The NHS (National Health Service) Thread

[Rain King]

To counter my previous moan earlier in the thread. Had to take my oldest son to LRI children's A&E at 1am this morning and they were absolutely superb.

Couldn't do enough for us and the staff were brilliant.

[Parafox]

The staff, from specialist surgeons down to the basic domestics, are all invested and care deeply in what they do and why they do it. 

 

Unfortunately, the Gov aren't

[filthyfox]

So... I have sleep apnoea.

 

I also have free flu vaccines for life now!

 

Unfortunately NHS won't fund my treatment as they don't have a little man to tick a box and sign his name.  Seriously, that is ALL that is required,

[Parafox]

3 minutes ago, filthyfox said:

So... I have sleep apnoea.

 

I also have free flu vaccines for life now!

 

Unfortunately NHS won't fund my treatment as they don't have a little man to tick a box and sign his name.  Seriously, that is ALL that is required,

Just out of interest. Do use a CPAP device when sleeping?

[filthyfox]

49 minutes ago, Parafox said:

Just out of interest. Do use a CPAP device when sleeping?

I do.  If I didn't pay for it myself I would be waiting indefinitely for one to be issued. And would be off work and unable to drive for that time too (since July).

 

CPAP is absolutely fantastic, and solved a lot of my anxiety issues.

[Bryn]

22 hours ago, Parafox said:

The staff, from specialist surgeons down to the basic domestics, are all invested and care deeply in what they do and why they do it. 

 

Unfortunately, the Gov aren't

 

Don't agree with this tbh, think staff are increasingly jaded and letting standards slip across the board.

[Parafox]

4 hours ago, Bryn said:

 

Don't agree with this tbh, think staff are increasingly jaded and letting standards slip across the board.

Understandably so and I think you feel this rather acutely yourself. I was speaking from my own perspective, having been involved with acute and emergency care and witnessing the way primary care was delivered at the point of need, I never felt that staff were jaded. Overworked, yes. But never did I think they weren't giving their best or were letting "standards slip".

I was only a Paramedic and I was frequently exhausted at the end of a 15 hr shift but, like you and so many dedicated staff, I came back the next day to do it all again to the best of my ability.

I accede to your POV as it must affect your perspective quite uniquely. 

Edited 26 September 2022 by Parafox

[Innovindil]

On 25/09/2022 at 10:10, Rain King said:

To counter my previous moan earlier in the thread. Had to take my oldest son to LRI children's A&E at 1am this morning and they were absolutely superb.

Couldn't do enough for us and the staff were brilliant.

Without the staff at LRI my daughter wouldn't have made it out of the womb. They were terrific under what were ridiculous circumstances.

 

Good job we didn't listen to the donkey GP.

[The Blur]

20 hours ago, Innovindil said:

Without the staff at LRI my daughter wouldn't have made it out of the womb. They were terrific under what were ridiculous circumstances.

 

Good job we didn't listen to the donkey GP.

Was meaning to ask- how is fatherhood going? 

 

Hopefully you have got a bit of a handle on the things now?  In the reality when it comes to kids you will never will anyway 😅

[Bryn]

20 hours ago, Parafox said:

Understandably so and I think you feel this rather acutely yourself. I was speaking from my own perspective, having been involved with acute and emergency care and witnessing the way primary care was delivered at the point of need, I never felt that staff were jaded. Overworked, yes. But never did I think they weren't giving their best or were letting "standards slip".

I was only a Paramedic and I was frequently exhausted at the end of a 15 hr shift but, like you and so many dedicated staff, I came back the next day to do it all again to the best of my ability.

I accede to your POV as it must affect your perspective quite uniquely. 

 

Don't get me wrong, most issues are systemic and need rectifying well above the level of the individual but I'm definitely seeing more instances of people struggling to motivate themselves to provide high quality care in the last year or so. Think everyone is just knackered.

[Innovindil]

1 hour ago, The Blur said:

Was meaning to ask- how is fatherhood going? 

 

Hopefully you have got a bit of a handle on the things now?  In the reality when it comes to kids you will never will anyway 😅

Surprisingly well considering we've never seriously considered having a child. 

 

Pretty much have all the necessities now between friends and family donating old stuff. One of the few advantages to being the youngest child out of 4. Just have to read the thousands of pages needed to know how to actually raise this kid right now. 

[Parafox]

NHS mental health services are complete shite, as we know, but a personal experience form the last 24 hrs, given that I worked on the frontline of patient care for 33 years:

 

We have an adopted daughter now age 30. She has MH issues, bi-polar and ADHD but lives independently.

 

Over the last week or so we have been aware that she was going through an increasing crisis with her MH. She absolutely refused our intervention (and she can become quite hostile and threatening towards us if we push too far).

 

Last night she reached the pinnacle of the crisis and jumped out of a 1st floor window. Not a great height but enough to need hospital assessment. CT scans of her head and chest revealed no significant injury, fortunately.

 

She was then assessed by the MH team in A&E and discharged home! This is a person known to the MH services who has been sectioned 3 times after  trying to take her own life on several occasions yet is still considered "low risk" because those events didn't result in serious harm.

 

I cannot believe they discharged her. The reason given was that she gave assurances that this event was a one off and she wouldn't try to hurt herself again. Also, I believe, in the back of their minds the MH team were considering saving a bed space.

 

I've had to deal with many calls from people who have self-harmed and it's frustrating and distressing that they don't get the help they need because resources aren't available. It is even more difficult when it's personal.

 

Edited 11 November 2022 by Parafox

[oakman]

10 minutes ago, Parafox said:

NHS mental health services are complete shite, as we know, but a personal experience form the last 24 hrs, given that I worked on the frontline of patient care for 33 years:

 

We have an adopted daughter now age 30. She has MH issues, bi-polar and ADHD but lives independently.

 

Over the last week or so we have been aware that she was going through an increasing crisis with her MH. She absolutely refused our intervention (and she can become quite hostile and threatening towards us if we push too far).

 

Last night she reached the pinnacle of the crisis and jumped out of a 1st floor window. Not a great height but enough to need hospital assessment. CT scans of her head and chest revealed no significant injury, fortunately.

 

She was then assessed by the MH team in A&E and discharged home! This is a person known to the MH services who has been sectioned 3 times after  trying to take her own life on several occasions yet is still considered "low risk" because those events didn't result in serious harm.

 

I cannot believe they discharged her. The reason given was that she gave assurances that this event was a one off and she wouldn't try to hurt herself again. Also, I believe, in the back of their minds the MH team were considering saving a bed space.

 

I've had to deal with many calls from people who have self-harmed and it's frustrating and distressing that they don't get the help they need because resources aren't available. It is even more difficult when it's personal.

 

That’s terrible, must be so difficult for you all. Really hope things improve and she gets the help and support she needs.

[Parafox]

12 minutes ago, oakman said:

That’s terrible, must be so difficult for you all. Really hope things improve and she gets the help and support she needs.

Thank you.

Sadly, in my professional and personal experience the help and support needed is very hard to access and only seems to happen when a person in a MH crisis does serious, life-threatening harm to themselves. And even then, they probably won't be admitted to a local MH unit. Our daughter has been an in-patient in MH units in Surrey and in London because beds weren't available locally which make regular visiting and supporting her, difficult.

We've had 25 years of trying to manage her MH and get help and support. It just doesn't seem to get beyond an "assessment". Then a referral, then us being told she must "engage with the service" before anything gets done. Most people with serious MH conditions will not engage. Surely the service should engage with the patient and if that's difficult, they must have the resources and experience available in order to do this.

[Tim'llFixIt]

43 minutes ago, Parafox said:

NHS mental health services are complete shite, as we know, but a personal experience form the last 24 hrs, given that I worked on the frontline of patient care for 33 years:

 

We have an adopted daughter now age 30. She has MH issues, bi-polar and ADHD but lives independently.

 

Over the last week or so we have been aware that she was going through an increasing crisis with her MH. She absolutely refused our intervention (and she can become quite hostile and threatening towards us if we push too far).

 

Last night she reached the pinnacle of the crisis and jumped out of a 1st floor window. Not a great height but enough to need hospital assessment. CT scans of her head and chest revealed no significant injury, fortunately.

 

She was then assessed by the MH team in A&E and discharged home! This is a person known to the MH services who has been sectioned 3 times after  trying to take her own life on several occasions yet is still considered "low risk" because those events didn't result in serious harm.

 

I cannot believe they discharged her. The reason given was that she gave assurances that this event was a one off and she wouldn't try to hurt herself again. Also, I believe, in the back of their minds the MH team were considering saving a bed space.

 

I've had to deal with many calls from people who have self-harmed and it's frustrating and distressing that they don't get the help they need because resources aren't available. It is even more difficult when it's personal.

 

Hey Para been in a similar position myself, all I can advise is get her Infront of her GP your GP any GP you can, I've dragged family members to a local sexual health clinic just to get them Infront of a  doctor who is not under the thumb of hospital mental health bosses, they will be more likely to push through a referral at a local MH specialist unit at which an assessment can be made with your input taken into account, the MH teams at hospitals are a joke and absolute joke they always seem to discharge 

[Wymsey]

1 hour ago, Parafox said:

NHS mental health services are complete shite, as we know, but a personal experience form the last 24 hrs, given that I worked on the frontline of patient care for 33 years:

 

We have an adopted daughter now age 30. She has MH issues, bi-polar and ADHD but lives independently.

 

Over the last week or so we have been aware that she was going through an increasing crisis with her MH. She absolutely refused our intervention (and she can become quite hostile and threatening towards us if we push too far).

 

Last night she reached the pinnacle of the crisis and jumped out of a 1st floor window. Not a great height but enough to need hospital assessment. CT scans of her head and chest revealed no significant injury, fortunately.

 

She was then assessed by the MH team in A&E and discharged home! This is a person known to the MH services who has been sectioned 3 times after  trying to take her own life on several occasions yet is still considered "low risk" because those events didn't result in serious harm.

 

I cannot believe they discharged her. The reason given was that she gave assurances that this event was a one off and she wouldn't try to hurt herself again. Also, I believe, in the back of their minds the MH team were considering saving a bed space.

 

I've had to deal with many calls from people who have self-harmed and it's frustrating and distressing that they don't get the help they need because resources aren't available. It is even more difficult when it's personal.

 

That's very sad.

 

Have you contacted the hospital's PALS (Patient Advice and Liaison Service)?

 

With such matters, NHS Trusts really need to literally care for struggling mental health patients with more compassion and thorough consideration.

 

When I worked at the LRI for four years, my ward's mental health patients (even though it was a designated ward for the care towards the elderly), had been left in the ward for many weeks - in one instance, one of these patients was refused by the Bradgate Unit at Glenfield because apparently she was deemed too high-risk to be transferred.

 

Mental health is definitely still a taboo topic, unfortunately.

 

Edited 11 November 2022 by Wymsey

[Izzy]

The John Radcliffe hospital in Oxford once again exceeds all my expectations.

I had a big ‘scare’ Friday night relating to previous surgeries and feared the worst. Rang the SEU at JRH yesterday mid morning and they told me to come straight to their triage.

Booked me in, gave me morphine for pain relief and I was assessed immediately.

Decided I needed a procedure under GA and within a couple of hours I’d met the surgeon and anaesthetist (who I sensed were both called in especially on the weekend).
Quick CAT scan then down to theatre. All sorted and in recovery just a few hours after arriving.

Unbelievable service and outstanding staff as always. As a bit of a ‘frequent flyer’ here, having access to the team at JRH is the main reason we’ve never moved away from the area in 20 years.

Had to post this to say how grateful I continue to be for our wonderful NHS (and I’m maybe still a bit high and emotional 🤪)

 

[Zear0]

1 hour ago, Izzy said:

The John Radcliffe hospital in Oxford once again exceeds all my expectations.

I had a big ‘scare’ Friday night relating to previous surgeries and feared the worst. Rang the SEU at JRH yesterday mid morning and they told me to come straight to their triage.

Booked me in, gave me morphine for pain relief and I was assessed immediately.

Decided I needed a procedure under GA and within a couple of hours I’d met the surgeon and anaesthetist (who I sensed were both called in especially on the weekend).
Quick CAT scan then down to theatre. All sorted and in recovery just a few hours after arriving.

Unbelievable service and outstanding staff as always. As a bit of a ‘frequent flyer’ here, having access to the team at JRH is the main reason we’ve never moved away from the area in 20 years.

Had to post this to say how grateful I continue to be for our wonderful NHS (and I’m maybe still a bit high and emotional 🤪)

 

Glad you're all fine, but I just have to say...

 

Morphine's great ain't it? 

[Izzy]

1 hour ago, Zear0 said:

Glad you're all fine, but I just have to say...

 

Morphine's great ain't it? 

Morphine is the best man - just wonderful stuff. Shame it’s not readily available so I have to make do with codeine on a daily basis instead. 
 

I actually got a stern ticking off from young Holly the nurse yesterday when I told her I’ve been taking 150-200mg of codeine a day for the last 10 years.

 

She suggested I speak to a professional about weaning myself off and she told me in no uncertain terms to reduce my dosage.

 

Shes right, I don’t need that much each day and it’s become a habit and I’ve become addicted. Fair play to her doing her job, she must only be about 21 but I see a bright future for her. Perfect bedside manner 

[Daggers]

3 hours ago, Izzy said:

 

I actually got a stern ticking off from young Holly the nurse …she must only be about 21 but I see a bright future for her. Perfect bedside manner 

Ding dong.