[News] Nhs,A and E and waiting lists.

[Lindfield by the Pond]

Just spent 10 hours in A&E with my son. 22:30 last night as advised by GP, earlier in day due to suspected appendicitis. Was advised to call ambulance if it got worse, which eventually it did. So we called at 22:30. Was advised that it would be a 3-4hr waiting time for Ambulance as it was not life threatening. I have family experience of appendicitis, and it is very much life threatening, so took him there myself. He was finally transferred to Brighton at 06:00, and finally saw Registrar at 09:00. Was in A&E in RSCH when an ambulance arrived with someone who had also been advised by their GP to call an ambulance. It had taken 11 hours from their call to get to hospital.
NHS just seems broken. It's just under staffed. I'd willingly pay more tax to improve NHS if I knew it was definitely going there.
Just trying to stay awake until 21:00, then will hit the sack. Hoping not to wake up until well into Friday. My son is still crying in pain, but I do think we have the right diagnosis and medication, so hopefully he will be ok tomorrow.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

To ease strain on A&E there should be more services like the walk-in medical centre by Brighton station that's open 8am to 8pm 7 days a week and you go and wait to see a Dr. That and minor injuries units where you can see a nurse.

Lewes Minor injuries unit is very good, and open 8-8pm. Our neighbour fell down the steps in our garden and we took her there after checking she hadn't broken any bones.

 

[Deleted member 2719]

I say that having spent a few hours last weekend with a friend of mine's son - who is an A&E Doctor.

He says at least 30% of the people he sees could go to their GP instead of A & E.

And there lies the problem a nation, of snowflakes, if the lib undemocrates or Labour gets in we are in big trouble.

Meltdown.

 

[Hastings gull]

And there lies the problem a nation, of snowflakes, if the lib undemocrates or Labour gets in we are in big trouble.

Meltdown.

Come on -the OP did ask that the thread does not become politicised, even if I do privately agree with you!

 

[daveinplzen]

Corbyns fault

 

[Dick Swiveller]

Blimey, Dick. If your walking was THAT bad, you’d think you’d be prioritised.

That was before the injury!

 

[Cheshire Cat]

The mental health provision is chaotic. No agency talks to each other, so you end up in this Kafaesque nightmare of constantly having different appointments with different people telling the same story from scratch every time, and getting absolutely nowhere.

 

[Drumstick]

People ordering an ambulance when a family member can drive them in doesn’t help.


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[RexCathedra]

Look west. Across the pond.

We'd be happy to provide you with our wonderfully successful model of health care delivery.
Harnessing the power of the profit motive, and unleashing entrepreneurship!

Just like we did for post-secondary education. I'm sure you'll agree student loans as the backbone of that system have worked a treat.

Later, we'll show you how to do mass transit.

 

[portlock seagull]

People ordering an ambulance when a family member can drive them in doesn’t help.


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You don’t order an ambulance, you get offered one by trained professionals if the circumstances warrant. It’s not like hailing a cab, you perpetuate a myth that somehow people who need one might not. It’s simply not the case or they wouldn’t be offered one, even if deemed lower priority.

 

[Raleigh Chopper]

My recent experiences are the NHS are better than they have ever been for efficiency and quality.

I am sure someone will come on and say I had a 20-hour wait for a split toenail.

To be fair I would want you in and out as quickly as possible from anywhere.

 

[Deleted member 2719]

To be fair I would want you in and out as quickly as possible from anywhere.

Just when I thought most lefties we're bitchy, it's lovely to see you are sometimes caring and respectful, rather than sarcastic and bitter.
I am feeling your love.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

As I repeated a few days ago, it needs proper funding.

 

[southstandandy]

Doesn't help that there are over 40,000 nursing vacancies in the UK at the moment. It just seems very few people want to go into nursing or social care for that matter.

 

[rippleman]

And therein lies the problem - people using A&E instead of going to the doctors.

Yes indeed. People use A&E because it is nigh on impossible to get an appointment with a GP (which is all most people need). Maybe if GP surgeries opened in the evenings and at weekends, it would take the pressure of A&E so the hard pressed superstars that work there can concentrate on those who really need their skills.

Taking the GP route has always seemed to be an easy, cushy option compared to A&E staff who are dealing with serious conditions and making life or death decisions. IMO A&E doctors should be paid ten times what a GP earns.

 

[BLOCK F]

Yep - 111 are completely useless. Phoned them for my girlfriend's mum who was having chest pain after a long standing cough and the Doctor phoned back (me, not her because we used my phone and they screwed up the numbers) at 3am, 6 hours after the first phone call. Turned out to be a cracked rib but no way the nurse knew that and the doctor was just too busy. I also phoned them at 5am a few months ago when my girlfriend was in agony with stomach pains and the Doctor phoned back at 7:15 - just to say to go to your own GP. Their only purpose is to phone an ambulance if you talk about symptoms of a heart attack/stroke.

Sorry to hear of your experiences with 111.
I have to say that my experiences with the service have also been dreadful.
I won't go into details, but ironically, it involved my late father who was a retired GP of the old school and who worked out of hours and at weekends. The poor old fellow just couldn't understand what had happened to the GP service of old.

 

[BLOCK F]

Yes indeed. People use A&E because it is nigh on impossible to get an appointment with a GP (which is all most people need). Maybe if GP surgeries opened in the evenings and at weekends, it would take the pressure of A&E so the hard pressed superstars that work there can concentrate on those who really need their skills.

Taking the GP route has always seemed to be an easy, cushy option compared to A&E staff who are dealing with serious conditions and making life or death decisions. IMO A&E doctors should be paid ten times what a GP earns.

The GP service is now a mess and, as you say, if it was easier to get an appointment and GP practices were still responsible for out of hours service, I am sure less people would visit A&E. After all, it isn't everybody's idea of fun to unnecessarily sit and wait in a hospital for a few hours to be seen by staff. Yes, some are timewasters, but an awful lot of people go because they are worried about something involving themselves or their children and they don't want to take a risk. That is where a visit to the GP can provide the reassurance or treatment they may need.
I can't agree entirely agree with your comparison between general practice and A&E though. Plenty of GP's have worked in A&E prior to be coming a GP, including my father, who was what was known as a 'Casualty Officer' many years ago. A good GP will have excellent diagnostic skills and by picking up serious conditions at an early stage can save many lives and prevent illnesses becoming more serious.
I think what has happened, is that GP's are no longer family doctors and now that they no longer work out of hours and carry out very few home visits, they don't properly get to know their patients and so there is far less of a chance to build a patient/doctor relationship. My old man, learned so much about family dynamics and the circumstances in which his patients lived, be it in poverty or otherwise, from a house visit, and that is rarely the case nowadays.
I do have to agree that the GP's despite what they may say, do not work as hard as their predecessors. Yes, they may have a lot of bureaucracy to deal with, but they do also have a lot of office staff to help and their hours are far less onerous than they used to be. Finally, there are plenty of doctors in our local practice, but the trouble is, most of them are part-time. Now that is another subject altogether!
P.S.My favourite doctor is part-time and has been very kind to me, so it isn't all bad!

 

[BLOCK F]

To be fair I would want you in and out as quickly as possible from anywhere.

Such compassion from a kind considerate leftie!

 

[nicko31]

As I repeated a few days ago, it needs proper funding.

Everyone is just going to have to agree to be poorer and pay more, especially if after the election there is no REMAIN bonus

 

[Two Professors]

To be fair I would want you in and out as quickly as possible from anywhere.

What a chopper you are