Health & the NHS

I haven't blogged for some time because I've been busy with face-to-face work, and also making changes to my website, which has a new look home page and some additional pages. You can take a sneak peek at http://www.tranzformations.co.uk/, but do come back to the blog.

I've decided wellness programmes are definitely a good idea as it's such a hassle being ill. It's not so much the illness as dealing with the NHS that causes the aggro.

Recently one of my offspring needed some diagnostic tests done (probably having outgrown any inherent vitamins with a growth spurt). Now these tests can be done on the NHS but I could also get them done at a private lab. As our GP is the primary care practitioner it seemed appropriate to take the NHS route.

Hurdle one
Getting to speak to a doctor. Our surgery used to have a very efficient system whereby if you needed to see a doctor you could phone and leave some brief details of symptoms and they would call you back at the end of surgery and determine if it was a minor matter that only needed advice or if you needed a consultation. I don't know how the doctors found this system but from a patient's viewpoint it was great. There are times when you are not sure that you are ill enough to make an appointment at the surgery but you want reassurance that you will not die, or perhaps you want a quick conversation that would re-route you to the practice nurse. The call-back system worked well for this.

Now in the new modernised NHS when I call the doctor I have to use an 0844 number. It routes through some central switchboard, and then you go to the surgery phone. You then get told you are on hold in a queue and listen to Bach for 15 minutes.

At last! A live human voice! But no, it's not the doctor, it's a receptionist. You explain that you don't know if the doctor can help you, but could you speak to her. At this point you are told that the doctor is on the other line and still has to see another patient so can you call back in half an hour. What? T o be put on hold and listen to more Bach for another 15 minutes? I don't think so. Oh, and you can only phone to speak to the doctor between 12 and 1. Now I realise the doctor has other things to do than be on the phone, I don't have problem with that. But you can see that if I call at 12, get put on hold for 15 minutes, call back half an hour later and get put on hold again that's the whole hour gone. I've wasted half an hour on the phone and got nowhere.

Anybody with high blood pressure will need serious medication after that experience.
Anyone with depression might go and do themselves serious damage, and anyone psychotic might do the surgery serious damage.

I have to say the GPs themselves are fantastic. Extremely competent, friendly and with the right blend of concern and reassurance, so I have no grouse at all with the medical service we receive. It's just getting to it that's so difficult.

As for hurdle two, that's getting the blood tests done. And that will have to wait for another blog as I'm still in recovery from the whole business of coordinating offspring and the NHS.

And I'd love to hear from any GPs out there. Are communications set up this way to generally annoy people, to keep them away from the surgery (surely not) or for a sensible reason? Is the patient load so great that the system (any system) can't cope?
And what would you do if you were able to design a new system? Polite answers only, please.

And stay healthy, all of you.

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