Tip of the cap to the NHS

[KayleighK]

I know it has its faults...it's many faults may I add and there are doctors ( more so the receptionists ) that drive you mental but after reading some of you guys stories from people in say America and the stress you all must be under to pay these massive fees for drugs that in many cases are life saving all I can say is hoorah for the NHS! I've been singed off work for weeks now. I'm on half pay and money is tight I cant begin to think of how stressful it must be considering the previous 4 months I've never been away from the hospital. I feel we are very lucky.

 

[littlemissh]

Here here, it has it's faults and I've been on the receiving end of a few but I have amazing care whenever I've needed it. A fair number of us wouldn't be here today without it.

 

[Samboi]

I have to say - I too am grateful for our equivalent - Medicare.
Even though I'm in the private healthcare system - Medicare underpins my general health care. Without it - I'd be sunk.
It's hard enough dealing with Crohns, the side effects of all the drugs, managing work and life around all of this .... and then throw on top the expensive drugs! I have no idea how some of you manage. I really admire your tenacity. It breaks my heart to read some stories, and fills me with despair when you have to argue over things like treatment and waiting weeks to get doc appts.
I feel very lucky.

 

[Terriernut]

I am an American, but lived in the UK for the past 12 years. I've certainly paid in...but I dont know if I've covered my cost in the past year? I didnt use it the first 11 years, at ALL. So I hope I have.

I am INCREDIBLY GRATEFUL for the NHS. At the time I left the states, I was self employed and had no health insurance. Difficult..oh yeah. But then I travelled and lived around the world. Everywhere that had national health insurance, in Europe for instance that I lived, mostly complained about it. But they had NO IDEA what it was like elsewhere. Well I did! I will sing the praises of the NHS probably on my deathbed!!!

 

[Angrybird]

Yay for the NHS! I would say it does the best it can considering it has waaaay too many managers who have never done an actual days medical work in their lives making some of the big decisions. Unlike many of our fellow crohnies I have never once had to think about the cost of meds such as the Infliximab infusions I was having (or the drinks and lunch they would bring whilst I was there), or the cost to getting a key test done or whether I can afford to go to the ER as I am in serious trouble. I have had my GP on the phone at 8/9pm at night wanting to make sure I am getting my bloods done and to let me know what the last one showed....some of them work so hard and are pure gold.

 

[shazz]

I have always had excellent care when needed.

Yes we moan about it but that is just us being British. We are nnot happy unless we moan about something everyday!

What the NHS needs is to get rid of the pencil pushes, who have never set foot on a ward, and get some more nurses and doctors on the wards and around the hospitals in general.

There, that's my bit said.

 

[Samboi]

Does the UK have a private system alongside the public system? Or is it all NHS?
Do you have private health insurance at all?
Or does everybody go to the same doctors etc?

 

[shazz]

You can pay to go private but most people go to the NHS for treatment.

Some companies offer healthcare to management and families.

 

[littlemissh]

General practice (primary care) is 99% NHS only. Secondary care is different and you can choose to go privately.You need a referral to see a consultant from your gp. Then you can choose NHS or private. The same consultants/specialists work nhs and private (in their 'spare' time) but you generally get seen quicker if you go privately and you get seen in a private clinic.

There are a few cases where there is only nhs eg cancer care/ critical care/emergency care mostly is NHS and you get seen very quickly in those instances.
Privately covered people can choose to have their follow up cancer care etc in the private sector.

 

[tlc-x]

I'm ever so grateful for the NHS. Infact, when i'm better and out of college, I want to work really hard and pay my taxes for the NHS and give something in return. Also I want to work so that i'm not on benefits because I feel that free health care is enough for me.

But when i'm 18, i'll have to pay for prescriptions. But i'm very lucky to be in England and I do feel sorry for those who are less fortunate.

 

[StarGirrrrl]

I am grateful for the NHS, that I don't have to pay for it (and I have a pre-payment card to save money with prescriptions).

However since my local Hospital got me into this mess and ain't bothered about getting me out of it, helped along by the postcode lottery which thankfully is on the way out, I am not going to extend my gratitude too far

 

[robbo87]

The NHS is great and I am certainly very greatfull, especially when taking into considering other countries where people have to struggle paying bills etc. However the NHS isn't perfect. The quality of care you will recieve is very hit and miss and all depends on whether you live near to a good or bad hospital. The postcose lottery is a very real issue and in some area's certain drugs like infliximab won't be available where as at another nearby NHS trust it would be.. My local hospital is pretty poor and has left me and others mis diagnosed so i travel further away if possible to a hospital i know i will get better care. It works and i am very thankfull, but there is a lot of reform in how it is run needed.

 

[littlemissh]

Robbo, I agree the care isn't always great but a lot of that is down to the person/people rather than the organisation . The exception to this I feel is understaffing- it is difficult to be thorough and/or caring when you are unable to keep up and exhausted.
It would be much worse to receive a massive bill from a rubbish doc or hospital that had given poor care.

 

[bozzylozzy]

I work for private health insurance and get it for free through work. but im not covered for having my investigations for my current symptoms, because technically they're pre-existing.
but the NHS have been great for me - although they did unofficially diagnose me with crohn's.. spent 11 days in hospital with IV steroids and antibiotics.. only to be back in hospital a month later, having my appendix out. and now im being investigated again. lol!!

 

[StarGirrrrl]

Robbo, I agree the care isn't always great but a lot of that is down to the person/people rather than the organisation . The exception to this I feel is understaffing- it is difficult to be thorough and/or caring when you are unable to keep up and exhausted.
It would be much worse to receive a massive bill from a rubbish doc or hospital that had given poor care.

Well the NHS are happy to employ my ex-gi who ignored blood test evidence after a normal flexi-sig and call it IBS instead of looking further. It is her fault I am in this mess today.

And another ex-gi who told me it was all in my mind and to go away and stop bothering him, 3 weeks afterwards I was in A&E being given morphine within 20 mins of arrival and I hadn't even seen a Dr. This GI also had test results changed to his advantage so he could still say IBS- a combination of him giving up on me and protecting the department, they would not admit they were wrong the first time despite glaring evidence otherwise.

And the surgeon I met with who told me I was wasting his time as "he didn't know that (possible exploratory op) was why you were here"- so basically I got told off for attending my appointment as instructed and it's not my job to make sure he knows why I am there- it is his. He also lied and said that particular op was not done for cases like mine- despite unexplained abdominal pain being one of the reasons the op is done.

It's also the NHS who have denied me tests (postcode lottery) leaving me growing worse and worse each day. I have a nasty suspicion that the reason an appointment for a test has failed to arrive is because they are going to deny me another one. I have good grounds to suspect this bearing in mind my Rheumy personally chased 2 weeks ago in front of me, and that dept has always been prompt in sending out appointments, and the one time they were late they phoned and offered me a cancellation the minute they were rebuked for taking too long.

However to have been billed for these incidents would have been worse and insulting as you say.

Although the NHS is funded by tax-payers so in a way we do pay for the system indirectly.

I am expecting a response to my complaint about the above matters which will be another whitewash job by the NHS. I happen to know the Cheif Executive had the reply for his approval on his desk Thursday so we are talking the most senior NHS official okay-ing this letter which will be excuses and no help to me.

I totally get that it seems I have to deal with a pretty rotten barrel of apples here rather than "the NHS" but it is the NHS which is happy to employ them. And it is the NHS which continues to be satisfied with the way they are (or not) treating me. I have also had the NHS charter legal promise to treat patients with dignity and respect broken many times.

So dealing with an organisation that is failing to help me, happy to employ staff who don't give a **** does not fill me with as much gratitude that some feel towards it! In 5 years I still don't have an answer from them as to why I am sick and they are just not interested in helping me let me tell you.

It's hard for people who have had positive experiences with the NHS to believe that but every word I have written is true.

The NHS is fantastic at many things but it is also pretty awful at quite a few as well. I no longer believe in the fairy tale that everyone who needs help from the NHS gets it!

 

[archie]

The NHS is without a doubt excellent if you are critically Ill, they will look after you. For the not so critically Ill it can appear that the NHS are at times a bit sluggish, however the system is at breaking point as they are constantly fighting budgeting issues as they are heavily in debt. I have worked for and been treated both by the nhs and privately and I really can't fault them. They have such a large volume of patients that yes as some unfortunate cases get overlooked they can be tied with the help they give ie the long waiting lists and the denial of some tests as they have very strict guidelines. However they do have guidelines to go by which protect them, however mistakes can be made often due to the pressure they're under. There has been a Hugh reform over the last couple of years to 'sort out' staffing issues and treatment policies. They are also working hard to reduce waiting lists. We are very lucky to have a health system. It is possible to pay for private care alongside nhs treatment to assist in getting the tests / answers if you are fortunate enough to have the money as many tests and procedures are expensive. You generally see the same consultants privately however if you pay you can choose.

 

[KayleighK]

Stargirl I really hope you get this sorted. Terriernut I was in over xmas to! But the staff were great even giving me chuckles when I handed over a poo sample "A x-mas present?? For me?? THANKS!!" hehe. Most of the nurses I've had dealings with were flipping amazing personally I don't think they get paid enough for the job they do and some people they have to put up with. I'm going tomorrow for a consultation to start Infliximab and although I have to change hospital and Gi it's still extremely local in comparison to people who need to catch a plane for an appointment! I live in Scotland so don't even pay for prescriptions which is great cos I often leave the chemist looking like Santa Claus. But as it's been said I am a tax payer so in effect I am paying into it. Mind you I've only been diagnosed for a year and been hospitalized twice, give it a few years you may see a completely different post from me It is good however to see that in the most people are having good experiences with the NHS and I hope everyone not having success soon get the treatment they deserve. xxx