NHS - cannot fault it!

[HarryM1BYT]

Until quite recently, apart from minor injuries, I have not really needed the NHS at all.

A couple of months ago I suffered a full days worth of vertigo, which rather scared me and pushed me to making a GP appointment. That led to them discovering I have ridiculously high BP. Prescribed tablets, which have steadily brought it down to 150 to 130. In the process they found I had marginal diabetes, which they are working on. A couple of weeks ago the visual disturbance migraine I have suffered from, only very occasionally, appeared in a slightly different form, so I mentioned it at my last appearance with my GP so she insisted on me seeing a nuero(sp?) specialist.

I have never had the migraine diagnosed before, I was using my own reading up to diagnose it, but he confirmed my diagnosis was correct in all likelihood, but referred me for a MRI scan just to confirm it. That was last Friday, this morning I got a call to arrange my appointment for next Monday. I am very impressed with just how fast such things move so far and how well they are taking care of me.

I am now on around my 8th or 9th appointment, I don't know if this is because I have never bothered them before, or whether such high levels of attention are normal?

My only criticism, is the GP's surgery appointment system. There are few available appointments for the future, most are not released until precisely 8am, then its a race between patients - either ringing up or doing it online to claim them. 8:20 and the appointments are all gone. Cannot be good for the less able patients, having to rush around to get and attend an appointment.

The vertigo? Well they gave me some tablets to take, to help with the dizziness, they didn't help at all, but it more or less cleared up on its own gradually.

[rustymotor]

Hi, that's great you got your BP down nicely!

[stevestrat]

I thought my health was fine, other than a bit overweight, until I had a heart attack! In the hospital they discovered high cholesterol and the heart attack had triggered diabetes, which apparently it can do. According to the heart specialist a lump of cholesterol came adrift from somewhere and ended up where it could do the most harm! My GP has been wonderful, even phoning me at home to explain the "startup procedure" for a new medication I was going onto. Like Harry my only criticism is trying to get an appointment at the surgery, either phone up and say I'm going to be ill in two weeks time you'll get an appointment no problem or join the morning phone lottery to get one of the few "on the day" appointments they keep free.

As for my health now, cardiac unit doesn't want to see me again, cholesterol is fine, diabetes is being battered into submission. I'm probably healthier now than I have been for years.

[HarryM1BYT]

Originally Posted by stevestrat

. Like Harry my only criticism is trying to get an appointment at the surgery, either phone up and say I'm going to be ill in two weeks time you'll get an appointment no problem or join the morning phone lottery to get one of the few "on the day" appointments they keep free.

You can do two week appointments on line, but they are few and far between and its next to impossible to get one with the same regular doctor. I don't like swapping and changing doctors, I have settled on one and have seen her from the second appointment so want to try to stick with (besides, she is a nice looker :-)

The nurses seem to be better able to fix up the more distant appointments, with the doctor, so I ask them to do it. I have a diabetic nurse appointment on the 14th and the doctor next needs to see me the week after that, so I will ask the nurse to fix that appointment up. The doctor, during my last appointment with her, said she wanted to see me again in 4 weeks - but even she could not make me an appointment to see her

[Darcydog]

Pleased to hear overall it is all working well for you guys.

We find the telephone appts work really well. Most things can be sorted from that and tests arranged etc. - it’s worked well for us.

They had a programme on R4 today on the problems GP primary care currently have. It seems that the service is increday patchy across the country.

One group of NHS GP’s have set up a FaceTime appt system. Seemed a positive move.

[Gate Keeper]

It makes a nice change to read a good report about the NHS. At 150/130 your BP is still high, so please be careful Harry that you are not rushing around and burning the candle at both ends Hopefully your brain scan will be normal, one less worry out of the way.

[Bogbrush82]

This is what annoys me about the press. Everybody b*tches about how the NHS is bad, but nobody EVER prints stories about when it gets it right.

The NHS has saved my life more times that I can remember (They brought me back from the brink last year), and I'll always be grateful.

Is it perfect? No, of course not.

Is it as bad as the press make out? Not even close.

[HarryM1BYT]

Originally Posted by Gate Keeper

It makes a nice change to read a good report about the NHS. At 150/130 your BP is still high, so please be careful Harry that you are not rushing around and burning the candle at both ends Hopefully your brain scan will be normal, one less worry out of the way.

Thanks, I'm sure will be, but whether they might find any grey matter in there...

It wasn't 150/130 Syst/Dia - both were Syst, my usual value now is between the two values, at rest. It has gradually come down and is still on the way down. She gradually introduced three meds, I suppose to isolate any side effects to one tablet, if there were any over the weeks since. Amlodipine, then Ramipril, finally Indapamide was added to the list last week.

They are saying a bit of gentle exercise is good. I notice my BP readings do fall for a while after exercise. Not knowing anything about how BP reacted, I fully expected it to rise with exercise.

I've had two ECG's with no problems detected, but they want me to go in to have the 24 hour heart monitor thingummy gadget fitted. I'm just waiting for the appointment to go in for that.

[lady zed]

I have only had good experiences with the NHS. After my last baby was born (he'll be 4 this month), I lost so much blood my body went into shock, I was tacycardic, BP dangerously low and my internal organs were in danger of shutting down. I spent 36 hours in high dependency getting blood transfusions and being stabilised. As I was in and out of consciousness, my memories are a bit hazy but from what I remember there was someone with me, or at least no more than 6 feet away from me ALL THE TIME. Not only were they taking care of me medically, but they had to take care of my baby too as obviously I was in no fit state.

I cannot fault the care I received......I don't know (and I don't want to know) how much danger I was really in and how close I came to dying but 3 wee boys have their mum thanks to the NHS and I'll be forever grateful.

[stevestrat]

Moan all you want about the NHS but where my wife is from, the Philippines, if you are ill and don't have money you are in real trouble. If you don't have medical insurance you have to prove you can cover the cost of treatment before it commences otherwise.....