Yesterday I spent twelve and a half hours in A&E, which perfectly illustrated today's NHS.
I was having severe abdominal pain that had lasted for three days and I decided it probably needed checking.
I called my GP surgery and I couldn't even speak to any of the doctors as they were booked up.
I then phoned 111 and gave up after being on hold for over an hour.
Then I went on the 111 website which told me that either, I should call 999 or had covid, depending on how I answered the irrelevant questions!!
Eventually I got driven to A&E, arriving at 145pm.
I was triaged reasonably quickly, having the usual basic tests. After another hour or so I saw an A&E doctor who examined me and organised urine and blood tests.
Another hour or so and I had the blood taken and was given an ECG at the same time.
Then there was a longish wait to see a general surgeon with my results (suspected appendicitis etc).
As I sat in the waiting area I had a bird's-eye view of how the place was running.
Ambulance crews coming and going to book in arrivals, nurses and doctors rushing around, all looking pretty stressed, but all with excellent people skills with the wide variety of human life that came through.
All the while, the place was getting busier and busier.
Eventually, around 630pm I saw the surgeon who said that the bloods were all good, but he suspected two or three other causes and wanted to send me for a scan.
He told me to go back to the waiting area and I'd be called.
7 hours later I was still trying to track down my scan appointment and several different, mega busy staff tried in vain to track down any information about me whatsoever.
At 130am I told them I was discharging myself. At that moment a doctor appeared and said he had a trauma to deal with and then he'd see me.
30 minutes later he called me.
Apparently the general surgery doctor had gone home and not told anyone about me. A&E can't access general surgery notes etc etc.
He finally told me to go home around 215am with a vague diagnosis and even stranger follow up for the next day. He directed me to the wrong department for this!!
The point of this ridiculously long post is to highlight both how utterly fantastic our NHS is along with the people who work in it (I had an awful lot of important tests in that visit) and also how ridiculously over stretched it is.
The doctor who "forgot" about me had been bleeped while I was with him to attend a paediatric trauma that was incoming. No doubt he was frazzled!!
Our NHS and it's staff is worth fighting for, but does need some kind of reform imo to get it off its knees.
This government's attitude towards it is shameful.
First of all, Col, I do hope you are feeling better and that they have an idea about what is the problem, and that you are recovered for Christmas.
My daughter had such a very similar experience, with very similar symptoms.
She too failed to get any joy from GP and so took herself off to A&E and had a long wait overnight, loads of tests and scans ...a discharged ( no sepsis, no ectopic pregnancy and no appendicitis)...and told to come back if worse.
2 days later it was far worse.
Phoned 111 who told her to go immediately to the Whittington, and someone would see her asap.....she went, but they had no knowledge of her...and told her it was a 12 hour wait (Friday night), ..but a nurse said there was a GP hub open on Saturday ( I have never heard of this, but it appears to help out GPs under pressure).
She was seen 10 am next day, more tests but antibiotics given...
And a week later she seems so much better.
So agree with Col, everyone she met did or tried to do their best. But the facilities to do their best was not there...not enough doctors, space, ability to think.
NHS is not perfect....but it has been allowed to disintegrate, and is spiralling out of control. We are losing a national jewel.
I know who to blame both now and in the past