I worked in customer service on and off for 15 years
while I was a scummy student and as such have a loathing for customers now, but I treat them as I would like to be treated myself; with respect. If I can't answer their question right away then I refer them to someone who can or make a note of it and get back to them. It's common courtesy, simple. I now work in the veterinary industry which is essentially the same thing as private health care and you have the stresses that go along with it. Part of my job is to speak with owners and make sure they're being kept in the picture with regards to their pet's treatment. Ie, making sure that the right vet has called them and spoken to them and they understand their options. It can be stressful when things go wrong, but quickly rectified through good communication from all parties and the right message getting through.

Having worked with highly trained, highly educated medical professionals for a while now, I cannot understand the NHS and it's treatment of people. My father has been in hospital since Mid august for lung cancer, which was first suspected to be pneumonia until they did an x-ray which showed the ominous shadow on his lung. Fair enough, he was a smoker for 35 years, then quit for 22 years and has had a stroke, a heart attack and two types of cancer in those 22 years.

What gets me is that he was in hospital for a full week and a half before they mentioned the big C. Understandably they don't want to get sued for saying "Oh we think you have this"..."Oh wait, we were wrong, you don't", but he and my mother have literally been kept in the dark the whole time as they do ECG's, MRI's, X-rays etc...and then told nothing of results.

He was sent home on Thursday evening and told by the cardiologist to get as much exercise as possible as he'd been lying on a hospital bed for so long that exercise would do him good. This guy also thought doubling his heart medication the day before he left as well would be a smart plan. To come back for appointments with the oncologist (cancer specialist) and a bunch of other specialists on Monday. So he goes home and Friday morning has his second stroke. Great. So he's back to A&E on the recommendation of his ward nurse, stays in overnight and then is transferred to another nearby hospital for geriatrics for rehabilitation as his legs aren't working now. This is without warning to him or any family members and done solely at the discretion of the two hospitals.

So understandably, when we rock up to the second hospital, we're wondering why he's been transferred to somewhere with no machines, no doctors and only one nurse. Oh right, because he needs rehabilitation...only it's the weekend and rehab is only monday to friday, so he can instead lie in his bed or sit in his chair as he can barely fucking move now.

As I stated before, I work with animals and their owners as I'm currently training to be a veterinary nurse. If I spoke to a client the way this nurse spoke to us, I'd be looking for a new job by the end of the day. "Oh you've not had a stroke, don't be silly...I can call a doctor out if you like, but they're really expensive...oh no that that matters, but...". THAT is not a fucking smart thing to say to someone who's father has had previous personal experience of EXACTLY what it is like to have a stroke AND a heart attack and is insistent that this is what is happening right now. Oh and the knob end porter who's reluctant to call the one and only nurse..."Ooh look you've got a tv in here...Mmm...yes I could let you look at the notes, only the nurse has them right now...do you know how to use the tv remote, let me show you...Mmm....yes I suppose I could call the nurse...did you know it's even got freeview channels on the tv?"

We tried politeness, we tried firmness and none of these worked, so instead I resorted to being a bit rude and called her out on the fact that my father at the age of 72 still works, therefore still pays tax. He is therefore paying for his NHS treatment and as such I'd appreciate it if she's call the doctor as HE is the person able to make a sufficient diagnosis of a stroke, locum or not. Oh and if he could explain exactly why he'd been transferred to a different hospital with no means of checking for suspected brain bleeds, then that'd be pretty fabby too.

I left at this point, but can happily report that the locum doctor did turn up and was fantastic...listened to my father and agrees that he's most likely had another stroke. I'm angry as all we'd wanted all along was for a doctor worth their mettle to sit down and explain things to my parents as lung cancer, possible thyroid problems and a stroke is a lot to take in over a few weeks. Instead they were ignored until I opened my gob and got shouty.

Apologies for lack of funny.
( fuck shit up the best you never had, Sun 7 Sep 2008, 18:31, 11 replies)

*hugs*
Shit, that's awful becks.
Good on you for at least getting some kind of result out of them.
( Boss Keloid Got your mother's maiden name tattooed on my arm, Sun 7 Sep 2008, 18:47, closed)

*hugs*
Becky, that's really horrible. Fingers crossed for your dad.

*hugs again*
(TheWeeWitch hasn't been here much recently .., Sun 7 Sep 2008, 18:53, closed)

Yep, animals receive superior care for sure.
Thank Christ your bullshit detector is in good working order and you insisted a doctor was needed. So many people would lack the knowledge and confidence to do as you did.

Good vibes to your Dad, and hugs to you petal.
( Tourette's ( . )( . ) has a monkey hair in her fried egg, Sun 7 Sep 2008, 19:02, closed)

thats really crap
*gives a wee special cuddle*

at least he has you to filter through the utter shite they ply you with

i'm sure he's very proud of you
( spimf ™ is whoever you want him to be, Sun 7 Sep 2008, 19:33, closed)

oh, that's terrible
similar thing happened to me a few months ago. got rushed in with a suspected collapsed lung. despite the fact that i couldn't breathe, i was left for 4 hours whilst the attention-seeking alkies got seen to. i was x-rayed, wheeled to as ward and left there. nobody told me anything, not even to get into bed. i didn't even see a doctor. after panicking all night, a nurse came in about 11 the following morning and said "oh, you can go home now, you've got a chest infection."
hope your dad gets better x
( Smash Monkey lowering the tone of the whole internet, Sun 7 Sep 2008, 19:36, closed)

fuck me
thats rubbish treatment.

I have, and a couple of friends do work in hospitals, and they are all either run really well or are a complete shambles with nothing in-between.

Well your birthday beer just turned into a birthday gallon
(Halfy By light alone, Sun 7 Sep 2008, 19:59, closed)

*Hugs*
I've experienced similar with my mum and mother in law (both now deceased). My mother in law's case was especially shite, since she'd twice been diagnosed with breast cancer, and when a pain in her chest subsequently flared up the doctor's insisted it was a muscle strain, nothing more. Six months of to-ing and fro-ing ensued, whereupon they decided to do tests.

The breast cancer had returned with a vengeance, only by this point had spread to her bones (an X-ray revealed that half of one of her ribs had been eaten away, hence the chest pains). She died about 15 months later.

NHS - marvellous idea, but increasingly populated by uncaring bastards (not everyone I hasten to add) unwilling to accept that a patient might actually have a genuine cause for concern.
( Davros' Granddad a voice of calm reason in a world of spastics., Sun 7 Sep 2008, 20:24, closed)

sorry to hear about your dad
Mine just got diagnosed with the lung cancer in May, so it's all a bit shit. Hope yours gets quickly booked in for treatment like mine did.
(stapleface, Sun 7 Sep 2008, 20:57, closed)

*Hugs* for you and your dad
I hope he gets better treatment in the future.
( flirting with badgers What? It sounded good at the time., Sun 7 Sep 2008, 21:19, closed)

Thanks everyone
I know that all NHS hospitals are different and they're not all populated by cunts and I REALLY hate being the shouty awkward customer, but in this case it turned out to be the winning ploy as reasoning, asking questions and generally playing it their way was doing fuck all.

Just waiting for a call to see how his appointments went today now.

Thanks for all your good wishes, they're muchly appreciated. x
( fuck shit up the best you never had, Mon 8 Sep 2008, 19:41, closed)

Christ!
Some people are just utterly fucking rubbish! I think we should all make a stand by being decent people who genuinely give a flying duck. Good on you for speaking your brains though.

* Sends some of my good vibes your way and your dad's way *
( mistaspakkaman and the inedible shifting caterpillars, Wed 10 Sep 2008, 23:12, closed)