Jewel in the Crown

[smokingboot]

I was brought up to believe in the NHS; both my mother and my aunt worked as nurses, and loved it passionately, though one ended up being a ferocious non-medicator and the other visited the doctor so often the staff joked she should have a waiting room chair with her name embroidered on it.

My mother was a total hypochondriac where her kids were concerned. I couldn't sneeze without finding myself bundled up and thrown at the nearest GP. To this day, my mother believes that the NHS is a miracle she was proud to pay taxes towards and very proud to work for. If any circumstance could make her picket parliament, the notion of dismantling/ downsizing the NHS is the one. There she would be, hatted and gloved, with a placard in one hand and a thermos of carrot juice in the other, graciously telling policemen that she doesn't want to cause any trouble but she's not leaving. To her mind, the NHS is the most enlightened idea ever to come out of Britain, even greater than peaceful protest and Looking After Gardens Properly.

I find myself less inspired.

Trying to recall the last time the NHS met the standards my mother would have recognised and cherished...there was the nipple burning incident in Royton, nuff said. The 'leave it until it's the size of a penny piece' advice that could have turned my malignant melanoma into a tragedy. Then, in London my 'I fought a train and the train won' adventures... Don't get me wrong, the treatment for that was fine, but the aftercare? Lying on a bed of bloody tissues that didn't get changed or cleaned for hours ... But OK, hospitals are understaffed or misunderstood, or A&E is always terrifying havoc and at least they had morphine...so let's turn to our current friendly neighbourhood GPs, who, after an hour and a quarter queue, couldn't work out whether I have a cold, flu, swine flu, a virus, two viruses, a virus on top of an infection or what the heck so they gave me a five day course of 100mg Doxycycline. It got rid of some of the phlegm. Now, the whatever it is, is back.

I've had this since before the new year.

It's incredible. When did doctors lose the power of diagnosis? What is the point of weeny drugs that don't work? I'm a contractor, no work, no pay, no benefits. So I must work, and I do. But I have voice over work I really need to audition for, projects I want to push and therefore need to discuss with my currently non-existent voice, and let's not forget dear old everyday work. One show's already been lost due to this whatever it is. I can't afford any more.

And I really don't have time for the doctor to pootle around with the cheapest/ minimal dosages/clueless guesswork that I seem to be getting. Tried to make an appointment yesterday, it was closed, tried this morning,the phone rang for over a minute before anyone answered. They don't have any appointments, someone will ring me back. That was at 9 on the button. No-one has come back to me yet.

If anyone knows something that can recover my voice, give me energy and just keep me going, please let me know. Say, wouldn't it be great if there was some kind of national universal healthcare system, contributed to by everyone and bringing everyone a strong basic standard of medical treatment? If anyone has seen one of those lying around, could you introduce me to it? Cos right now, I could really use a doctor.

Comments

[nyarbaggytep.livejournal.com]

I know the feeling. I feel passionately about the NHS, but recently I'm finding more and more that it's been whittled down to a point where it's beginning to be a joke.

To get an appointment at a GP seems to be nigh on impossible. I don't want to have to ring at 8.30am and repeatedly press redial like some desperate Glastonbury hopeful and if I get the golden ticket of an actual appointment offered to have to take that one because there aren't any others. I want to ring when I feel ill/concerned and book an appointment for a time which fits around my (also self-employed) work (if I am well enough to be at work)!

And don't get me started on maternity care, or dentistry...

Still. At least we still have an NHS. I'd rather that, even in the state it's in at the moment than not.

[smokingboot.livejournal.com]

I don't know what the answer is...if those who can afford to pay opt out, there's more room and time for those who can't pay, but less to spend on treatment and drugs. In any case, I don't see how the standard of diagnosis/treatment has got so abjectly dire.

I just phoned them back, and they have a cancellation. The receptionist also gently reminded me that I am due a smear. I am very reluctant. If they can traumatise a nipple, blithely laugh away a skin cancer, leave me on a bleeding bed for hours, and fail to identify a cough never mind its cure, my imagination trembles at what they could do to my punani.

[nyarbaggytep.livejournal.com]

In fairness, I've never had any problems with the smears (as long as they have been done by the nurses), so it's one of the things I should probably be grateful for!

[evilwillow.livejournal.com]

My GP has a walk-in clinic at 8.30-11.00 in the morning then regular appointments begin at 9.30 until 18.00, they also keep a few appointments back during the day for emergencies. If you want to see a specific doctor then you've probably got a 2-4 week wait for an appointment depending on how popular your doctor is but you are guaranteed to be seen the same day if you use the walk-in clinic.

The problem with bugs/viruses etc at this time of year is new strains come out all the time, there is often very little they can do for viruses other than try to mitigate the symptoms and some bugs are evolving to be drug-resistant. The more strong drugs are used, the more they evolve around them and the less effective they will be when you are in dire need.

If you're not happy with your doctors then surely NHS direct can point you at a walk-in centre where you can be seen the same day at a time to suit you? There are at least four for me to choose from near me that are within reasonable travelling distance. There will be a wait of course but at least you'll be seen.

Hope you get better soon sweetheart, sounds like you need some TLC and possibly look at something to boost your immune system.

[caffeine-fairy.livejournal.com]

I am passionate about the principle of the NHS but unfortunately the reality often leaves a lot to be desired...

[smokingboot.livejournal.com]

Thank you for your kind thoughts!

I might look at other doctors, though my fear is if they are rubbish in Royton and hopeless in Hither Green, either I have the curse of bad doctoring, or the problem may be gently endemic...

The doc doesn't know if it's a virus or an infection, quite seriously he told me he has not got a clue. As it turns out, the antibis he gave me did work, but the problem is returning. So it is probably an infection, but on a very small dosage for a short number of days, the antibis didn't finish the job...indeed, I can't help thinking that if a bug could actually ask us to create the perfect conditions for its growing immunity, short regular applications of weak antibiotics would surely be on its Xmas list!

When it comes to TLC, larians has been so good...I cough so much at night, I volunteered to sleep in the spare room or downstairs, and he wouldn't have it. I may have bad doctoring luck, but I am very fortunate in my love and friends:-D

[smokingboot.livejournal.com]

I don't regard myself as nostalgic, but I honestly think the NHS was better Once Upon A Time...

[caffeine-fairy.livejournal.com]

I suspect that the reality has always fallen short of the ideal, but if my GP is anything to go by, they're just not really trying any more...J went through four short courses of antibiotics for his ear infection, it would go away for a bit and then come back, until I fought the receptionist and waiting 2 hours in reception to see the "good" doctor at our practice...and frankly she's only good because she's so old fashioned she thinks she should be treating illness instead of lecturing her patients about antibiotic resistance (and getting it wrong).

[smokingboot.livejournal.com]

The nurses in the Royton Practice were brilliant, only smears I've had that were not nightmares. But I am scared of smears at the best of times, I don't know what to do about having one here.

[smokingboot.livejournal.com]

Poor littie guy. Ear infections are absolutely horrible. I hope he's better now xx

[caffeine-fairy.livejournal.com]

It dragged on and on until we were in the States for my brother's wedding, whereupon he had a horrible attack of it and we took him to a Minute Clinic and paid for a dose of uberbiotics. Score 1 for private healthcare, I guess. Not so score for it being over £100...

[smokingboot.livejournal.com]

Ouch! so when did you go to the 'good doctor'?

[caffeine-fairy.livejournal.com]

Oh dear, I seem to have started a long rambling anecdote about my child's health...sorry...he had the first set of infections around Xmas and eventually the "good" doctor gave him something which seemed to clear it up, about a month later we took him to the states and it flared up again...*touches wood* we haven't had a relapse since the US antibiotics...

[smokingboot.livejournal.com]

Don't worry, I wouldn't ask if I wasn't interested.

It irritates me that J's infection needed whammo drugs across the ocean to finish it off, and it irritates me even more that it cost a hundred nicker to sort, when one's taxes should cover it right here right now.

What do I want to have happened? I want the doc to have given him a massive dose that got rid of the infection for good, straight off the bat, and I want the cost to have been covered at a tax/price level affordable to the state. Maybe I am a demanding brat.

[caffeine-fairy.livejournal.com]

Sign me up for the annoying brat camp, then. I cannot believe that a larger dose of antibiotics would have been more expensive than all the appointments and cheaper courses...

[nyarbaggytep.livejournal.com]

You can get them at the Family Planning clinics here, and sometimes that's better if you don't like your surgery much. They're never joyful experiences really though.

[smokingboot.livejournal.com]

Thank you, I think that's exactly what I will do. I had forgotten about family planning clinics.

[nyarbaggytep.livejournal.com]

Glad to be of service to your continuing good health. :)

[squeezypaws.livejournal.com]

Before Christmas my mum had a chest infection that wouldn't shift...eight weeks and four types of antibiotics later it turned into pneumonia - that is why I am anxious that you bother them again and again, it may well take a scattergum approach with the antibiotics.

In one or two days with the right antibiotics you should expect to feel at least a smidge better - if not I'd bother them again. And again.

Yes it is like pulling teeth, every interaction I have with them just winds me up.

[smokingboot.livejournal.com]

Thank you for your concern, you are always so kind! I hope your mum is OK now.

Am taking on board what you say; just as I was reading your comment I got a text from the studio telling me two team members have been diagnosed with swine flu!

I'm still pretty impressed with the NHS

[thalinoviel.livejournal.com]

Getting to see my GP is a matter of phoning between 0800 and 0803, true. But I gave birth to little T, and lost 5 pints of blood, needed surgery and transfusions and days of hospital care... And now we're both alive (not like we would have been in the third world) and don't have a mortgage-sized debt (like I would if I'd done that in the US.)

Re: I'm still pretty impressed with the NHS

[smokingboot.livejournal.com]

I am very glad you were well treated and that you and young T are still playing in the world! But I do think it's a strange thing in this country we think it's our system, third world poverty or the states...there are healthcare options across Europe that also work for their populations. I'm not saying we should adopt them. But I do think it wouldn't do any harm to analyse them.