I've been struggling with a chest infection, nothing new in the last 2 years as since I've had covid even the slightest cold ends up with a chest infection.
Back to today, my chest was getting worse and my blood oxygen level was falling so I phoned 111 expecting to get some antibiotics but they referred me to the local hospital, the clinician on the phone said she'd be negligent if she didn't follow this up. I get to the hospital and check in, they are expecting me and have all the details. I look at the crowded waiting room and the electronic message saying 75 patients in A&E and my heart sinks.
Well before long a nurse calls me and takes bloods, does a covid test, blood pressure etc. I then have to wait for blood results and I get called in to see a very nice doctor. She says at the moment she's 50/50 about admitting me but will wait to see the xray, she then takes me to the xray department and tells me to go back to the waiting room when I'm done. I get a bit restless as I seem to be waiting a long time but the doctor appears, gives me a box of antibiotics, tells me the xray did show the infection as did the markers in my blood. I got advice about what to do if there isn't a significant improvement in 5 days and then she said she has scheduled another xray in 6 weeks as she wants to make sure everything has cleared.
I don't think I could have got better treatment if I'd been paying and I felt like I mattered to them and nothing was too much trouble. So yes praise for the NHS.
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Praise for the NHS
(46 Posts)Well done NHS, we seldom hear we they get things right ๐๐๐
I hope you feel better soon ๐ธ
Good to hear. Hope you're all better soon.
That's great. We have had nothing but excellent treatment from the NHS, both during my husband's treatment for cancer and earlier this year when I had to take him to A&E with a nasty viral infection for which he was admitted. We did wait 8 hours to see a doctor in A&E but they assessed him pretty much straight away on our arrival. The wait for the doctor was unavoidable. We were both treated very well. When he was discharged, he was put in the care of a 'virtual ward' and they were great.
GrannyGravy13
Well done NHS, we seldom hear we they get things right ๐๐๐
I hope you feel better soon ๐ธ
That's why I wanted to post it, I think we are all more inclined to have a moan rather than praise something and the NHS gets moaned about so much.
Thank you, I'm feeling better already. Antibiotics seem like magic to me.
Thanks to Aveline too.
Kate1949
That's great. We have had nothing but excellent treatment from the NHS, both during my husband's treatment for cancer and earlier this year when I had to take him to A&E with a nasty viral infection for which he was admitted. We did wait 8 hours to see a doctor in A&E but they assessed him pretty much straight away on our arrival. The wait for the doctor was unavoidable. We were both treated very well. When he was discharged, he was put in the care of a 'virtual ward' and they were great.
Glad it isn't just me. I did have a quicker experience than you, just under 4 hrs from start to finish but with waiting for test results and xrays I didn't think that was too bad. I was particularly impressed with the doctor bringing the meds to discharge me, I'm used to have to wait ages for meds to be dispensed.
That's so nice to hear.
You only hear the horror stories, not the thousands who are more than happy with the service.
A trolley came around A&E at 2 in the morning with free hot drinks 
I've had two admissions via A&E this year and found the NHS were brilliant. I felt safe and cared for, nothing was too much trouble even when I had dreadfully embarrassing things happen to me I was treated with kindness and good humour. In patient food was pretty dire but the staff always managed to find something I could eat although they were always so busy. I've also had a couple of clinic appointments, tests and a day care procedure, all done professionally and generally on time. I hate to think what I've cost the NHS to this year but it's many thousands of pounds.
Good to read - thanks for posting, we see such doom n gloom yet within my family, exceptional care experienced
Iam64
Good to read - thanks for posting, we see such doom n gloom yet within my family, exceptional care experienced
I'm so glad I did and so pleased to read lots of other people have also had great care. It was so busy but the staff were so calm and pleasant to everyone. One poor man had a seizure and staff came running from everywhere to help him. I didn't hear one moan from anyone, staff or patients and it didn't seem like the NHS we hear so much negative stuff about.
Update on me, I am so much better after almost 24 hrs on antibiotics, not quite there yet but feeling much more like me and glad I'm having the follow up in six weeks as we might get to the bottom of what is going on.
That is good to hear. I always wish we had it here. I think hard before I make a doctor's appointment because it costs about $40 or $50 for a 5 minute consultation. Overall we get a good service here but it is definitely deteriorating because of the number of people moving into the area and the lack of doctors.
Having worked in the NHS for 17 years I have nothing but admiration for those 'up the sharp end' as I call it. They were backs to the wall before Covid due to successive Governments thinking that the NHS just needs money being thrown at it. It doesn't. I take my hat off to each and every one of the proper grafters who have their sleeves rolled up.
Iโm pleased to hear you are feeling better, and I was interested to read that you were monitoring your blood oxygen levels at home.
During the early stages of the covid pandemic I read an article in our paper by a doctor who urged every reader to buy an oximeter to enable us to check our oxygen levels if we caught Covid.
I think a lot of folk read that piece as they seemed to be in short supply but I managed to track one down.
In the last few years the NHS have successfully treated my husband for prostate cancer ๐ค that awful virus, my brother for a stroke, my brother-in-law for a stroke and skin cancer, my other brother-in-law for prostate cancer. They are not perfect by any means but what would we do without them?
I collected my prescriptions on Friday afternoon, the surgery now has a robot working for them and it's so quick now, order on the app, it's signed off the next day and ready to collect the next day but I've had several instances when I've had changes to my meds and I have been able to collect them the same day. The man in front of me grumbled under his breath the whole of the time whilst the pharmacist was speaking to him and his body language was quite aggressive, the man behind huffed and puffed because he was having to wait literally five minutes in a queue. tbh I was disgusted. We have a brilliant surgery and pharmacy but there are people who think it's OK to demand immediate service as the world revolves around them.
We don't even have to order or request prescriptions. The pharmacy knows when they're due and just sends us a text to say they are ready. We are usually called for a yearly review but don't have to do anything else.
Kate1949
We don't even have to order or request prescriptions. The pharmacy knows when they're due and just sends us a text to say they are ready. We are usually called for a yearly review but don't have to do anything else.
It's great isn't it? Ours does that too but I prefer to order my own as I know when I'm away and I've had several changes of meds over the past year or so. I find the NHS app very useful too.
Yes foxie the app is great too. I had full blood tests on a Friday in September. The results were on the app on the Monday!
Not everything in the NHS is bad. Last week I had what I thought would be my final appointment at the Trauma Clinic after breaking my kneecap in a fall in February. Saw a nice consultant I haven't seen before, and told him that I now have bursitis in the other hip (diagnosed by the physio). He said he wasn't sure if he would be paid if he gave me a steroid injection, and that I really should go through my GP. I said it's impossible to get to see my GP. He went off to check with his colleagues, came back and did the injection for me. How good was that? I've already had a letter from him (copy to the gP as well) telling me what was done, and that I'll have to go via GP for future jabs. He was a Locum Middle Grade - I've never heard of that and looked it up - it's for foreign consultants and doctors who are on 12 month contracts, and that's why he queried whether he would be paid. I hope the NHS renews his as he was excellent!
Our local hospital is a massively busy place. I have much praise for it although many locals slate it.
In 1994 I was rushed in after a minor op turned into a major one. I was in intensive care and the consultant wouldn't let me home until he was satisfied I was ready.
In 2017 my DH was rushed in after his bowel perforated and he developed sepsis. He was in Intensive care for more than 2 weeks and it was 50/50 if he got through it which he did.
2 weeks ago I made him see the GP as he wasn't well and because his oxygen level was so low he phoned the hospital and we went straight in. He is still in and hopefully will be out in the next day or two. He's had amazing treatment from the A&E to the ward he is on now.
They have their work cut out. My DH told me that a nurse has said there are more leaving than starting. It's very sad as there is a lot of building work going on there but the question is who is going to staff it.
That is so encouraging to hear and well done to the NHS. We should have more positive threads like this. I do hope you feel better very soon theworriedwell. ๐
Oh I forgot to add, my other brother-in-law has a kidney transplant last month. Wonderful treatment by the NHS. The men in this family haven't fared too well!
I had a poor experience , emergency ambulance dumped me in A&E , triage nurse said I needed to go to surgical assessment but doctor sent me back to A&E waited ten and a half hours before being rushed to surgical ward for emergency operation. Experience on the ward after the op was fine, was in a week but got hardly any sleep due to a disruptive patient in the next bed . They did save my life so Iโm grateful for that
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