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My elderly Mother suffers from Vascular Dementia and I had never imagined what an emotional turmoil it could be to watch someone very slowly fade away. The period prior to her entering a care home was fraught to say the least, but now that she is being cared for the stress has reduced somewhat. Fortunately she is being very well looked after.

I have experience of caring for someone with a long term chronic condition, they are satisfied with the care that they receive so far. Main concerns would be cuts to NHS funding
which adds yet more strain to the service.

I have been on antidepressants for 38 years

I have a few long term conditions that started in my 50's until then I was as fit as the proverbial flea. One of my conditions is life limiting and has put me in hospital a few times. I have Anti Phospholipid syndrome which is a blood clotting disorder. It's not very well understood so Doctors think they understand it but don't. It affects people in different ways and I seem to be in the minority the way it affects me. I have suffered multiple strokes but I'm still standing. There are things in the home I can no longer do myself but rather than have carers my youngest son and his GF live with me. They moved in specifically to help, luckily I have the space. We are happy with the arrangement and I rely on them heavily to get to my many hospital appointments. I think my biggest issue is no matter what I have wrong with me it's always dismissed as being part of my condition no matter how adamant I am that it's a separate issue. The care I've received is usually in response to me arriving at A&E as an emergency and getting admitted. It's ok but I do wish I had something that was better understood so that we didn't have to spend vital time explaining my version of the condition to the medics. Not helped by the fact my specialist is at St Thomas's in central London and my Local Hospital seems to take it as a personal insult to them that I travel to see a specialist but if I want someone that understands the condition I have no choice. At least my Son is completely au fait with my treatment etc and can advocate for me if I were to be unable to do so for myself. He also has POA.

Mum had early signs od dementia, a long-term condition. She had to move into a care home when she started to become muddled and confused about medication which resulted in her overdosing and being admitted to hospital. They wouldn't discharge her back to independent living, but frankly the warden controlled complex they recommended and that assured us they could manage her condition failed her badly. They reneged on aspects of her care they promised, failed to liaise properly with us or her doctors and tried to put their neglect down to Mum being difficult.
She certainly became more difficult and more unhappy, so therefore more complaining after a move to a nursing home. One that came highly recommended and appeared to offer Mum more opportunities for socialising as well as care. Sadly by this point Mum had retreated further into herself and eventually bore little resemblance to the vibrant, vivacious, loving and caring woman she once was. I wish her carers could have known her then.

My long term conditions mean I need help in the home with cooking, cleaning, ironing, get out, I needed the help but never asked. When my Doctor suggested a home help I reluctantly agreed I hadn't heard positive things about social care so I had doubts, unfortunately, my worse fears were confirmed. I had three separate carers come to help me however it made my conditions worse when they failed to actually help in the home, took advantage of me and even mocked that I could be as ill as I said I was. I felt I couldn't say anything. My daughter and son recognized the help were not good and my health was suffering. So my daughter is now my full-time carer. I look okay from the outside to a degree but I find it difficult to express the constant pain I'm in and people's response means I now don't, even to those in the 'care' system- my Doctor ( who has now retired) failed to see how serious the pain was and even rolled his eyes not believing in the help I was getting from hospital, he even stopped some medication. My daughter and son help me massively and I do rely on them, I wish I didn't have to but my experiences have burned me somewhat. I'm sorry I cannot be more positive about the system but it's not consistent across the board and I am scared to a degree of it esp with the cuts and pressure they are under. On a lighter note, I now have a new GP and she is rather wonderful and even lets my daughter come in and believes us, listens to us both and acts accordingly and even involving me in decisions and not mocking any issue we raise. Its a small step but an important one to me.

I have had type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure for nearly 40 years and take medication for both , I consume a healthy diet of fruit and vegetables and avoid processed food in order to stay healthy , I have also suffered arthritis in knees and hands and had a coronary artery bypass 4 years ago.

I have high blood preessure, controlled by 2 tablets. My GP calls me in every six months to check all is well. I have been offered statins for high cholesterol but am trying a diet rich in plant sterols first.

I was diagnosed with a rare lung condition about 5 years ago and whilst it is well understood by specialist and to a degree my GP. I find that some doctors cannot be bothered to find out on my illness and so sidestep treating me and pass on to a colleague. Could there bit be a rare diseases information app for healthcare professionals develop so all the general information on the condition links into the read code for that illness, on a patients record.?

I have OA T2 Diabetes, Bladder problems, Depression, U/Active Thyroid, H/ Blood Pressure, taking medications for all of them, I can honestly say that there has not been that much support for me from the GP, so I have done my best to keep myself going and maintaining my limited independence, I have only got to feel the most recent new GP is listening to me, and giving me more support with my medications, I dread needing more help from the various services, as they could be so long in coming, I will do my best to keep myself up and running, the NHS needs more funding for nurses, doctors, and a lot less money wasting management, and get joined up with i home and social care to move patients out of hospitals and into 'convalescence care' either in their homes, or with family who seem to abandon elderly relatives to hospital caring for them. Bed blocking should not be happening, and GP care should be improved, to make them work better to see patients, so they don't have to go to hospital for basic treatments. The NHS has to be improved, the patients need it to work better.

Our family has experienced dire care within the NHS and private care. We didn't litigate either to my deep regret. We made written complaints, contacted MP and CQC. Nothing happened, it took a while to understand what was happening, were in a state of disbelief. If staff in a supermarket had acted in a similar way they would have experienced a disciplinary process and lost their jobs.

I can't even begin to state the 'care' that my daughter got with her stage 4 breast cancer.

Suffice to say her last couple of years weren't spent making memories for her children, or doing things she needed to.

Every day was a battle, with no support, no help (she saw her Macmillan nurse twice, I think: the second time because her friend had contacted our mp)

I feel so angry and bitter about it that I have to put it out of my mind, so I can try to 'move on'.

I have bronchiectasis which is basically lung damage and have the usual inhalers etc. I do get a six monthly check up by my GP practice and am relatively happy with my treatment. I just have to try and avoid hills and stairs as much as possible. No idea how this developed but I worked in hosptality management most of my working life before smoking was banned, and I used to get bronchitis every winter as a child when antibiotics were not prescrbed. Who knows. I can only say now that I manage well with my medication and treatment at my local surgery.

My husband has Vascular Dementia, Parkinson’s Disease, COPD, sufferered a stroke last year and had to have emergency surgery last week for a strangulated hernia.
The GP and the nursing staff on the ward were all wonderful, but the wait to see a doctor in the clinic was very poor.
We were rang at home by the bed bureau and told to get him to hospital, 15 miles away as soon as possible, which I did.
We arrived at 1.30pm, bloods and urine tested, all within the first hour. We then waited until 5.45pm before we saw a doctor, which was challenging for me as I had to keep him calm. Certainly not ‘joined up’ Care.

I have MS, had it since 2005. Was ok until 2015, by the end of that year I couldn't walk.

Am separated from my husband and have carers 5 times a day. Can't fault them. They are kind and look after me well. Of course, I hate not doing my housework or cooking for myself. The house isn't totally how I'd like it, and my meals are quick and generally out of the freezer. But I can't really complain as they are all lovely.

Although I'm now wheelchair bound and my legs don't work at all I still work full time (luckily I'm a home worker).

Yes, I do sometimes feel sad as I have lost my independence and am now totally reliant on "my girls" but I suppose it could be a lot worse.

My adult daughter has had a tingling sensation in her face for about a year now and it's driving her crazy- if anyone knows of a remedy or diagnosis, please pm me. She's had B12 injections and tablets for anxiety ( she's not anxious, but that was the specialist's opinion- his advice-forget about it!)

I was lucky in that I was diagnosed fairly quickly by then GP as I have CFS. I have a friend that also has the same condition but it has taken 2 years and many hospital appointments to get the same diagnosis. Why because she was unlucky in that her GP doesn't really recognise that CFS is a condition that can just happen and not something that does not have a definite diagnosis nor that it can be treated with medication and you then get better. I am really angry that there isn't a definitive way that this horrible condition is handled, every doctor has their own way. Also quite a few doctors still don't think it a serious condition and as they can't prescribe for it then it is just go away and find your own way to manage.

I have about 3 health issues curently. One is Diabetes Type 2 which is under control with tablets daily and a twice yearly visit to the diabetic nurse at our local surgery. No real problems and currently under control. But have very painful left swollen ankle with oesteo-arthritus. Makes just walking very hard. Having to buy a stronger 10 percent ibuprofen gel as it's not being given on prescription anymore apoarently. Taking painkiller to get me off to sleep at night. But eventually now been refuted to a Muskeletal clinic and has one injection in January. Then been booked in for a plaster cast to be made for them then to build/make a strong ankle support which I would have to wear daily. But I arrived for the appointment only to be told the funding has now been removed for this clinic which had 4 nurses in it. Shocked and very annoyed about all of this. If I had the money available I would go private, and as I am only 61 years of age I don't yet receive the state pension either.

Diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes 15 years ago. At the time I had two young children... the GP cheerily informed me that I'd be on insulin in 5 years, and dead within 15. Thanks to the internet and a rapid self-education campaign, all my blood markers are normal, and I suspect that I'll never deteriorate to the point of needing insulin. Touch wood...

My elderly mother, who died last year, had complex support needs after a stroke, which resulted in her going into a care home. We were very impressed with the care she received in the home, for all of her ongoing needs.

I was originally diagnosed with M.E/ or CFS as it is known now Chronic Fatigue Syndrome after suffering for 7 years. The hospital referred me to a specialist but my Dr admitted the surgery did not have the funding to send me. Recently now re diagnosed as Fibromyalgia Dr has said there is nothing they can do for me, apart from send me to a pain management clinic, which I do myself already, so 15 years in, I have not actually received any help whatsoever.

I contacted the CQC in 2015 with a concern they told me to complain to the hospital I did and despite the PHSO stepping in it is still dragging on. Why? Simply because they know that they are unaccountable to anyone. I didn't litigate because I felt it was unfair to the Nhs I was wrong I should have litigated and this would now be over even though the damage done can not be undone I would not dread each coming day. I have a choice, join everyone else in ignoring or or continue the quest to prevent them from doing it to another poor soul destroying mine in the process. One wonders what percentage of the Nhs budgetis spent on litigation for completely avoidable occurrences. A large portion I presume in the no blame culture of the Nhs where Doctors simply ignore Duty of Candor and the NHS constitution both excellent papers but totally toothless it seems.

Nine years ago I was diagnosed with an over active bladder and had treatment to try and correct the problem to no avail.
Since then I have had excellant treatment from my Urologist Specialist and undergone treatment every 10/12 mths when the treatment needs topping up,I notify my GP when it is necessary and he makes the appointment for me.I have been looked after very well over the past 9/10 yrs and have no complaints at all.

Availability and access to a public toilet would help many people with long term conditions - I know; I'm one of them!! If there are no toilets available I daren't go out and I miss out on lots of basic activities such as walking - just because of the lack of a loo. It frustrates people when I'm invited out and I have to ask if there will be a toilet available - friends though have got used to me though. Many people are too embarrassed to even mention the subject and become more isolated as a result. It's not a case of 'for want of a nail' but 'for want of a loo!!!'

My husband has severe COPD and some other medical issues. It was not until he was admitted to hospital that the consultant said that several of his prescription items were unnecessary including metaformin. These items had been
been regularly prebscribed by our GP over a long period.