Written by Frederica

 

Much has been spoken of late about the NHS in general and its shortfalls in particular.  Many have  expressed their anger at the way patients have been treated (or not, as the case has most often been).  Just recently I have had more reason than usual to make contact with the ‘No Help System’ on behalf of my sick husband.  I, like so many more, have become more and more frustrated at the barriers that have been erected around the GPs who were once our first port of call for care and advice for our ills.

Initially, we all accepted that there was a nasty virus going around. The only information we had on the nature of that virus was what we were ‘fed’ through the government sponsored media.  That media poured its heart and soul into the ‘scaremongering’ psychological warfare waged against us all.  Therefore we, ‘toed the line’ and buckled down to follow the ‘rules’.

We little realised that, many months later, those ‘rules’ would have removed our cherished freedom to live as we pleased within the law.  In fact, those ‘rules’ made it almost impossible to live in any other way than what was dictated by government for fear of being fined or arrested by the COVID Stasi. It also meant that our GPs withdrew behind an almost impenetrable barrier and our hospitals would largely be closed to anything not remotely connected to COVID.

This situation has facilitated a huge rise in ‘jobsworth-ism’.  The objective has been to keep all patients at bay with a (metaphorical) sharp stick. I have also met with ‘jobsworth-ism’ in the private sector as well. Since a lot of staff have gone into Private from the NHS or are ‘contracting’ as well as working in the NHS I suppose that is no surprise.

Over the last month I have found that getting through to the surgery is a nightmare. They operate a ‘telephone call or wait outside the surgery’ for the 08.30 start to play the lottery for the limited amount of ‘appointment’ times available for the day.  Whatever your query you must go down this route.  So with a patient list of many thousands, it is not surprising that the queue outside the door begins way before 08.30 (in all weathers!) and the phone lines are on constantly engaged mode.  

If you are ‘lucky’ enough obtain a ring tone (after many redials) there is the breathtaking wait to see if after about twenty rings you are automatically cut off.  If you breach the phone line barrier you are subjected to a tirade as to what to do if you have symptoms of COVID or other ‘conditions’. Mostly, it is to ‘hang up and dial 111 or 999’.  

Following this is the message that telephone triaging is in place and you should not be offended when asked questions by the agents ‘specially-trained-by-the doctors’ (I call them dragons!).  You are also told that they are actively following ‘Signposting’.  This means you will not necessarily be able to speak to a ‘clinician’ but may be redirected to A & E or a pharmacist or ‘other’ for your query – a good way for patients to be shunted off elsewhere and thus take the strain off the surgery.

The whole preamble lasts about 4 minutes 30 seconds. Then comes a secondary beeping tone, indicating that you are in the queue.  If the beeps speed up it is a sign that you are about to be cut off. Stress levels mount up hugely. It is not unusual to have to navigate this convoluted telephone system several times before actually making contact.

If you finally make it into the ‘dragons den’ there is a good chance that the ‘appointments’ for the day will already have been allocated and you are advised to ring again tomorrow. There is no appeal. I noticed when passing the surgery premises that the windows have a printed notice ‘we are now accepting new patients’.  The bounty paid by government for taking new patients is too good to pass up even if it means that the patients cannot get the service to which they are, rightly, entitled.

This week I made it through the ‘minefield’ (198 redials!) and obtained a call-back from the GP.  I advised him of my husband’s deteriorating condition and asked for advice.  He suggested, knowing how long my husband has been ill and the fact that I am still awaiting an operation myself, that I should now consider putting him into ‘care’ as his condition was going beyond my ‘non-clinical’ capabilities.

I have been his carer for six years. I have looked after him through his degenerative condition making changes along the way to accommodate each step.  When told of the doctor’s advice my husband was understandably upset! I made contact with a supplementary health team who have been dealing with his condition.  They have made a perfectly sensible suggestion for keeping him in his home and I am taking this up.

I have called the ambulance service twice in the last few months.  

On the first occasion, the paramedic was wonderful.  He was kindness itself and skilled.  He was an ‘escapee’ from A & E.  He took great pains to check my husband over and deftly repaired the skin wound caused by the fall.  He also arranged for the district nurse to come in to follow up.

This Thursday my husband fell again.  Two wonderful ladies arrived from the ambulance service. They were caring, supportive and very communicative.  They were with us for about 1 1/2 hours all told and did not leave until they were sure everything was well with him.  They also told me that the service would be available again at any time even for getting him back upstairs in need.

Feeling that they were kindred spirits (from the general conversation) I made my views known about the current state of affairs in the Country.  We were in agreement on every point. I consider them to be outstanding in the level of care they provided compared to the abysmal showing from GPs. They said that my views on the GP ‘service’ were not the first they had heard by any means. We agreed that the NHS was a worthy concept but fatally marred by abysmal management.  Their frustrations emanated from being told how to do their jobs by people who have never been out on the front line to see how things actually worked.

I had to contact the ambulance service again later in the day when, after making a valiant effort, my husband was unable to get up the stairs safely.  The crew that attended was kind and efficient. They reassured him and got him to his bed and safely settled. There was never at any time any suggestion that there was a need for hurry.  The patient was definitely put first. They said I may call them to come and transport him back downstairs when the hospital bed arrives and is set up.  In his current condition it will be safer for him to remain in his room for the time being.

The amount of ‘admin’ at the end of their visit was phenomenal.  I joked that they were writing ‘War and Peace’ on the tablet device they were using. I was told that every single aspect of the case and how they had dealt with it had to be accounted for.  Apparently this is because they now have to protect themselves. They could be open to censure, or even litigation, should a complaint ever be made and their actions could not be substantiated. To add to their problems, the ‘tablet’ was not suitable for the purpose.  The reporting process was laborious in the extreme.  The NHS has never commissioned an efficient IT system.  The huge amounts of money thus wasted has been well documented.

The NHS is not fit for purpose.  It is political and imperatorial.  The ambulance service may be ‘outsourced’ but it has beaten the GP and hospital responses hollow!

 

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