Saturday 30 April 2016

NHS

The UK’s National Health Service is forever being criticised in the press or on TV for something or other.  But for every mistake it makes or rogue member of staff it has there are hundreds of thousands of satisfied customers and successful operations.

Yesterday I had a cataract removed from my right eye and a new lens put into it.  It is a bit early to say how well it has gone.  Six weeks ago the left eye was done likewise (lens replacement and cataract removal) and it was most successful.  It was not just a case of the physical result but the behaviour and care and kindness of the staff; from receptionists to consultants, staff nurses to porters. 

Over the last 50 years I have had major surgery on my right knee after a road traffic accident and two minor follow up operations on the same knee.  I had another general anaesthetic for a sinus operation.  I’ve had many procedures without general anaesthetic like xrays, scans, gastroscopy, endoscopy, colonoscopy, two lots of stent implants and various neurological tests.  Back to general anaesthetics - I had my gall bladder removed, a triple by-pass and these two eye operations.  I expect there are other things I’ve forgotten…..

Add to that a lifetime of visits to my General Practitioner. 

Imagine how many NHS staff with whom I have come into contact over the years – it must be thousands. 


I can think of one staff nurse in the Pain Clinic many years ago who behaved obnoxiously and for a while our GP’s surgery had some very poor receptionists.  Those apart, the thousands of staff have been first class in every way you could wish to measure them.


11 comments:

  1. It's a pity bad news sells papers and that they are loathe to report all the good news. I am glad I've only been in to be mended after accidents and both here and abroad have nothing but admiration for 99% of the staff.

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  2. So glad you got your other eye done... when it's healed up I hope to hear you say your vision has improved!

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  3. There is good and bad in every system. All the is needed is accountability. We are moving toward a more socialized medicine which may or may not impact me much, but will help thousands who have no access.

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  4. I can't quite compete with your catalogue CJ but had it not been for the NHS I probably wouldn't have survived my teens and had it not been for a very understanding GP who believed that I had cancer despite all the tests proving negative (until a biopsy) I might well not have survive much into my 50s. I could identify a tiny number of (non-nursing) staff who have been less than helpful but overall I have nothing but incredible praise for the care, competence and staff I have come into contact since I worked on a ward 55 years ago. We are such a negative nation in some ways. Let not overlook the bad but let us celebrate the good too.

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    1. I think if you thought about it for a while you'd find your list was as long as mine - from bits of lung being removed in your teens up to your knee replacement in your second childhood (Oops, I mean recently). i'm glad your experience has been as positive.

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  5. I hope the second eye op will prove as successful as the first, and I'm glad that you've felt well taken care of.

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    1. My eye shield is already off and although vision is blurred by drops i have to put in for a month and complicated by my double vision there is no doubt it has been successful. Thanks for all your good wishes.

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  6. Just as we never hear how many planes safely bring all of their passengers to their destinations, we never hear about the thousands who do a great job, whatever that job is. It's so sad that we concentrate on the negative!

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  7. Here's hoping this op is as successful as the first. It's good to hear your health service being acknowledged, John. All too often all we hear about hospitals, etc. is the negative stuff. My niece has recently literally had her live saved by the swift attention of staff in one of our public hospitals.

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  8. It is the people who make not only the party, according to an ancient proverb, but also the service.
    As the vast majority of NHS people you have met over the years were good, decent, hard-working ones, the NHS as a whole really deserves praise, I think.
    Anyone working in care (medical or social) has my utmost respect; I would not want to do their jobs: long working hours with often inadequate pay, difficult work taking its toll emotionally and mentally.

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  9. Hope and pray that all goes well with your healing from this surgery.

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