BMA warning as new doctors start

[Bar Wench]

Well, no reports of of any deaths, problems or complaints. Shame, now we'll all have to find another way of knocking the NHS.

Such as four months to see a gynie specialist? 

Is that all? In Wales the waiting list is 10 months.

You and Wenchy are both wrong ? surely nobody has to wait on the NHS these days? Waiting lists are the shortest since 1837, etc.  

I wasn't waiting as such. I had an appointment it just wasn't for months.

[Uncle Mort]

If it's non-urgent is there a problem with having to wait a while?

In all my dealings with the NHS (and there have been many  ) only once have I felt the the need to formally complain and that was at the request of my consultant in order to back up his own argument for more bed allocation in the hospital.

[Bar Wench]

Depends what you call urgent really. Whilst I wasn't a life or death case four months was a little too long. It put back treatment plans etc as I couldn't be "offically diagnosed" without the specialist.

[Snoopy]

I got a letter last week from an ENT consultant telling me that my GP had referred me and that he would write again to offer me an appointment  ~~~ in about eight months time. Thus the appointment time (ie the time between the offer of an appointment and the appointment date) would, for statistical purposes meet all Government criteria.

[Barman]

My daughter had to go privately recently as she was in too much pain to wait for the appointment with the consultant to come through? 

[Snoopy]

My daughter had to go privately recently as she was in too much pain to wait for the appointment with the consultant to come through? 

Mrs Snoopy did that with a back problem three years ago. Saw the same man who had the elongated waiting list within two days.................. he referred her for treatment to his "Nurse Led Back Clinic"
That clinic is NHS and has a four month waiting list. For this private consultation and referral he sent a bill for ?200 which was not paid. He said he would sue ~ I said see you in court. All went quiet.

[Barman]

My daughter had to go privately recently as she was in too much pain to wait for the appointment with the consultant to come through? 

Mrs Snoopy did that with a back problem three years ago. Saw the same man who had the elongated waiting list within two days.................. he referred her for treatment to his "Nurse Led Back Clinic"
That clinic is NHS and has a four month waiting list. For this private consultation and referral he sent a bill for ?200 which was not paid. He said he would sue ~ I said see you in court. All went quiet.

I think the whole system needs an overhaul? It is completely outrageous that you can see the same guy privately within a week that you have to wait months to see on the NHS.

Consultants that are paid for and trained by the NHS should be providing the NHS with their services (at least for a pre-agreed number of years). Consultants that pay for their own training should be able to work privately.

[EDIT] And you still have to be referred to a consultant privat6ely by a NHS GP. So this guy pockets the money while supposedly working for the NHS and you have to take up a valuable GP?s appointment to go and see him?
 

[Grumpmeister]

A "catalogue" of problems, including cancelled operations, is emerging as around 30,000 doctors take up new jobs, a union has warned.

Consultants have been unable to plan operating lists because they have had no idea which junior doctors will be on their team or what skills they will have, the British Medical Association (BMA) said.

Source

Altogether now... "We told you so!" 

To be fair they cannot be any worse than the bunch I was "teated by" on my last stay in Hospital. Arrogant, rude and so clearly defensive.
EG
Doc (Junior) "Why have you refused to take the medication I prescribed"
Me "Because it was prescribed to me seven years ago and I was allergic to it"
Doc: "There have been many advances in the last seven years"
Me "Does that make me less allergic to the medication you have prescribed?"
Doc "I am the doctor and I know what I am doing"
Me "How long have you been a doctor?"
Doc"That is none of your business"
Me "I think it is ~ now piss off and find a consultant who knows what he is doing"
Doc "How dare you speak to me like that"
Me "Just do as you are told"
Doctor walks off .... Staff nurse tells me "He has only been in the job for three weeks."
Consultant appears "Why are you being rude to my staff?"
Me "Because he is trying to kill me ~ read the notes written in 1999 by the Cardiology Consultant at XXX Hospital and see what happened last time that drug was administered"
Consultant reads back through notes "Oh!"
Me "Is there any chance you could explain to the trainee that most patients are (a) not stupid  (b) do know what has had a bad effect on them before" and (c) that he should listen to what patients are saying to him and take notice ~ that way he might learn something?"
Consultant "I expect he didn't like your attitude"
Me "And that is an excuse to administer a drug that could have killed me?"
Consultant "I assume you will be making a formal complaint?"
Me "You can bet your sweet f*cking life on it"


PS It is worthy of note that it takes two years more training to become a vet than it does to qualify as a doctor. Now what does that tell you?

Snoopy, one thing to remember in hospitals. Its fine to rip in to the Doctors but whatever happens dont start on the nurses, I remember enough from my student days to know that would be a really bad idea. Plus they normally have a better idea of whats going on than most doctors under consultant level.

[Snoopy]

Oh Indeed ~ Nurses = Angels of Mercy

Except that is the miserable b@st@rds who put food in front of helpless old people and twenty minutes later whip it away again with a merry "Not hungry today?" and never bother to see if the poor sod can actually manage to feed themselves. I've seen it happen and reported it, after feeding the old boy myself ~ Oh and I mustn't forget the night staff who gather at the nursing station and talk all night long about boyfriends, husbands, dogs, holidays, hair colours, nail polish etc at the top of their voices and then get shitty when someone (no it wasn't me this time) asks them to keep the noise down at 2am. And then there is the one who said ~ I kid you not ~ "I have a degree in Nursing, ward cleaners are the people who should clean up vomit". I could go on but I do accept that there are good and bad in every hospital ~ I did draw the line at the Staff Nurse who smuggled her new puppy into the cardiac ward on three night shifts because her "partner" was at work too and there was no-one at home to keep puppy company! In her defence she claimed she hoped it would cheer up the patients!!!

[Grumpmeister]

To be honest there is a degree of logic with the puppy argument except its stroking cats that reduces stress levels and the hygeine issue would more then counterbalance any benefits.

As far as attitudes are concerned part of it is down to when they were trained but having worked nights on wards before. Most famously/worryingly (take your pick) was straight from a full day at college to a night shift and then straight from the night shift to my nursing interview having only found out about it just before I left to start my shift. Fell asleep in the interview and they still took me on 

[Snoopy]

It is mainly the younger element that are at fault ~ everything seems to be beneath their own opinion of themselves and their worth.

[Grumpmeister]

It is mainly the younger element that are at fault ~ everything seems to be beneath their own opinion of themselves and their worth.

Unfortunatley as Nurse training is now a degree it does tend to breed that opinion in the less mature graduates. Never saw any of that when it was Project 2000. Hands on was just that, even when it came to prenatal examinations of my boss's girlfriend when I was out with the community midwives to keep me out of sight of Connie Fozzard. 

[Barman]

One of the problems with nurses today is that they all appear to be provided by agencies and there is no consistency?

In the ?good old days? you would have the same nurses day after day and you could get to know them (and they you).

Now, the nurses could be anywhere on their next shift so there is no consistency of care or real requirement for them to provide a reasonable level of performance.

[Darwins Selection]

This thread is most informative.

I had no idea that people could still get treatment on the NHS.

[Bar Wench]

I know I knock it but in actual fact once I've actually got there I've had pretty decent treatment off them.