The Dispatches programme on the NHS

I worked reception at a GP till August last year. I was told to give an appointment, if available, to everyone who wanted one, regardless of complaint/condition

Altyann

People go to the Dr's here with a blocked nose costing the NHS 100s to save themselves £4.50 at the chemist, anything free is abused no where else in the world can you do that.

A 'blocked nose' doesn't merit an immediate referral to the pharmacist without investigation. It can be seriously developed polyps (which are likely to need surgical removal) or a nasal tumour requiring intervention. Also, some OTC remedies have a rebound effect after a few days' use leaving patients with rhinitis worse off.

I watched the programme and was appalled, we really need a government that is going to sort out the NHS.
The Reform candidate in my area is a nurse and I think this is where their priority will be.
I believe the only way forward is to adopt the system that Germany, France and Belgium have.

The conservatives had the intention of selling out the NHS to the Americans and if you ever speak to one, they think we are mad. There has always been money poured into the NHS but it hasn’t been used appropriately, waste in every department. Also GPs could and should see more patients. Most work part time, they liked the distance during Covid and have carried it on. My practice has the same amount of staff so why has it suddenly gone almost impossible to get an appointment within three weeks. I recently went to the surgery to pick up a blood test form, the waiting room was empty yet the walk in centre I passed on my way in was standing room only. As my mum used to say I’m glad I’m on my out and not on my way in.

Dickens

growstuff

Altyann

People go to the Dr's here with a blocked nose costing the NHS 100s to save themselves £4.50 at the chemist, anything free is abused no where else in the world can you do that.

How do they get past the triage system, which most GP surgeries now operate?

Good question growstuff- I think we'd all like to know!

Or perhaps it's only in the area where Altyann lives that they all get blocked up noses - a sort of 'local' disease recognised by the triage system?

Sarcasm, the lowest form of whit. Are you calling the Poster a liar.
I remember sitting in my AE, with very disturbing AF, a woman was called in, came out a few minutes later, with her son saying, have they given you some anti histamines, yes says she, so triage does not always work, depends on the training these non medical staff receive, they shouldn't be doing it as far as I'm concerned. An allergy that can be treated with tablets, which you can get from the chemist, should not take priority over someone with fast AF.

Agree..System needs a complete overhaul not just money thrown at it

A lot of patients go to A & E because Drs send them there
A friend of mine had an abscess in her mouth.when she rang to get some antibiotics she was told go to your dentist and if you don't have one go to A&E.ehich she did and got antibiotics
On the other hand my son was sent to A&,E because he had dangerously low potassium. found after a recent blood test.thr Dr rang him at 7 pm and said go now or you might not be here tomorrow
I went with him a.nd the waiting room was packed to capacity
We waited for about 30 minutes and my son was feeling faint
I went to reception and was told when you see a nurse tell her.with I did ,he was whisked away and was seen and got a bed very quickly ,still with all his clothes on and put on a drip immediately,
The nurses and Drs were amazing dealing with everyone .
18 months ago he had a stroke which affected his speech and his memory the paramedics then were great ,but he had to be taken blue lighted to a hospital 40 miles away.brcsuse out hospital don't have a stroke unit anymore.
A new wing is being built I was told it was a bigger one for A&E, but a lot of problems are due to Drs sending people there

Suncream? I read this week that Lidl's suncream came out as the most effective against top named brands. And cheapest too at £3.

jocork

Unless people qualify for free prescriptions I'd have thought it would be cheaper to buy the sunscreen than pay the prescription charge. I get free prescriptions because of my medical conditions (as well as now being over 60) but wouldn't dream of requesting most things that can be bought over the counter, unless they were exhorbitantly expensive, assuming I could get an appointment to get a prescription in the first place!

Children do get free prescriptions. Some sunscreens are incredibly expensive, so I don't think they're cheaper to buy over the counter.

Unless people qualify for free prescriptions I'd have thought it would be cheaper to buy the sunscreen than pay the prescription charge. I get free prescriptions because of my medical conditions (as well as now being over 60) but wouldn't dream of requesting most things that can be bought over the counter, unless they were exhorbitantly expensive, assuming I could get an appointment to get a prescription in the first place!

maddyone

Primrose
The area my daughter worked in was an affluent area.

Maybe they were affluent because they knew how to get things for free and had plenty of money for booze, lip fillers, tattoos (and don't forget huge TVs).

Primrose
The area my daughter worked in was an affluent area.

JaneJudge

Maddyone, can you explain why?

I know my daughter has to be prescribed cetraben for example as the care staff cannot apply it without prescription (which I find ludicrous too but it is how it is)

I’m not quite sure what you mean Jane. My daughter told me she had patients, usually parents of children who the parents said had sensitive skin, and would she please prescribe some Ultrasun for them. She worked at that time in a rather affluent area. She refused. I don’t know exactly what she said to them, I wasn’t in the room. She told me that the NHS isn’t for prescribing sun cream and nit lotion (yes, they asked for that too) and she herself has a child with sensitive skin and so she buys Ultrasun herself. She said some other doctors will prescribe it because it avoids an argument with the parent in the consulting room.

I know that there are many brands of sensitive sun cream available without paying the high price of Ultrasun. I also know that nit lotion is available to buy over the counter.

Obviously if care staff are not allowed to apply something without a prescription, then that is a different scenario. That’s probably to prevent staff from applying something that maybe unsuitable.

I too saw this programme and thought it was horrifying, and frightening. I hope highlighting this dire situation means some changes will be made, no one could fail to be disturbed by it. It could be any of us as patients in that situation. I have unfortunately spent a lot of time in hospitals over the past couple of years but am very grateful for the kindness and care I have received by the wonderful NHS staff I have encountered in my area. Nothing is going to improve without a huge overhaul - you can throw all the money you like at the NHS but it won't be any different unless there is radical change within the organisation and the way it is run. I've always thought triage nurses for the elderly would be a good idea - quite often it's just reassurance that is needed to settle their worries, and it would save GP's time. They could be referred on if necessary. The elderly population is rising all the time (at almost 70 I include myself in this category!), and don't get me started on the amount of prescription drugs that are wasted and left unreviewed and unmonitored! I also constantly get duplicate appointment letters and when I point this out no one is interested in addressing it. If this is happening with lots of patients the postage will soon mount up. These are just small things in comparison to more major issues which could save time and money.

My DD works in the NHS since graduating 6 years ago as a radiographer and worked tirelessly throughout covid lockdowns and the amount of mismanagement she encountered takes my breath away. She loves working with the patients but is considering changing profession because she’s fighting a losing battle, a lot of the problems come because GP’s don’t know how to write an X-ray request which can mean multiple trips for the patient, there has always been problems in the nhs but none as bad as now.

maddyone

My daughter is a GP and she has been asked for sunscreen because of sensitive skin. More than once. She refused it, but she told me other doctors will give it just to get the patient to leave quickly rather than engage in argument about why the NHS shouldn’t prescribe sunscreen.

I posted the other day that Labour created a generation of dependent people. They have their hands out all the time and always want more.

Your example is a prime one! Why should they buy sunscreen when the money they save could be spent on booze, lip fillers, tattoos, anything else they fancy.

Who remembers when everyone got free Prescriptions?

Perhaps some very old people might remember, Plunger, but I doubt many of us younger ones in our 70s do. Prescription charges were introduced in 1952. Apart from 3 years during the Wilson government, they've been in place ever since. With exemptions for the young, the old and people with certain medical conditions.

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prescription_charges

that you cannot use money, you do not actually have!

But you can when you are in charge of creating that money. Which a government is.

Maddyone, can you explain why?

I know my daughter has to be prescribed cetraben for example as the care staff cannot apply it without prescription (which I find ludicrous too but it is how it is)

You say that the NHS needs more staff and more money, but what you do not say, nor anyone else ever does, is where this money is supposed to come from?

It may very well be that the NHS is using its money unwisely - we all tend think that all public funding is being used wrongly, after all.

I doubt the statement that neither of the two main parties want to know - any attempt to increase taxation is shouted down, and presumably politicians do know, although sometimes I doubt this, that you cannot use money, you do not actually have!

My daughter is a GP and she has been asked for sunscreen because of sensitive skin. More than once. She refused it, but she told me other doctors will give it just to get the patient to leave quickly rather than engage in argument about why the NHS shouldn’t prescribe sunscreen.

Suelld
Maybe one day you might have a disease that would lead you to scream like a banshee
Have you any idea how terrifying a hospital ward is for someone suffering with dementia.
I’ll answer my own question: you obviously don’t.

I had experience of local A&E 3/4 yrs ago and it was dire even then. I had fallen downstairs and could hardly breathe, had broken a couple of ribs and it was a wknd. Waiting area was packed there were drunks causing chaos and a man picked up some sort of VDU machine and threw it at the doors to the treatment area and then tried to force his way through when a nurse came out to call in the next patient.
More recently I was with my DH when he was taken by ambulance to the A&E, he was dealt with very quickly but the nurse who came to take bp etc wrote his results down on a paper towel which she later picked up and threw in the bin by mistake, second nurse wrote results on her hand! No wonder when he was finally discharged a few days later his next of kin details on the paperwork was some completely unknown person. Thank goodness there was no need for an emergency call at any point during his stay.
Total chaos on both occasions with staff trying to do their best but failing in many ways.

Staff covering themselves due to entitled selfish people. They threaten to sue ' if it's something serious'.
Who remembers when everyone got free Prescriptions? People were expecting paracetamol, which costs around 35p now , on prescription. Plus things like plasters. I personally know someone who asked for sunscreen because of her sensitive skin. She got It!

We had to take our son (recently post transplant) to A&E at about 2am after 111 was no help and took far to long. We went to the window, explained the situation and hadn't even had time to sit down before he was whisked away to a cubicle to be seen. It took a long time for him to get a proper bed but at least not left in a corridor and received appropriate monitoring and treatment so we knew he'd be OK. We moved to the area several years ago because the hospitals were good and generally speaking they have remained so. It's clear they are working under extreme pressure though. I hope a new government has the will to keep the NHS operating well into the future without stupid privatization, which may be a short term solution to waiting lists but will never work as effectively as a collectively funded state run institution. We already have far too many examples of privatized services falling apart and ripping us off.