Three letters NHS

[Andy Hamilton]

So what was Cameron the new king of Green saying?
what does NHS stand for anyway I am sure it is not National HEalth Service when he says it more like - Never had sincerity.

[Stonehead]

So what was Cameron the new king of Green saying?
what does NHS stand for anyway I am sure it is not National HEalth Service when he says it more like - Never had sincerity.

No Hope, Sucker!

If you think it's bad in England, trying moving to Third World Scotland. I could give a long list of problems we (and people we know) have had with the NHS, but it would take too long.

[wulf]

Working within the NHS (as a webmaster - don't worry, there's no danger of me actually operating on someone!) I'd be more inclined to suggested Not Having Support.

I think a National Health Service is a superb idea and a valuable part of society. While it definitely has it's share of crooks and incompetents at a local level, most of the staff are caring and committed. However, what seems to hamper the service is constantly changing government targets. Then, if you don't hit something like "98% of patients spending less than four hours waiting in A&E" you get heavily penalised rather than helped to achieve that standard of excellence (difficult if you have a day when 50% more patients than expected come through your doors).

Rather than benefitting from being a national network, deep rifts are being driven in the name of competitiveness and market economies... no wonder I'm left feeling that red is the new blue!

Wulf

[Martin]

a wonderful idea, ruined by the drug companies, and their pernicious, all-pervading stranglehold on the system!
Iatrogenic illness now kills 33%- up from 25% (iatrogenic=drug/doctor caused)

[den_the_cat]

The NHS is crappy for many small things but I have to say they really come through on the big stuff, and give a great quality of care.

I do understand why people complain but having experienced various health care worldwide I'd say that there's not much that delivers the levels of service for the money. I would hate to live in a society where there's no national healthcare service and if you can't pay you don't get treatment.

[Stonehead]

The NHS is crappy for many small things but I have to say they really come through on the big stuff, and give a great quality of care.

I have to disagree. Having had an inept and arrogant doctor almost kill the OH, having had the Wee Un diagnosed with severe egg allergy and told "no consultants are available so here's a prescription for an epi-pen and a printout from a website with a list of foods to avoid", and been told when the Wee Un had his hand crushed that "there were no doctors available out of hours, you're not an emergency so no ambulance, and drive yourself to Aberdeen to get him treated (at least 40 minutes as its Saturday and the football is on)", I tend to think that, as an institution, it's extremely crap!

And this is a small sample. Oh, and when the Wee Un had his first reaction to eggs at nine months and was in severe anaphylactic shock, I was told an ambulance would be about half an hour as they were on other calls. I was at home alone with him, we had only one car at the time, the neighbours were all out and so I end up running almost three miles to the nearest doctor's surgery. (That was in England.)

Fortunately, I've had extensive first-aid and paramedic-type training over the years (and been a first aid instructor) so I can usually handle the situation, but...

Yes, there are some very good individuals, particularly among the nurses, midwives and real bottom-of the-pecking order people (cleaners, porters, etc), but they often seem to swamped by the arrogant, uncaring, bureacratic, jobsworths and by the masses of red tape, paperwork and systemic inadequacies.

I didn't mean to get started on this rant and I'll try not to come back to it, but eight years experience of the NHS in England, followed by an even worse three years in Scotland makes my blood boil.

[2steps]

the nhs is a great idea but what we have is so corupt and crappy and unfair - why should where I live effect what help I'm entilied too?

My brother almost died and stoped breathing for 3 minutes after my mum called the emergency doctor to him and was told he'd be fine dispite the fact that he had a temperature of 100 which later lead to him having a fit. This doctor contiuned to be allowed to practice afterwards!

My son has special needs and over and over has been failed by the nhs. It took them a year to even acknowledge he had a problem in the first place dispite my constant nagging during which time he struggle with various problems includign being almost blind in one eye and having no use of his left had. At 18 I was told my child would be serverly disabled with no cure or real treatment available and pretty much 'get the hell out and stop bugging us' I have never known such a subbon human being - he proved them all wrong and does everything they said he never could

Then when it became clear he had behavioural problems as well (his dad and grandad have adhd too - discovered thanks to andrew finally being diagnoised) they were hopeless and in the end basically said 'here give him these and come back in 6 months' and deined there was any other opition even though I'd already done my research and knew there where plenty.

Now we have moved here he has changed hospitals and I am now told they should of been doing plenty more for him including him wearing a support in his shoe from when he could walk! he's 9 years old and now only just got one!!!! that alone could of seriously damaged his spine but he's been very lucky here he also gets regular screening for the hormone/chemical problems that can be part of his condition that he was denied before because the old hospital said they don't check, just wait and see if a problem crops up!!

Not to mention the treatment I recieved while in hospital having him in the first place

The nhs is a great idea and if it was run right we'd be very lucky for having it but as it is it's a mess.

[den_the_cat]

perhaps I've just been lucky then - we've had nightmares with social services and getting assistance for things like nursing homes home care but the last few years I've seen a lot of NHS staff with various family members and every single one has been genuinely caring - even down to attending funerals and staying in touch afterwards.

I'm sure a lot does depend where in the country you are, but I haven't seen a better system which is reallt inclusive anywhere - of course BUPA is better but then you're paying directly for it - and you only have to look at the american system to see how horrible an exclusively 'pay as you go' healthcare system can be for people with no money.

The NHS is definately not perfect but I don't know any system that is?

[Lou8]

It's amazing how the NHS successfully treats and helps so many people day in and day out and yet you will hardly ever hear anyone telling good stories about it, giving any thanks or praise.

Any time myself or any of my family have been unwell, we have had wonderful care from the NHS. Of course it's not perfect but it is actually very good.

[Stonehead]

It's amazing how the NHS successfully treats and helps so many people day in and day out and yet you will hardly ever hear anyone telling good stories about it, giving any thanks or praise.

Any time myself or any of my family have been unwell, we have had wonderful care from the NHS. Of course it's not perfect but it is actually very good.

Well, not all of us get that treatment. The OH has a hole in a tooth, which the NHS dentist found back in February. She was told to telephone in September to make an appointment, which she did. She was then told to wait until next year.

I had an abscess develop back in March, but couldn't get an appointment with our NHS dentist. I ended up getting antibiotics from the doctor, then lanced and syringed out the abscess myself. It's still there, but has got no worse and I still haven't been able to get an appointment. I also have a cracked filling, but no joy getting that fixed either.

Still, we're lucky. Most Scots don't have an NHS dentist and the numbers are still falling. You either pay to go private (not affordable) or do without dental care.

If I have a good story to tell, I'll tell it but until then...

[shiney]

Mister Shiney left the NHS in March. He was a frontline motorcycle paramedic and very good at it too. The pay and conditions are crap for the knowledge and ongoing training involved. The pay is worse that what you'd get in a factory packing toiletries and not a main earners income.

It's a real shame as he loved helping people and gave his all. Unfortunately, the sight of the managers turning up in their new BMW's, Mercedes etc was just too much to bare!

[Shirley]

the NHS have done wonders for my 3 year old who was born with a cleft lip and palate - all praise to them for that...

I do have the same problem with dentists though - I'm on a waiting list... I think it's about a year to wait at least...and we've been on the list for 6 months...

[The Chili Monster]

Whenever I've had to use it, the NHS has come up trumps. Sure, I haven't necessarily received surgery *like yesterday* but at the end of the day I haven't been left feeling totally let down by the service.
I am blessed with a good GP.
Then, there are the Dentists. I'm lucky, I have an NHS dentist (no waits but a joining fee for adults), my only qualm with the surgery is that it does appear to treat patients on benefits differently from those without, both in terms of care and in attitude (according to friends of mine), which I find disgusting.
Finally, my six-year old niece has spina bifida. She has received first-class care from birth. The hospital employs someone to go through state entitlements and fill out the forms so that my brother and his wife don't have this worry.
Perhaps the main problem with the NHS isn't the level of funding but why a postcode lottery has been allowed to unfold.

[hedgewizard]

I work for the NHS as a contractor, and over the last 15 years I've seen my salary fall by around 30% in real terms while my workload has roughly doubled. Sucksville.

Meanwhile, the NHS is predicted to cost 0.5% of the global GDP by 2008. Is this not a scary thing?

Personally, I don't think the NHS is sustainable for very much longer. When Nye Bevan pitched the concept to the House of Commons his statistics had one fatal flaw in them. He said that the initial cost would be high, but would fall year-on-year until it stabilised at a low level. And why?

The figures assumed that if you were successfully treated by the NHS, you were completely cured. No need for any more treatment!

The truth is, even completely cured patients will come back eventually with some new ailment, and most conditions need ongoing treatment. The better we get at providing this, the longer people live and so the more treatment they need. Our expectations get higher and higher, so the price goes up and/or the quality goes down, just as with any other commodity.

That's why, like Peter O'Toole's father in High Spirits, I'm planning to pop off in the orchard one day without even a word of warning. They can stick me in the worm bin.

[baldowrie]

I have had a very different experience to the NHS in Scotland to Stoney. I have had so much support since moving further North that I am having trouble keeping up with it all, not just myself but my children too.

But we couldn't get a NHS dentist and had to go private on an insurance scheme. We were originally sent the community dentist..saw them once, left and made a formal complaint about not only the demanding that treatment already done be unnecessary repeated but the general 'your getting this free so sit down, shut up' attitude.

I think there is a post code lottery as when I live near Falkirk I had to fight for everything, except a NHS dentist.

My GP is brilliant and any referrals I have asked for so far she has actioned and more if she feels necessary