Is it really this bad?

[happy daze john in oz]

Speaking with my brother in law in London last night. What he told me sounded very bad, but wonder if he is correct or just being a bit reactive.
His wife, a few years older than him, fell in a supermarket. An ambulance was called and she was taken to hospital where an X Ray was taken of her hip region, she was then sent home in what he described as abject agony. Four days later his doctor called him to say his wife has a severely cracked hip. He instructed him to keep her warm and give her pain killers until the hospital can see her.
She is unable to move the pain being so bad, he then contacted the hospital to find out when she will be seen.
He was informed it will be a further three weeks as the hospital is very busy, and after all she is 86!

Years ago the NHS and British hospitals were considered to be amongst the worlds best, the envy of many countries.
Has it really got this bad or is he exagerating a bit?

[Tony Wilding]

can you explain Keith, your reply has lost me,??

[Ivan Cloherty]

can you explain Keith, your reply has lost me,??

Don't hold your breath Tony !!

[Gulliver]

John.your brother-in-law does sound like he's reacting(understandably) to a negative personal experience.For such incidents there are very many positive ones,and I still say the NHS is the best in the world

(I'm not one to talk too much on a forum about my personal life,but for the last three weeks I'm visiting hospital on a daily basis helping to care for my partner Chris (64) who has had quite a bad stroke,so I am seeing quite a bit more of hospitals than I would care to at the moment,and I am on the whole very impressed and heartened by what I see).

All the Best
Gulliver

[robpage]

Like any large system there are good and bad , and I would say that in general the NHS is good , I think though , that sometimes you have to push to get what you need . and being the compliant mouse does not help . My experiences tell me that I am blessed with a great service , but when comparing notes with friends who live in France , they seem on the face of it to have a system equally as good

[Louis the Amigo]

Hi shipmates, My son had gallstones? last year I have no private health insurance gone with job, so took him to our local A&E ward of hospital he was in agony at that time they gave him some strong painkillers and sent him home and put him on waiting list {told 4 to 5 months if lucky} How can he do his job? pay his bills or eat anything for that amount of time? This is The N.H.S. service today it is rubbish, but I know a way around this stupid system due to my insider knowlege so called on my doctor G.P. and asked him for admisson letter, that done the trick he was in the same day, next day all sorted in double quick time now he is !00% fit . So all my shipmates in the U.K. follow my advice and do the same if you or a loved one happen to fall ill Dont go on any waiting list !!!! that for people who dont understand the system, he had a letter over 12 months later to tell him a bed was ready for him?

[robpage]

When my late wife was first diagnosed , I was in a job with full medical Insurance , and learned a lot about how the NHS and the private system works , The insurers paid over £110,000 on her treatment over three years . But I found that if you paid the £90 for a private consultation you by passed a lot of the systems , it opened a back door into the NHS . Then I realised that most doctors love the air of mystery that surrounds them , and it is easy to break through it . I see a consultant privately once a year costs £90 , he tells my GP what I want ( after discussion with him ) and the GP reacts to it because the letter is signed by an eminent professor .

My Granddaughter has a son with Cerebral Palsy and had to attend an assessment , she was faced with 15 medical practitioners , from consultant to speech therapist , and was at a total loss . A friend has a brother who is a paediatrician who offered to translate the meaning of anything said . I introduced myself to the consultant as the boy's great grandfather , and explained that my granddaughter was slightly intimidated by facing such a huge , but necessary panel , and I was taking notes , anything that i did not understand would be interpreted for me by Dr XXXX the brother of a friend , senior paediatric consultant of xxxx hospital . The atmosphere changed and they stopped talking in waffle and started explaining things simply to my granddaughter in terms that a five year old could have understood .Why , because , the talk before was in Greek and Latin terminology designed to confuse . Why does a swelling have to be an Oedema , a bruise a contusion , If they talked to patients in a language that we understood the whole thing would work better . I asked a simple question , if he can walk now , will he always be able to walk , the answer had been due to gobbledegook gobbledegook gobbledegook , and that was when the note pad came out , after that the answer was yes , probably . My Granddaughter did not want to know underlying condition and paediatric development she wanted yes , no or maybe .

The lesson I have learned is the NHS is a service provider , from the stroppy doctors receptionist to the consultant surgeon . I had two minor operations done through my insurer , I asked the surgeon for a reduction in cost , two for one , He asked why , I explained my company paid a premium to the insurer , it was my duty to ensure that the insurer got good value . He suggested that I thought he was like Tesco , I told him I did not see that , they are in a competitive market , he agreed a 25% reduction in the bill for his fees . I think let them walk over you and they will

Only problem here is the Liver consultant at the QA hospital ion Portsmouth is used to dealing with very stroppy ex seafarers , so he may be harder to crack

[j.sabourn]

Rob, I was in 2 hospitals last week as an internee and finished up in the Isolation Ward as they believed I had a Virus. After all the tests imaginable they decided I had Diverticulitis which to me is a pain in the gut. As I originally went into hospital with a body temperature of over 40 degrees, violent shaking, and nausea and came out with something else. However saying all that the treatment received, at least 6 doctors and numerous other staff, also undergoing a full body scan ( except for the Head...pity). I dont think I would ever have been able to afford. You may hear to the adverse about medical treatment in Australia but as regards pensioners I believe we get treatment as good now and free for us oldies as the UK. Regards John Sabourn

[Red Lead Ted]

When you attend an Atos medical to determine what benefits they can snatch off you, Only thing is you receive no treatment at all other than a nurses negativity. Terry.

[happy daze john in oz]

Thanks for the replies lads, maybe my brother in law is exagerating a bit but I am of the opinion that a lot depends on the area you live in, he is in South London.
Here in Oz we have the private system, which the gov is attempting to push all into, as well as the public. My mate had the same operation as i but in a private hospital. Talking with him I realised that the public hospital service here gives better after sales service than the private. When I left hospital I was supplied with a list of phone numbers, pain managers, urologists, prostate cancer specific nurse and medication department. Any problems with any just phone. All my mate had was his surgeon to contact.
One of the major problems with hospitals here, and no doubt in UK, is the misuse of the emergency department. Many with just a head ache will rock up at emergency looking for help. This clogs up the system taking valuable staff away from other areas. A number of hospitals here in Melbourne have now opened clinics opposite the main entry. If you arrive at emergency you are assesed by a triage nurse or doctor and if you are not a genuine emergency sent to the clinic. From figures I have seen the hospitals with this service have seen the number of non genuine emergencies drop by over 60%.
But at the end of the day the opinion of the good or bad service is a personal one.