Seeing as we are not getting much news fron Ashton Gate please excuse my rant about the NHS but I would be very intereted about my friends on 606 and their views. My mother was due to have hip surgery today at Southmead to rectify an issue that has dragged on for over 3 years and despite being in great pain for many years she was turned away depite being admitted yesterday. The surgeon found yet another excuse to refuse surgery despite assurances that she was in sufficient health for the surgery to be completed today and she will obviously go back to the bottom of the list yet again. I get the impression that the entire system is in disarray and I felt the need to register a complaint to the ACT and was shocked when the complaint system asked about her ethnicity and wonder what the hell that has to do with the NHS and the right to get action. My mother is 89 and lives in Highbridge and seems to be a forgotten entity within the system which leads me to believe that not only is the system broken but is more about checking the the right boxes on forms in some vain attempt to fool the public in to believing that the system is doing right by her. Anger does even begin to voic my contempt at the way my mother has been treated and I don't think they have any intention of ever doing the surgery she so desperately needs. Is it just my imagination or are these incidents rife throughout the NHS? Living in Canada and so far from the source I rely on family back in England to update me on the latest news and it just seems to have gone beyond a joke. I feel so useless and my thoughts are with my mother today especially since she was so upbeat about finally being so close to some quality of life restored only to have her hopes dashes by a seemingly uncaring and dysfunctional system. Am I alone in my concerns?
I think there is a problem with the nhs and this kind of thing I know a few who work in the health service who get really annoyed when it comes down to management over riding there decision the problem is the pen pushers who haven't got a clue what is happening in the real world
Thanks tigerwolf. I have read horror stories on various sites where certain health boards are spending millions on interpreters to facilitate access to the system for non-english speaking people. In my mother's case she has spent more time going to consultations only to be turned away on every occassion, and I'm beginning to realise that more time and money is spent on talking about what should be done than actually using that money to deliver the necessary front end service. Am I close to the truth yet?
As an add on, my mother has been told she will be kept in Southmead until Thursday for no apparent reason wasting more health care money - WHY? Who are they fooling, not me for sure, because if they planned not to proceed she should never have been admitted in the first place should she? Her hopes of returning to a life without chronic pain have been dashed yet again. Sorry, but as you can imagine I am in a very bad place today knowing I can do nothing to help out my mum.
Sorry to hear about that Mike and I hope she gets the attention she requires sooner rather than later. Those complaints may have an effect and with any luck they may swing her over to private, i haven't had any experience of the NHS recently luckily but it seems a mixed bag, some cant praise highly enough, some say its a total joke. All I know is it's a massive money pit.
My brother recently had the same surgery done in record time and his was paid for by his employer's insurance plan. Makes me wonder if some paying customer showed up at the last minute to take my mother's spot on the roster therefore sending her to the back yet again. My family have told me that my mother has given up the will to continue and they are trying to convince her to go private which would prove very interesting to see if she gets better service. My brother must have some idea of the cost and family members are all prepared to foot the bill. Anyone with solutions on that front that I could pass on to family back there?
I had my back done private. Through work. Consultant in Jan had MRI the next day. Waited a week for results, then next week corsidon injections waited three weeks to see if that worked. It never so asked what day I wanted op, I delayed it as I wanted to finish stuff in work. Had it done beginning of March so approx eight weeks would of been done within 2 if I never choose the injection first and delayed it myself. But I get the bills. It is min £100 to see the consultant, I think I have seen him about 6 times none of it adding up to a hour! Operation was about £3k with scans and things. This was my second time private my first time I had a hernia in my throat. I had the op within 2 weeks. Once I had the op I was struggling to eat or drink but because I was only booked in for 1 day they said it would settle and sent me home. Two weeks later I was taken into Frenchay as I had still not eaten or drunk anything. I was on a drip for three days. I could not fault NHS there who got me back on the road to recovery. So there you go 2 times one was good but expensive the other I would not want anyone to go through the way I was just discarded after they done the op and pushed me back onto the NHS.
Bingo. Private healthcare is the way forward. Tailor-made treatments rather than one-size-fits-all, waiting lists, hoop-jumping/PCness like this ethnicity nonsense, and of course the huge cost to the struggling taxpayer. Let people pay only for the medical work they need doing. It's no coincidence that the best healthcare systems in the world tend to be the ones with the most choice and entrepreneurial freedom. NHS is a mess, and people defend it blindly for being 'the pride of Britain' and a 'national institution'. Ugh.
I work in quasi-public service and regularly come into contact with the NHS due to the nature of those I work with i.e. vulnerable adults and the elderly. Generally the care within the NHS is of a high standard, but everybody is now stretched, some services are now unfortunately in decline. You mother should have been provided with information of a maximum waiting time. The NHS normally sends lots of information to individuals post referral from their GP. Your Mother will have to understand what she has consented to e.g. a hip replacement and what she should expect. This practice is usually thorough. Being asked about her ethnicity is normal. If information is not accessible to all the hospital would be viewed as discriminatory. You could contact NHS direct on her behalf, consult the hospitals charter or the patient advice liaison service
NHS saved my wife's life,discovered cancerous cyst's in her nether regions,done all the tests and booked her in within a fortnight,operation done at the private Glen hospital,fabulous staff,private room,choice of menu and out within 4 days,follow-up treatment at the oncology on St Micheals Hill and my family and I still have her with us after 5 years. Thankyou NHS and staff for her life and paying the full costs (god knows how much but far more than our combined national insurance contributions of a lifetime)
Private health care is out of reach to many and the private sector will screen those it considers high risk and penalise them with higher insurance rates. Some private "care" providers will barely go near some disabilities because they are not cost effective, and will not yield profits. Check recent reports of standards in private residential homes. Winterbourne view was a private care home.
My mother was diagnosed with lung cancer about four months ago,I have to say the NHS have been fantastic,she has had four chemo treatments,two radiology we have had the results back it has shrunk by a third which is fantastic news.she is now to be checked every six weeks.the quality and proffesinalsm has been fantastic. She has gone through the highs ,and lows, of the treatment,and hopefully it will give her more time. The NHS staff has been brilliant. What does concern me is the amount of non uk people being given access to the fantastic and caring NHS it is wrong.we should be looking after people that have been paying funds into it and not the leeches who are abusing it.
Some very diversified answers coming my way and I do appreciate your overall comments and it proves that system does work for some people some of the time when it supposed to work every time. Money is the root of all evil and as some of you have said that side of the equation is out of reach of the people who need it most. Our Canadian system works well but, like everything else, it has it's faults and the emphasis on paying for certain procedures is quickly becoming the route of choice, much to the concern of most of the population. I am going to do some internet research of private doctors but before I do can someone answer the question of whether these private surgeons are the same as the ones working solely inside the NHS system or are they operating (no pun intended) totally separately?
Mike my understanding is the same people operate between the two,my brother and his family use private bupa,yet the specialists work between the two. They have seen specialists in the NHS and also seen them privately.
A slightly different slant,I was listening to a debate on the radio just today about an argument on pay in the NHS,it was stated that 70 t0 80% of costs in the NHS is paying the staff for wages,I guess it's more like football than we dare to imagine,I'm only quoting the discussion on radio 4 this morning...
Your comments are well recieved wizered. I have taken action to contact a Dr John Timperley who works out of the Princess Elizabeth Orthopaedic unit in Exter and he is rated as the top expert in hip replacement particularly in repairing old hip replacements that have failed. He works within the NHS and privately so on the surface he seems to be a good bet. Thanks to you all for your concern and comments and it just goes to show that we 606ers are a really caring bunch. Thanks again. Money being wasted irks me greatly but I suppose it's just symptomatic of the modern era.
Inver My own dear old mum was 90. We got the distinct impression that anyone over 80 is a 'special case', and on a short timer. My mum passed away under appalling treatment from the wonderful people at WSM General, and I never want to see that building again. Fact is though, to borrow from another thread, with the country being open house to any and everyone to come and sponge off us, its no wonder the NHS is falling into disrepair. Successive governments have displayed a tragic lack of leadership and concern for this country and its people, with thoughts on only themselves and their own kin. A major re-think is required on many levels in this country, and the first to go should be Cameron and his inept and pampered lackies.
The specialist who diagnosed my wife's cancer was from Iraq,her surgeon was a Jew,nurses came from West Africa,radiologist was a suntanned Dutch lady,the cleaners,ward helpers came from around the world,the receptionist was a bright young Bristolian,don't know what I'm trying to say,except they all helped and I thank them all..
God help us! if we let the come on in, we will look after you mob back in. The biggest influx of any government, I believe in history. The news is just saying the biggest amount since records began. They are saying we need act and act fast.the country cannot substain the huge amounts of immigration.
In the States, where private healthcare is the only option, people die on the street because they cant afford treatment. My Mrs has just lost a good friend over there who couldn't afford healthcare when he was younger, and then couldn't afford the hospice to die in so his friends had to pay for that. If he had a health service like we do here, he would still be alive. Our NHS is unique and envied throughout the western world, and is indeed the pride of our country. If the government had a little more pride in it, they wouldn't be running it into the ground. You must be doing pretty well son, to say what you have. Something is obviously working for you in this country !
