Whats happening to the N.H.S.

bobthedj · 05-01-2005, 16:09

People having to go 80 miles to have teeth out, women having to travel by ambulance 100s of miles to have babies, Doctors getting a ambulance for someone who is ill to be admitted only to be sent home because there is no beds. It makes me sick.

yerself · 05-01-2005, 16:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by bobthedj

It makes me sick.

Phone for an ambulance.

WillowTheWhisp · 05-01-2005, 17:21

What about doctor at hospital refusing to treat woman because she arrived by ambulance? That one beggars belief.

On a local level we've got doctor's surgery where you can't make advanced appointments and have to try on the day. So you ring up at 8:30 when they open and the phone is engaged, so you hang up and ring again repeatedly until you get finally through only to be told that all appointments for that day are now taken and you should try again tomorrow.

I've seen elderly people go down to the surgery thinking they can book an appointment that way only to be told they have to ring up the next morning and when they explain they have tried, little is done to help and they simply walk away frustrated. How many people go untreated and continue suffering?

bobthedj · 05-01-2005, 17:33

One Doctors i used to use the receptionist left the phone of the hook when the surgery was open when i conplaned about it they siad they dont have the time to answer it.

staggeringman · 05-01-2005, 17:42

ITS because they have no money ! they are sending it all abroad how many million have they sent?we could have built another 3-4 hospitals.

bobthedj · 05-01-2005, 17:48

And thats where all our nurses are going as well because they dont get paid in England what they deserve. They work long hours and deserve better.

Margaret Pilkington · 05-01-2005, 20:51

And the news today is the local trust is ditching some 70 staff and nurses will be among these. Two years ago (when I worked for the trust) we were bringing nurses in from India because we could not staff our unit. Boy am I glad that I retired!

lettie · 05-01-2005, 22:05

We still can't staff the unit. Posts will probably be lost by not replacing people who have left. There is no money for extra staff just yet. Blackburn have taken on Burnley's debts when they merged to become East Lancs. As for women travelling to have babies, this only happens when the baby is premature and our special care unit is full. It's not an ideal situation but I would rather travel to another unit if there was a risk of me having a premature birth than deliver a prem where there is no cot or ventilator available to sustain it. The government is well aware of the situation but specialised nursing staff cannot be conjured from thin air. I don't blame our nurses for going to work abroad where pay and conditions are better. I've often thought about it myself.
The Ambulance situation is pitiful, mainly due to time wasters. I remember working in BRI A&E in 1990 and a man who had cut his finger on a tin can was admitted and had the audacity to call an ambulance to bring him to hospital where we stuck on a plaster, gave him a tetanus injection and sent him home. This kind of situation happens every day in hospitals throughout the UK. People who don't need to be seen in hospital turn up and therefore increase the waiting times for the people who do.

grego · 05-01-2005, 22:06

Where did you get that information from Margaret, I would be interested to read it, I work for the local trust and haven't heard anything so I would like to know.

bobthedj · 05-01-2005, 23:38

The reason i started this thread is because my mother is ill and has been all over christmas and the new year the doctors been out everyday to give her pain killing injections, he's been this morning and siad she has to be admitted to hospital, its now 11.35pm she is still at home because of no beds.

Margaret Pilkington · 06-01-2005, 14:45

It was in the Lancashire Evening Telegraph yesterday......so there again it may be a pack of lies......but I have a feeling that there is no smoke without fire.......and there were some quotes from Richard Gildert in the article.
Sorry to hear about your Mother Bob......hope she gets her treatment soon.

pendy · 06-01-2005, 14:51

Lettie is absolutely right. Time wasters cost the NHS a fortune. The long wait in A&E is more often than not down to them, as well. All patients have to be seen, no question, but so often they are there for no good reason, one of the main ones being that they can't be bothered to get themselves a GP, so when they are feeling off-colour, hungover, whatever, they turn up at A&E. Also, do try not to get injured or sick on a Saturday night, or your chances of getting thrown up on, or even assaulted, increase dramatically.

Last time I had to use our local A&E (bad asthma attack - no apologies there), the nursing staff were tearing their hair out dealing with the drunks and one chap who had had a headache since the day before (this was after midnight) and had no aspirin at home, so he called an ambulance!

WillowTheWhisp · 06-01-2005, 17:23

The lack of NHS beds is appalling and unbelievable that in a so-called civilised country someone the doctors have referred to hospital cannot be admitted due to a shortage of beds. I hope your mother gets admitted soon bobthedj and doesn't suffer because of the delay.

As for people who "can't be bothered to get themselves a GP" I've seen the other side of the coin where people have tried to get themselves a GP - one gentleman in particular who had moved to Accrington, into Avenue Parade of all places, and was in Peel House asking to be taken on as a patient and being advised there by the receptionist to go and see his previous GP (in his case this turned out to be in Wakefield) or to go to A&E at the hospital.

Shambles? The word is too good for it.

lettie · 06-01-2005, 17:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by bobthedj

The reason i started this thread is because my mother is ill and has been all over christmas and the new year the doctors been out everyday to give her pain killing injections, he's been this morning and siad she has to be admitted to hospital, its now 11.35pm she is still at home because of no beds.

Sorry about your mother Bob. Everyone who works for the NHS knows what an awful state it's in and we all know about winter pressures when medical ward beds are full of elderly poorly, not necessarily acute cases. Patients are entitled to go to a hospital where care can be provided. Most people who live in Accy would go to Blackburn, but Burnley, Preston, Manchester, Blackpool and Bolton are also options. I assume your mother's GP would've discussed these options and if not why not?

There are plenty of GP's in Accy who have spaces to take patients onto their books. Unfortunately the good GP's ie, Peel House, Myrtle House and Wellington St CLM tend to be full because they are good GP's. There is no simple solution to the NHS lack of beds, staff and funding. As far as funding is concerned it is a bottomless pit. Beds could be provided but they will be totally useless if there aren't enough nurses and medical staff to look after the patients in them. As far as staff are concerned the reality is that most of the staff work incredibly hard. Meal breaks are often missed, we never get off duty on time, patients and visitors always seem to resent us trying to get a quick brew. We are not paid for meal breaks but often don't get them because you can't just walk out in the middle of treating someone. If factory workers were treated the same way they would down tools and walk out. On top of that is the daily abuse we receive from some patients and visitors, some of whom expect everything, have paid nothing into the system and think we are bloody slaves.. Luckily most people are nice and realise that we are short staffed and working under extreme pressure, but the rude ones really p*** you off.
If I was 18 again and knew then what I know now, I would never have gone into nursing and midwifery. I love looking after people, but under current circumstances we don't get chance to spend the time with people that we would like to, and don't even get me started on the paperwork!!!!!

WillowTheWhisp · 06-01-2005, 17:53

Nobody wins do they? It's a mess from both sides. Something really needs to be done. I feel sorry for those working within the shambles and being treated by patients and their relatives as if the mess is all their fault. I've seen how hard the nurses work when my late husband was in hospital.

I can relate to working through meal breaks etc as I used to do the same myself with no thanks and often wonder why I bothered.

I've also seen some doctor's receptionists and treatment room nurses standing around chatting and making brews when people are waiting and can see why people end up getting frustrated.

Something has gone sadly wrong with the whole system.