Personal experiences with the NHS?

Sorry but I think that’s such a reductive way of thinking about it! Absolutely agree that be nice to staff and they’re actually not going to hate caring for you, but I think the shitty care aspect is often systemic rather than due to a single persons attitude. Like needing to save move on scans might mean an X-ray is avoided, or poor IT systems meaning that info isn’t shared well across teams and a major symptom is missed, or surgery waitlists are huge and you’re hobbling around on a ruptured ligament for 6 months, or a kidney disorder is diagnosed when you are in kidney failure and the doctor mentions that the signs have been in your regular blood work for at least 5 years but no one noted them down so now you are on dialysis awaiting a transplant and have had to have emergency chemo without fertility services so no babies for you even though you’re only in your 20s and you nearly died multiple times, or even that the doctors forgot to tell you that your kidneys has failed and just put you on dialysis and let you figure it out for yourself and then also forgot to sign you up to the kidney clinic so you weren’t getting the life saving monitoring or follow up care, or mental health care is underfunded and you have to be literally bleeding on to A&E floor to get any support. All examples just from my personal experience and those closest to me...

My mom is a nurse so you can bet that I am absolutely so polite to them (I’d get a right slap if I was anything but an angel!) but sometimes the issues go beyond what one member of staff can impact.

/r/AskUK Thread Parent