NHS chaos!

It's the same here Luckygirl. My DH was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2014. He had 37 consecutive days of radiotherapy, many appointments for scans, monthly hormone injections etc. During this time he was dealt with extremely efficiently. His appointments were never changed and I can honestly say we were never kept waiting much after the allotted appointment time. Each year after his yearly blood test he was given his appointment for the following year.

He is now thankfully in remission and the hospital has handed his care over to our newly merged GP surgery. Chaos has ensued. He has to do everything himself. After his last blood test, he rang for the result. They informed him that his cholesterol, blood sugar were fine. He told them that the cancer check was what he was concerned about. She said 'What cancer?'. He also has to ensure that he gets his diabetes check as they never call him in.

Yes I know it's our responsibility to look after ourselves and they are overloaded but as you say, what if he had dementia and no one to help him? They saved his life so I shouldn't complain but still.

I would consider changing surgeries Luckygirl. My surgery do all those things for me. They are excellent.

Oh Lucky, you are having such a tough time of it all. NO, you should not have to do this! Same for Kate.

How is your foot though- has that healed properly?

Salti, not so easy to change surgeries at the moment- so few have spaces available and not taking new patients.

I would ask to see the Surgery Manager, be polite but tell him/her that is it not acceptable and that something has to be done to put systems in place to follow up long-term issues.

If at all possible I would change surgeries Lucky. Ours isn’t perfect by any means but is much better than this. Our previous one (we moved) was hopeless though, and still is according to friends, so it can be a lottery.

Foot fine thank you - lesion was not malignant - hooray!

Like your OH Kate I was looked after by the [osteoporosis] team at the hospital and then moved onto "shared care" with the GP practice. That was when the chaos started! They had no idea what they were meant to be doing. And simply do not do it. There are no health MOTs, no follow up etc. I have been with them for 2.5 years and my meds have never been reviewed - they just churn them out.

It is hard to change practices round here - it is very rural and they are few and far between. Some people in the village are with my old efficient practice, but I had to leave them because I am on the wrong side of the road and out of catchment!

I might look at going to a practice in the nearest town (about 12 miles) but then I would be living in England and have a GP in Wales - I am not sure how that works out. I will look into it.

Just rang the osteoporosis team at the main hospital and they said this happens all the time; and that the GP practice is meant to alert people as to when their jab is due, organise the blood test, order in the drug. She says lots of people are struggling with the system, but there is nothing they can do - they cannot take people back onto the hospital system as they do not have the capacity. So basically the "shared care" system is their way of trying to deal with being over-subscribed, even though they know that for most people it is not working. Bit of a mess really.

I have also established that if I go over the border for a GP practice, they would take me back on the hospital system - it is tempting!

Great news about your foot. My sister and family have our GP too. Her husband was very ill a few years ago and is on medication which is vital. He is OK now and back at work.
My sister rang surgery for a repeat prescription for him. They told her he couldn't have it until he had had a review. She said 'OK. Can I book that please?'. They replied 'We have no appointments. You'll have to keep ringing'. Sister said 'These meds keep him alive. What if he runs out?' They said 'If he collapses, ring for an ambulance.' This during the ambulance strike.
I hate criticising as the hospitals have been wonderful but sometimes.....

Luckygirl3 that doesn't sound at all right. My mother was having injections at 90+. The nurse visited to take her blood, got the results and then returned to give the injection.
Please do go to your practice and ask them to change their ways. My mum would never have remembered about an injection. Don't see it as complaining just for yourself, there may be others who can't manage and are missing out on treatment. You would be standing up for them.

I thought that some years ago the need to be in the 'catchment area' of a practice had been removed?

I'd go back over the 'border' like a shot, Luckygirl. No point in battling with a poorly organised practice if you have the opportunity to move.

Sounds a bit like my practice - you feel you are locked in a Catch 22.

I have nothing against the individual doctors - although one is very offhand and quite rude - and the receptionists are lovely. It is just the whole system that seems to be creaking.

I have to book my B12 injections despite the fact that they will be ongoing until I die.
I asked why this couldn’t be a booked every 2 months. It’s too far ahead between appointments. FFS, it’s 2023 !!!

We can’t change Practices here. It is based on catchment areas and only one Practice covers this area.

Our surgery was taking up to 3 weeks just to issue a repeat prescription, I think they have managed to get it down to 1 week now which is still not good if there is a weekend in between.My friend is a dispenser in another area and she said there is no way their patients would be waiting more than 3 days, they would be rioting!

I am livid! 😡
I have just rung the Rheumatology ‘helpline’ for my husband regarding his long overdue steroid injection.
This is the fifth time I have left a message in a fortnight.
The recorded message now says that they are not taking calls and to hang up.
So basically they are saying 🤬 off.

We had a fantastic surgery, always efficient and on the ball. Now 6000 new houses have been built with no new surgeries and the current two cannot get staff. Chaos reigns. What idiots agree plans for such large development and we are left without sufficient medical facilities or schools? Councils get lots of money from the developers under section 106 agreement which is supposed to help pay for developing infrastructure.

Because of staff difficulties our surgery has merged with three others each dealing with specific conditions and checks so often we need to go to one miles away in villages where I cannot get to by public transport. I no longer drive as my eyesight is deteriorating, so it is lucky I still have a husband who does. Many I-know have to rely on lifts from friends or call a taxi

FannyCornforth

I am livid! 😡
I have just rung the Rheumatology ‘helpline’ for my husband regarding his long overdue steroid injection.
This is the fifth time I have left a message in a fortnight.
The recorded message now says that they are not taking calls and to hang up.
So basically they are saying 🤬 off.

That is crazy! I am sorry that this is proving to be such a problem

MerylStreep- last time I tried to book an appointment to follow up an A&E visit with a heart problem I was told that they were booking 5 weeks ahead - I said OK, please book me in and they said they couldn't as they have not "released" the next batch of appointments - I did not even bother to ask what that meant!

My Dad's carers asked if the nurse could look at a mark on his leg when I took him for a blood test in March.
The nurse recommended he should see a doctor about it, albeit as a non-urgent appointment.
It's taken me several weeks of trying but I've finally managed to book one, for six weeks after the original appointment.
I had to ring at 1pm to book for either the same day the following week or the week after. I set an alarm on my phone each time so I was ready and waiting.

As a former GP receptionist I can't imagine how much time the poor staff must waste administering this crazy system, and I've had a couple of sympathetic conversations with them about it all.
I did point out that it was their nurse who said Dad needs to come in. That obviously struck a chord going by their reaction...
He's 92 with dementia so he'd have no chance arranging anything by himself.
Crazy times.

As a retired NHS worker, I am so sorry to hear these stories and they are increasing.

However, we have to realise that there are just not enough staff to carry out the required work. There are many, many reasons for this, ranging from the poor recognition, payment and treatment given to the frontline staff, wasted money and resources and underfunding by the government. Really, the whole system needs to be rebuilt, but having, as an employee for forty years, seen (and suffered) many re-organisations that just caused discontent down the line and wasted even more money, that is easier said than done.

Don’t suggest a change of government. I have seen plenty of those too.

In my experience the NHS is worse than the French system though that is a small sample from which to generalise. But a recent NHS Breast Screening Clinic went like clockwork with personal attention from the consultant despite the GP surgery delaying and messing up several times about the referral - not sending the clinical referral, claiming the patient had to make the appointment, etc. The NHS is obviously underfunded but it's also undermanaged and understaffed and that reflects badly on government planning and an utterly stupid attitude to immigration. The Tories obviously pander to racist voters. The existing staff (probably with some exceptions) work hard to deliver and deserve more than claps.

MerylStreep

I have to book my B12 injections despite the fact that they will be ongoing until I die.
I asked why this couldn’t be a booked every 2 months. It’s too far ahead between appointments. FFS, it’s 2023 !!!

I have the same problem, Meryl. I don't know about you, but I get forgetful when mine are due, and remembering to book when the surgery is open can be tricky, even when it's in my diary (you can't book nurse appointments online).

My OH was a GP. He would be horrified if he were alive still. They were absolutely committed to giving their patients a good service and would have been jumping up and down and causing a rumpus if they had patients being so ill-served as they are now.

What was different I wonder? Are there so many more patients? Are there fewer GPs? Is there a different attitude to patient care? Has the government micromanagement caused staff to stop really caring any more? Do they all simply feel undervalued? Or are they weighed down by the bureaucracy?

I know that my OH was very glad to leave for health reasons in 1988 (he went on to do locums), as he felt worn down by the paperwork and bureaucracy and above all else the sense that the government did not trust him as a professional to do a good job. Before then GPs had been respected and the massive amounts of work they put in valued. "Initiatives" loaded on them by government out of touch with real practice became tedious.

It mirrors the whole education fiasco where teachers feel as though there is someone looking over their shoulder all the time and they have to gather reams of data rather than do their jobs.