those pointless departments of remote phone "assessors" as ambulance drivers to just get on with the f
king job with boots on the ground then most of this BS wouldn't even be needed. What annoyed me even more is their collective faux concern "if the problem gets any worse then you need to ring 999 to assist" . Give me a fking break with your lies ! You aren't going to do st if I ring back. You'll waste another 20 mins of my time asking the same 100 questions, waiting for me to say the magic "yes I am vulnerable and have mental health issues" phrase for you to give the green light to your raft of ambulances , but if not then "no, can't do anything for you, we're palming you off to 111".Privatise the lot already and let the free market compete on price for pay-to-access. If you can't afford it then you can do the PH thing and "work harder".
Edited by r3g on Tuesday 4th June 12:22
Oral flucloxacillin (with metronidazole with pressure sores) or doxycycline and review at 48 hours with culture results is the national cellulitis guideline so they have been entirely correct in the course of treatment. There isn't really too much justification in popping in IV flucloxacillin because the patient says so
This is not some kind of barrier to health but more of an attempt to stop the inappropriate use of ambulances for something which does not require that level of intervention. You might not like it and this makes the NHS useless but that means an emergency ambulance is not tied up for hours waiting for a handover when this could have been done adequately by the patient. Your expectations of the NHS and ambulance service have not been managed by the GP with their comment about ringing an ambulance to pick you up and drive to hospital.
Edited by pavarotti1980 on Tuesday 4th June 12:52
Well yes. "Useless" NHS saves his life, then triages him correctly for the right treatment. Sounds like it works...
ETA more helpfully... I suspect you GP meant that as sick as you were then you should have called 999, but now you got in early enough that you need a GP or out of hours and should have started with 111.
ETA more helpfully... I suspect you GP meant that as sick as you were then you should have called 999, but now you got in early enough that you need a GP or out of hours and should have started with 111.
Edited by Bill on Tuesday 4th June 13:28
ucb said:
Why would a GP wants to send a patient who has not been properly triaged to someone with no training in diagnostic medicine?
Why would they waste their time with a system which does not allow them to assess and treat a patient and yet required then to remain as the backstop?
Having experienced the NHS, why would a patient want to see a GP who requires appointments to be booked several weeks in advance and then will only consult for ten minutes on a single issue when the outcome most of the time will be a prescription for the pharmacist? Why would they waste their time with a system which does not allow them to assess and treat a patient and yet required then to remain as the backstop?
pavarotti1980 said:
I have to to agree that cellulitis does not require a 999 ambulance. Get in a car or taxi and go to A&E if it is that bad and you already know what the problem is. Why would you need an ambulance to provide transport. In reality its not even an A&E issue either and more of a medical admissions/assessment unit type of thing.
You're not taking into account access problems at the patient's location. From a purely binary perspective, I would agree that it doesn't require an ambulance, but when the problem has become so bad that the patient is basically paralysed from the knees down and also at the wrong end of a lengthy path with numerous steps and a steep staircase then "just get in a car" is a monumentally stupid statement to make. While there are some taxi firms with wheelchair capable vehicles, it's up to the user to provide the wheelchair and also to get themselves to the vehicle. That also becomes impossible when you don't have a wheelchair, your nearest friend is on holiday in Greece and the rest of family are all several hours drive away.As for your opinion that it's not an A&E issue - again, another binary statement not taking into account the patient's past history. This is now the 4th episode of this over the past 20 something years and I already know that neither Flucloxacillin nor Amoxicillin capsules will touch it once it's taken hold, and every time I've needed to get the ABs via IV to take back control. This should be quite clear to these so-called expert assessors on my file and as the consultant in the LGI said last time that I'd come close to losing my legs when my heart couldn't take any faster flow rate of the IV, then I'd say he probably knows what he's talking about and this is a serious matter that should be classed as a medical emergency, ie. dispatching an ambo or at least some kind of physical assistance to get me to a vehicle and then I can collect a wheelchair at the hospital end.
On top of that, how are you supposed to do any of this when the blistering is so big and feet so swollen that you can't get anything on your feet?
Edited by r3g on Tuesday 4th June 13:40
r3g said:
You're not taking into account access problems at the patient's location. From a purely binary perspective, I would agree that it doesn't require an ambulance, but when the problem has become so bad that the patient is basically paralysed from the knees down and also at the wrong end of a lengthy path with numerous steps and a steep staircase then "just get in a car" is a monumentally stupid statement to make. While there are some taxi firms with wheelchair capable vehicles, it's up to the user to provide the wheelchair and also to get themselves to the vehicle. That also becomes impossible when you don't have a wheelchair, your nearest friend is on holiday in Greece and the rest of family are all several hours drive away.
As for your opinion that it's not an A&E issue - again, another binary statement not taking into account the patient's past history. This is now the 4th episode of this over the past 20 something years and I already know that neither Flucloxacillin nor Amoxicillin capsules will touch it once it's taken hold, and every time I've needed to get the ABs via IV to take back control. This should be quite clear to these so-called expert assessors on my file and as the consultant in the LGI said last time that I'd come close to losing my legs when my heart couldn't take any faster flow rate of the IV, then I'd say he probably knows what he's talking about and this is a serious matter that should be classed as a medical emergency, ie. dispatching an ambo or at least some kind of physical assistance to get me to a vehicle and then I can collect a wheelchair at the hospital end.
On top of that, how are you supposed to do any of this when the blistering is so big and feet so swollen that you can't get anything on your feet?
Family member will be quicker than the ambulance based on the correct triage.As for your opinion that it's not an A&E issue - again, another binary statement not taking into account the patient's past history. This is now the 4th episode of this over the past 20 something years and I already know that neither Flucloxacillin nor Amoxicillin capsules will touch it once it's taken hold, and every time I've needed to get the ABs via IV to take back control. This should be quite clear to these so-called expert assessors on my file and as the consultant in the LGI said last time that I'd come close to losing my legs when my heart couldn't take any faster flow rate of the IV, then I'd say he probably knows what he's talking about and this is a serious matter that should be classed as a medical emergency, ie. dispatching an ambo or at least some kind of physical assistance to get me to a vehicle and then I can collect a wheelchair at the hospital end.
On top of that, how are you supposed to do any of this when the blistering is so big and feet so swollen that you can't get anything on your feet?
Edited by r3g on Tuesday 4th June 13:40
Also if as you say the consultant at Leeds classifies it so seriously there would be plans in place for district nursing, rapid response, OPAT when the need arose.
Edited by pavarotti1980 on Tuesday 4th June 13:48
pavarotti1980 said:
Family member will be quicker than the ambulance based on the correct triage.
My father in law needed to go to hospital quite urgently, and as he was unfit to drive and my Mother can't drive, they had to call an ambulance. It arrived very quickly, but then proceeded to drive the 30 miles to the hospital very slowly and kept stopping to let cars behind past. My FIL wasn't so bad he needed them to go slowly, so no idea why they did. I actually left home about 20 mins after my Mother called to say they were waiting for an ambulance, drove the 50 miles to get there and still beat the ambulance by 10 mins. A few weeks later I had to take my Mother to A&E late at night (I was staying with them, so no need to call an ambulance) and even though it wasn't particularly busy, and my Mothers condition was worse than my FIL`s, we were waiting to be seen for nearly two hours. My FIL, as he arrived by ambulance, was seen straight away. Also, at that particular hospital, the ambulance entrance and waiting area was an awful lot better than the A&E waiting room, which seemed to be mainly people waiting for their Methadone, and not a particularly nice place to sit with your 80 year old Mother.
r3g said:
On top of that, how are you supposed to do any of this when the blistering is so big and feet so swollen that you can't get anything on your feet?
You could try a pair of TheseIt does sound painful. I'd agree though it's not an ambulance job, if I was in that much trauma and didn't have someone to get me to A&E I'd be hailing a cab making every effort to get into it.
KAgantua said:
Loving the 'make do and mend' mentality of some of the posters on this thread. Heads in the sand about how poor our HC system is.
I think it's more managing expectations given the overloading at the point of entry when a lot of people don't actually need to see a GP or visit A&E. Armitage.Shanks said:
KAgantua said:
Loving the 'make do and mend' mentality of some of the posters on this thread. Heads in the sand about how poor our HC system is.
I think it's more managing expectations given the overloading at the point of entry when a lot of people don't actually need to see a GP or visit A&E. Armitage.Shanks said:
KAgantua said:
Loving the 'make do and mend' mentality of some of the posters on this thread. Heads in the sand about how poor our HC system is.
I think it's more managing expectations given the overloading at the point of entry when a lot of people don't actually need to see a GP or visit A&E. Guy cant get his shoes on, let alone into his car
Anything eye-clinic related seems notoriously bad in every hospital, and ours certainly lives up to that reputation.
Current poor experiene is they think my wife might still have a partially detached retina having repaired it once (in a different part of her eye) and done a cataract replacement. Consultant told her to be careful - no suddenly bending down, don't hold nose if sneezing, no roller coaster riding
etc etc, and was adamant that he wanted to see her 4 weeks after the last check and sure enough an appt arrived. We went away for a week and a letter arrived the day after we left cancelling the appt with no new appt.
Tried to call when back and Appts haven't got a clue, and the consultant's secretary doesn’t answer. I found a list of eye consultants secretary's phone number and none of them answer. PALs doesn't answer.
She could go private but the consultant she's with is supposed to be good and she wants to stay with him as he started the whole thing off.
Current poor experiene is they think my wife might still have a partially detached retina having repaired it once (in a different part of her eye) and done a cataract replacement. Consultant told her to be careful - no suddenly bending down, don't hold nose if sneezing, no roller coaster riding
etc etc, and was adamant that he wanted to see her 4 weeks after the last check and sure enough an appt arrived. We went away for a week and a letter arrived the day after we left cancelling the appt with no new appt.Tried to call when back and Appts haven't got a clue, and the consultant's secretary doesn’t answer. I found a list of eye consultants secretary's phone number and none of them answer. PALs doesn't answer.
She could go private but the consultant she's with is supposed to be good and she wants to stay with him as he started the whole thing off.
I've had the highs and the lows of the NHS in the last 6 or so months.
The low - my Father in Law, who had bowel cancer, had an uneccessary stoma fitted as the surgeon to do the "proper operation" was not available.
The stoma I have to say was nothing but a disaster and was constantly becoming infected. This resulted in a 6 week stay in hospital over the christmas period - I'd say he had to be in for 2 weeks but the home care package he required to allow him to be discharged meant it was a 6 week stay.
He hated it and we hated it - dirty, noisy ward, no privacy, rude staff, little communication, spoke about him - not to him.
Had to wait in a freezing side ward on day of discharge for 8 hours, any good his hospital stay did for him was taken out of him in that wait.
Care at home was patchy and inconsistent. He passed away a month ago
The good - recently I had a cancer scare which was turned around from visit to my GP to test results within 5 weeks. Consistent communication, great staff and no hanging around - as good as such an experience could be.
Maybe if I had to be admitted I'd be seeing a lot more of what my Fathe rin Law had to put up with......
The low - my Father in Law, who had bowel cancer, had an uneccessary stoma fitted as the surgeon to do the "proper operation" was not available.
The stoma I have to say was nothing but a disaster and was constantly becoming infected. This resulted in a 6 week stay in hospital over the christmas period - I'd say he had to be in for 2 weeks but the home care package he required to allow him to be discharged meant it was a 6 week stay.
He hated it and we hated it - dirty, noisy ward, no privacy, rude staff, little communication, spoke about him - not to him.
Had to wait in a freezing side ward on day of discharge for 8 hours, any good his hospital stay did for him was taken out of him in that wait.
Care at home was patchy and inconsistent. He passed away a month ago
The good - recently I had a cancer scare which was turned around from visit to my GP to test results within 5 weeks. Consistent communication, great staff and no hanging around - as good as such an experience could be.
Maybe if I had to be admitted I'd be seeing a lot more of what my Fathe rin Law had to put up with......
Gassing Station | Health Matters | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff