Is this normal?

[Hammer67]

Right, 11pm Wed my 15yo daughter is doubled up with pain in the lower right side of her stomach area. Fearing appendicitis Mrs H67 takes her to nearest hospital arriving at midnight and inserts £1.70 to prevent the car being clamped in the hospital car park.
They enter the hospital to find a waiting area heaving with people and complete with a stinking filthy tramp, using the facility as a flophouse, being plied with tea and blankets.
Three hours in and another £1.70 to the meter in the car park. 3.45am my daughter gets medical attention and is placed on a drip in a childrens ward. Mrs H67 stays with her. BTW I`m unable to attend as I`m caring for our autistic 13yo old son.
Next morning no less than 4 doctors examine my daughter and come up with 4 different diagnosis: appendicitis, urinary/kidney infection, kidney stones or bowel problems. X-rays, blood and urine tests are inconclusive. This takes us to Thursday 2 pm when I manage to get to the hospital and put £1.70 in the meter for my car, by now Mrs H67 has lost count of how many trips she`s made to the meter.
MRI scan booked for Thurs 3pm. 2.30pm doctor turns up with the news that the scanning dept is having a training seminar, which the doctors weren`t told about, and the scan can`t happen until 11.15 am Friday morning. All this time my daughter has been nil by mouth. Daughter refuses point blank to stay in overnight again so is allowed home.
Back in for 9 am Friday as requested to prepare for scan and to pour several more £1.70s into the meter. Scan completed on time by 11.30am. Doctor arrives 5 and a half hours later at 5.10pm with scan results and diagnosis of urinary/kidney infection and discharges with course of antibiotics.

Is this sort of nonsense commonplace in todays NHS? if so just WTF has Labour been doing for 12 years? and as for the car park charges ~ must be a stealth tax on the sick.

Whilst all this was going on I had a customer who went ballastic at me because we took 10 minutes longer than planned fitting his tyres.

[996 sps]

Mate I feel for you on this, what ever you do write a letter to the hospital stating all the above with the errors otherwise it ll never be registered.

[Bill]

What errors? Given that bloods etc were inconclusive it was apparently hard to diagnose what was going on. The only issue was the lack of MRI, but as they'd (presumably) concluded that the condition wasnt life threatening there wasn't a huge issue with the delay.

I appreciate you were understandably worried, but what you've described doesn't seem that unreasonable.

[spikeyhead]

About the only good thing about Luton & Dunstable hospital is that the car park is £3, no matter how long you stay there.

[sherman]

Just be grateful she didn't have appendicitis as from that length of weight the appendix would of burst and she would of had peritonitis.

When I got my appendix out I was seen in A&E at 3pm, diagnosed by 5pm, operated on at 1am and let home at 11am a day later. Also the parking at hospitals in Scotland is free.

[4nonymous]

Oh great, we now have tyre fitters who think they can do a better job than the doctors in this country

Im so confused at the original post, wtf do you expect them to do exactly..? ( edit I really am actually baffled by the original post )

Car parking charges are ridiculous imho.

I would be annoyed if someone told me a finishing time and then went over it.

[996 sps]

If the doctor told me my daughter was having a scan at 3pm on the Thu and then at 2:30 they say oh sorry we re having a training seminar which we was not aware of i d be rather miffed to say the least, especially as his daughters been nil by mouth waiting.

[Hammer67]

4nonymous said:

Oh great, we now have tyre fitters who think they can do a better job than the doctors in this country

Im so confused at the original post, wtf do you expect them to do exactly..? ( edit I really am actually baffled by the original post )

Car parking charges are ridiculous imho.

I would be annoyed if someone told me a finishing time and then went over it.

Confused by what exactly? I`ll tell you wtf I expect from the NHS.

1. I don`t want tramps using my local hospital as a dosshouse.
2. I don`t expect to wait for over 3 hours to be seen.
3. I expect departments to communicate with each other.
4. I don`t expect 4 different diagnosis from 4 doctors.
5. I don`t expect to wait over 5 hours from the scan to being seen by a doctor.
6. I don`t expect to be ripped off by a car park charge.

My point about the tyre job was to compare what is accepted between private and public services. I get it in the neck for a 10 minute delay whereas it appears to be acceptable for the NHS to make people wait hours and hours whilst paying for the use of the car park.

[4nonymous]

Hammer67 said:

4nonymous said:

Oh great, we now have tyre fitters who think they can do a better job than the doctors in this country

Im so confused at the original post, wtf do you expect them to do exactly..? ( edit I really am actually baffled by the original post )

Car parking charges are ridiculous imho.

I would be annoyed if someone told me a finishing time and then went over it.

Confused by what exactly? I`ll tell you wtf I expect from the NHS.

1. I don`t want tramps using my local hospital as a dosshouse.
2. I don`t expect to wait for over 3 hours to be seen.
3. I expect departments to communicate with each other.
4. I don`t expect 4 different diagnosis from 4 doctors.
5. I don`t expect to wait over 5 hours from the scan to being seen by a doctor.
6. I don`t expect to be ripped off by a car park charge.

My point about the tyre job was to compare what is accepted between private and public services. I get it in the neck for a 10 minute delay whereas it appears to be acceptable for the NHS to make people wait hours and hours whilst paying for the use of the car park.

1. OK
2. Tough, you're not the only one there.
3. Fair enough but we don't have the full story.
4. Oh come on, dont be so fking stupid with No.4. Seriously, you must be trolling. It's like having a coolant leak or something and asking 4 different mechanics what the problem is. They can go, expansion tank, thermostat, water pump, and radiator. Jeeeesh why don't we have the op working in the hospital, he can clearly diagnose patients than these doctors
5. Again patients are priortised on their condition. Sadly your daughters wasn't serious enough.

No it has nothing to do with the sectors. Tyre fitters do the same thing all day every regardless of the car or alloy. Its a standard procedure that can be given an easy time estimation etc. Diagnosing patients and fixing em is something completly the fking opposite!

I seriously can't believe I am even reading half this stuff !

[Hammer67]

4nonymous said:

Hammer67 said:

4nonymous said:

Oh great, we now have tyre fitters who think they can do a better job than the doctors in this country

Im so confused at the original post, wtf do you expect them to do exactly..? ( edit I really am actually baffled by the original post )

Car parking charges are ridiculous imho.

I would be annoyed if someone told me a finishing time and then went over it.

Confused by what exactly? I`ll tell you wtf I expect from the NHS.

1. I don`t want tramps using my local hospital as a dosshouse.
2. I don`t expect to wait for over 3 hours to be seen.
3. I expect departments to communicate with each other.
4. I don`t expect 4 different diagnosis from 4 doctors.
5. I don`t expect to wait over 5 hours from the scan to being seen by a doctor.
6. I don`t expect to be ripped off by a car park charge.

My point about the tyre job was to compare what is accepted between private and public services. I get it in the neck for a 10 minute delay whereas it appears to be acceptable for the NHS to make people wait hours and hours whilst paying for the use of the car park.

1. OK
2. Tough, you're not the only one there.
3. Fair enough but we don't have the full story.
4. Oh come on, dont be so fking stupid with No.4. Seriously, you must be trolling. It's like having a coolant leak or something and asking 4 different mechanics what the problem is. They can go, expansion tank, thermostat, water pump, and radiator. Jeeeesh why don't we have the op working in the hospital, he can clearly diagnose patients than these doctors
5. Again patients are priortised on their condition. Sadly your daughters wasn't serious enough.

No it has nothing to do with the sectors. Tyre fitters do the same thing all day every regardless of the car or alloy. Its a standard procedure that can be given an easy time estimation etc. Diagnosing patients and fixing em is something completly the fking opposite!
I seriously can't believe I am even reading half this stuff !

OK clearly we are not going to agree on this. I do appreciate your points about prioritising patients and accurate diagnosis can be difficult. Not once during the 2 days we spent at the hospital did my daughter,myself or Mrs H67 make any complaint or demand of anybody. We were repeatedly told something would happen around a certain time and on virtually every occasion it didn`t.

My question at the start of this was to ask if my experience of the NHS, after 12 years of Labour pouring billions of £s into it, was representative or whether I have an unrealistic view of what is reasonable.

Happily my daughter is on the mend.

[Fort Jefferson]

Hammer67 said:

and inserts £1.70 to prevent the car being clamped.......... and another £1.70 to the meter in the car park..... and put £1.70 in the meter for my car, and to pour several more £1.70s into the meter.

When I had a massive heart attack and nearly died 3 years ago, my 83 year old father came to see me every day I was in hospital, at £5 parking each time. He never complained once about the carparking charges. But then he wouldn't, he had more important things to worry about.

[PITA]

Few years back took my ex to A&E with excruciating pain in his foot - swollen, painful to touch, not able to walk on it etc. Sunday evening at 11.30 - seen by triage nurse within 5 minutes - great target met there then. Were told repeatedly that the doctor would be with us in half an hour. Finally got to see doctor at 6.45am.

In the meantime receptionist watched me repeatedly go back to the car to top up the ticket at a stupid cost, only to be told at 6.15am "oh you needn't have worried, the car park folks always check with A&E before ticketing a car"

On the other hand had son-in-law in intensive care in Leeds General Infirmary. 2 hour panic drive up the motorway and on arrival was immediately given a card to put on the car and a preferential parking spot. Guess different Trusts have different policies!

[4nonymous]

PITA said:

Few years back took my ex to A&E with excruciating pain in his foot - swollen, painful to touch, not able to walk on it etc. Sunday evening at 11.30 - seen by triage nurse within 5 minutes - great target met there then. Were told repeatedly that the doctor would be with us in half an hour. Finally got to see doctor at 6.45am.

In the meantime receptionist watched me repeatedly go back to the car to top up the ticket at a stupid cost, only to be told at 6.15am "oh you needn't have worried, the car park folks always check with A&E before ticketing a car"

On the other hand had son-in-law in intensive care in Leeds General Infirmary. 2 hour panic drive up the motorway and on arrival was immediately given a card to put on the car and a preferential parking spot. Guess different Trusts have different policies!

Ah I love Leeds Gen, one of the better ones up north, same as Manchester Gen ! Both very very good hospitals.

The thing is, the higher you go up the ladder the more valuable the time becomes.

[PITA]

Cannot fault LGI. He spent 3 months in there after open heart surgery and without fail all the staff were wonderful. Just a shame that his artificial valve failed 12 months later. They had moved to Suffolk in the meantime so he underwent same surgery at Papworth, again can't fault the staff but the hospital?? What a dump!!!! Cheap parking again though

[N Dentressangle]

Bill said:

What errors? Given that bloods etc were inconclusive it was apparently hard to diagnose what was going on. The only issue was the lack of MRI, but as they'd (presumably) concluded that the condition wasnt life threatening there wasn't a huge issue with the delay.

I appreciate you were understandably worried, but what you've described doesn't seem that unreasonable.

Don't be so stupid.

Any decent doctors would have performed an emergency appendicectomy there and then on a precautionary basis. Investigations and tests are for gays - you know that.

The cautious incompetent fools should have put her on dialysis and done a bowel resection too, I reckon.

And just to be sure, you'd think the callous sods would have given her a blast of chemo just in case she has cancer, like everyone else on here, apparently...

Bill, I'm disappointed in you. Waiting for test results and treating a patient conservatively and professionally is sheer stupidity. I suppose you'll know for next time.

[Bill]

[Shelsleyf2]

I am sorry to say it seems all too common. My wife complained of extreme pain and difficulty breathing ( Saturday midday). Straight to A&E. Before we could register with A&E, receptionist takes one look at wife and prononces her not A&E, and that we should go next door to Minor Unit. Now this is just fiddling waiting times imho and is being done by an none medicaly qualified person. Went next door to Minor Unit. No one seemed to be running the place no one approached us ( this in a business which is the third largest employer in the world) Finally found the booking in/reception area. Waited while wife is screaming in pain, finally after approaching every passing person I was directed to see the GP who was manning the badger unit. After 15 minute examination GP wants wife adminted immediatly " she either has a blod clot, pnuemonia, or blood poisoning and all three are extremely serious, she needs to be admited now". So the target system results in some receptionist deciding you are not an emergency...Its beyond a joke. Just to say that the ward was well staffed and I had to point out twice that the alcohol bottles for hand cleansing were empty...no wonder Cdif and MRSA kill maore than all the motorists every year. The Dutch decided Cdiff and MRSA were avoidable and have virtually eliminated both. The NHS we are told is the envy of the world every one is jelous of it, funny but no one has bothered to copy it lol.The wife had Pnuemonia and was discharged three days later after a course of anti biotics. Fiully recovered now.

[hidetheelephants]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Did she complain? I don't mean at the time, doing that would require brave pills, but putting it in writing is actually the best thing to do. For all NHS's faults, it does have a proper complaints system; if you make a legitimate complaint, it will be looked at.

[N Dentressangle]

hidetheelephants said:

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Did she complain? I don't mean at the time, doing that would require brave pills, but putting it in writing is actually the best thing to do. For all NHS's faults, it does have a proper complaints system; if you make a legitimate complaint, it will be looked at.

Exactly.

Every hospital trust has a PALS:

http://www.pals.nhs.uk/

So quit the whinging and put it in writing. Of all the people who have ever complained to me about the NHS, not one single one has has the balls to actually write and complain.

I'd go so far as to call it the NHS problems custard test: put it in writing or it didn't actually happen.

[elster]

N Dentressangle said:

Any decent doctors would have performed an emergency appendicectomy there and then on a precautionary basis. Investigations and tests are for gays - you know that.

Yeah that is what they did to me, then sent me home for my kidney abscess to go pop and nearly die.

Shame the student doctor thought he knew more than the consultant and I didn't need a scan.