Those were the days…..

I had the same doctor for 25 years, from the 1970s. I can honestly say that he didn't know me from a bar of soap. I find it hard to envision home visits 30 years ago! I too would happily pay more tax for a health service that is fit for purpose.

I would pay more tax to fund better healthcare.

Mental health help in the country is feeble.

A member of our family had crippling mental health problems and he and our entire family were adrift, help unavailable, advice so poor that it was months before we were able to even establish what the condition was.

Having a GP who would come into our home, sit down with us all and talk to us at that time would have saved us months of pain and worry.

The NHS has been run into the ground over the last 40 years and for the majority of that time we have a Conservative government. We keep voting them in. Why?

I will never understand why anyone who has a child in state education, needs NHS healthcare , believes the police, fire and ambulance service should be adequately funded or relies on any kind of state support would vote Tory. But they do.

I know people will say there is no alternative but there is. We keep moaning about how everything gets worse. The Tories keep making everything worse for everyone except their rich friends. We keep voting them in. We are just too blind to see who is on our side and who is not.

My eldest was born in 1985. The Doctor done my pregnancy test at 9 weeks. I had an antenatal appointment every 4 weeks until i was 28 weeks, then fortnightly until 36 and then weekly until delivery. I stayed in hospital for 5 days, Doctor visited for 3 days, midwife until day 10 and health visitor on day 11 with a weekly visit for a month followed by monthly visits until 6 months then a 12 month visit. My Daughter had a baby in 2019 and only saw a midwife 2 during pregnancy and was out of the hospital 5 hours after delivery even though it was 4 a.m on a winters night.

PippaZ

Some people can't nadateturbe, and those that can keep voting the Conservatives in because they don't want to. So the money goes on the progress we have made rather than a quiet chat and coffee.

Of course some can't pay an increase. We all know that. But those who can should. How do you know all those who can afford to voted Tory? No one I know in GB did.
I still think doctors need more time so that patients don't feel rushed and have confidence in their GPs. It would actually help our physical health.

PippaZ is right though, we don't get coffee and a chat from our GPs because we won't pay for it. As a country we keep voting the Conservatives into power, a low tax, small state party. We are getting what the country voted for.

Two home visits stick in my head. After the birth of my second child i was at home in the shower and i had a haemmoragh, my husband called the surgery and the GP came out that evening to see me and check all was ok. He left medication from his bag for me to take but i ended up in hospital the next evening as the same thing happened. Part of the afterbirth had been retained. The 2nd one was when my youngest was only about months old and i felt something was wrong , i called the surgery on a Sunday and was given a number to ring, the GP who answered came out and said he needed to be in hospital as she suspected melingitis. He was rushed to hospital and the GP lent me the money for a taxi so i and my other three children could go there till my husband could be contacted..he worked as a bus driver.... my poor baby was put in isolation and had to have a lumbar puncture. Thank goodness it turned out to be viral melingitis and not bacterial which is the one which can leave a child very damaged. I guess now adays i would have been advised to go straight to A&E.

Oops too. A reply to a post that has now vanished.

Well, not necessarily, Pippa It may not have been the same farmers in the 53% who voted for Brexit who were in the 66% also voted Conservative. Statistics don't work like that.

Oops. Wrong thread. Have asked for post to be deleted.

However, the same lack of ability to put forward knowledge to back a nasty comment applies.

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

GP's have an average of 6-10 minutes to spend on each appointment - that includes welcoming the patient, listening to their symptoms, examining them, diaganosing what is wrong and deciding how to treat it, prescribing medications and checking that they won't interact badly with any other medications already being prescribed, and writing up notes on the patient's records. They don't have time to sit in the sun with a cup of tea chatting.

In 1960 the Uk population was 52,370,602
In 1990 it was 56329673
In 2021 it is 68,319,719
It is projected that by 2068 it will be 80 million

The cost of General Medical Services per head increased four and a half times between 1975/6 and 2006/7. To pay for more GPs, build more surgeries, to cope with a bigger population, living longer (two-fifths of nhs appointments are for older patients) would mean higher taxes. No government is brave enough to do this.

Ridiculous oversimplification PippaZ.

Some people can't nadateturbe, and those that can keep voting the Conservatives in because they don't want to. So the money goes on the progress we have made rather than a quiet chat and coffee.

Sorry asterisk in wrong place!

I get what you're saying *PippaZ but I wouldn't mind paying more for doctors to be able to take time to listen and care.
I do actually think we should pay more for our NHS.

GillT57 I’m so sorry you had such a dreadful experience.

My youngest child was born prematurely and I was very high risk as my uterus had started to rupture while in labour with no 2.
The care I received was outstanding, just knowing how supported I was made an enormous difference to my recovery.

A few minutes spent in the sunshine talking to a patient and reassuring them could save wasted appointments further down the line.

When I had my first son in 1982 I spent nearly two weeks in hospital, by the time I had my fifth son in 1996 I went in in the middle of Friday night and was home Saturday afternoon. I always say having children these days is like going shopping you're literally in and out.

well I am glad some of you have rosy memories of your ante and post natal care, I certainly don't. I developed a breast lump when pregnant with my first child in 1993, the (female) GP sent me to the breast cancer clinic. You can imagine how we felt, 6 months pregnant and with a lump. It was benign, and when I was asking her about it at a further appointment she was rude and dismissive, treating me as a nuisance.

I would be interested to hear from midwives actually, there will be many reasons for the decrease in infant mortality but I am wondering if the specialism of midwives rather than GPs has in some way contributed to the improvement.

When I has DD1 in 1975 my gp turned up at the hospital at the first feeding time to help me start breast feeding as I hadn't done too well with my first 2.

nadateturbe

I remember 1971 after a birth with stitches my doctor brought to my home a very comfy round cushion.
When I had a severe headache he came 3 days in a row.
Times have indeed changed.
I know that we have made progress in treatment but the feeling of care isn't the same. Doctors knew you personally then.

I imagine that those who look back so nostalgically would be the first to complain if taxes went up to pay for a GP sitting around and having cups of tea.

I imagine you could get that sort of service privately if you were prepared to pay.

Just as an aside, I do wonder if we should have a grumbler's thread

Sago

Galaxy I am not talking about 1970, I was born in 1963.

It's difficult to know when you are talking about. You start by saying When I had my youngest child 27 years ago, ... that was in 1994.

I must say that about that time my doctor came and spent time talking to me about some very difficult health issues but I really wouldn't have expect a doctor to call after a birth unless there was a problem.

When, exactly, are you talking about?

We happen to be rather short of GPs at the moment.

I had my children in 1979 & 1981. On neither occasion was I visited by my GP. Just the routine follow up visits from the district midwives and health visitors.

It seems to be a bit mad looking back nostalgically at a world that we ourselves have destroyed through our political choices.

Jaxjacky

Maybe because since 1980 the UK population has increased from 56 million to 67 million without a corresponding increase in support services.

Exactly!