#my grandads got a hospital appointment at 3 tomorrow

[timoswerner]

[damelucyjo]

The NHS really confuses me at times.

My grandad went to see his GP, his blood oxygen levels were very low so they call for an ambulance and within 3 minutes he’s on his way to our closest hospital (which is still too bloody far away but that’s a whole other headache). This is a man who has COPD and in remission for 2 different cancers. He spends a couple of hours at the hospital on oxygen and is discharged.

My 5 year old nephew is sick and is showing many signs of meningitis. My sister-in-law calls our urgent care, gets told that he won’t been seen by anybody, theres no ambulances around to have someone come out and see him, so theres nothing that can really be done for him...then puts the phone down. She calls our closest hospital and manages to get him an appointent to see a doctor there at midnight last night, and is told that because of what she’d told them of his condition that he’d best come in to be seen. They get there last night and even though they have an appointment with a doctor there was still going to be a 2 hour wait for them! Because they didn’t want to spend all night in hospital with him whilst my mum was at their house looking after their other son they came home, phoned their doctor surgery this morning to make an appointment and was told that ‘maybe we can get you one for later today’... She’s still waiting to hear.

Meanwhile I had an appointment in thorasic medicine at what’s left of out local hospital last week, had scary high blood pressure readings and almost ended up in urgent care (thankfully didn’t) and was told to make an appointment at my doctors surgery to have it checked again in a couple of days. Cut to a week later (because I’ve been sick) I finally got my arse out of the house to go to my doctors and make an appointment (lunchtime). Managed to get an appointment for later on that day (6pm) with the nurse, she didn’t like the readings she was getting so made me an appointment to see my GP the next morning (11 am today). Saw my GP this morning, still not getting great readings so she’s asked me to get bloods taken, have another ECG done, and have a 24hr blood pressure monitor attached. I managed to get an appointment for my bloods tomorrow morning, my ECG is being done in a couple of days, and I’m waiting to hear from the person who deals with the 24hr blood pressure monitor when they’re next at my surgery.

All of us belong to the same doctors surgery but all have completely different experiences with them. We all go to the same urgent care and closest hospital and have different experiences. It just really confuses me. But I’m more shocked than anything that nobidy seems to care that my nephew could have meningitis!!!