What Did Covid Do To The Nhs?

[naomi24]

Before Covid, I walked in for a blood test with no appointment, took a numbered ticket and sat and waited my turn. Now appointments are necessary. Fair enough.... but the first appointment I can get is 3 July - almost 4 weeks away. Recently I needed a letter of referral to a private hospital consultant. First appointment to simply speak to a GP on the phone to ask for as letter - over four weeks - and all this only since Covid. Surely by now the NHS should have returned to some semblance of normality? I'm beginning to think it never will.

[youngmafbog]

It enabled the feckless and lazy.

I get my ear bent by the other half almost daily on it - she works for the NHS.

[Rosetta]

from what I can gather a lot of problems seem to stem from the GP level. Did they get too used to doing less and are not prepared to now work as many hours. Maybe the govt needs to look at their contracts.

My son works in a hospital and they had to carry on regardless both during and after covid. I must say he has a very poor opinion of GPs but this predates covid

[naomi24]

I don’t think the GPs are working as they did either, Rosetta, but they aren’t running the blood test centres. This seems to be right across the board.

[youngmafbog]

Yes its across the board. People were given the opportunity to slack and they did (apart from the few working the Covid wards) and still do.


One thing that has been noticed though is that referrals to child mental health has dropped. It's thought that as its difficult to get referred and also people learned to cope without support during covid this could be the reason.

[choux]

Tell me about it, naomi. I strongly believe that my GP surgery have taken every advantage they can throughout and after the pandemic. I can and have spent up to 57 minutes on the phone to speak to anyone. Have waited 4 days for GP to respond to an urgent written request for a prescription. Eventually told to collect it 5 hours after chasing it up. I got there on time only to be told that it had not made the short journey from his printer to the on-site pharmacy.

There are 15 drs at the surgery plus 1 or 2 trainee drs at any given time to serve 12,000 registered patients.

However they now provide a separate seating area for the pharmacy and the Practice Manager dismissed one employee having investigated a complaint I made.

I am now considering making a complaint about a consultant at my district hospital. I shall be discussing this with the GP next week. It is one thing to have serious health issues without the feeling one has to fight one's corner at every damned stage.

Well, you did ask. Good luck with yours, naomi.

[naomi24]

I think I’m losing the will to live with it all. It’s shameful, it really is. Just as well I’m not dying! Well, at least I don’t think I am! I’ll have to wait some time to find out for sure though!

[gulliver1]

Are the GPs working in their Surgery's or working from home , just answering the phone.??

[ToraToraTora]

As with all the other areas, the hysterical overreaction to COVID meant that it became the National Covid Service, nothing else got done thus there is a huge backlog for everything from in grown toenails to brain transplants. Also of course as intimated above it taught them that they mostly don't have to interact with the public and that they could go slow. Always beloved of making you wait they realised that they can make us wait even longer. (long before covid I was in casualty and there was no one there at all, I still had to wait what I can only assume is the statutory minimum of 2 hours). I am a huge advocate of the idea of an NHS but at the moment ours is severely in need of looking at. On the plus side the firms that makes those "we will not tolerate abuse .....etc" signs is doing a bomb!

[Old_Geezer]

The country's authorities were poor during the pandemic, and, until replaced, have no incentive to extract their digit now.

[jourdain2]

Naomi, 13.53. Sadly, I think that my brother-in-law is dying - and nothing much is being done by the NHS, or so it seems. :(

[fraser]

what did expect with the cold, flu oh sorry covid!! if people didn't believe the crap the goverment was coming out with we wouldn't be in the mess now with people dying.

[Giggsie]

After my knee replacement I phoned about my staples being removed. Told them the date oh no too busy nothing that day or the next ended up a week later than was supposed to be. By then some quite nippy to be removed. Also I get blood tests every 3 months which before the pandemic like Naomi I used to just walk in …. very often nobody there and just got bloods done. Now by appointment only. NE Scotland every where seems to be the same.

[237SJ]

The GPs have found a way that works better for them and not for the 'customer'. Public service - what do you expect?

[david small]

It seems to be a them and us situation. But, all NHS workers have to use the same system when ill or injured as we do, no special treatment.
Therefore they are hurting themselves by this negligence and disproportionate behaviour. What to do? Sack the lot, and start again?

[choux]

Tora, I know what you say about the abuse of staff, but I never would do that. However, I am more than capable of talking honestly to anyone and leaving them in no doubt as to what I think of their service (or lack of) and I keep a written record of my appointments, treatment, meds etc.

[choux]

naomi, as ever - things could be worse:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-12116305/Englands-busiest-GP-surgeries-REVEALED-interactive-map-does-fare.html

[William51]

The backlog caused by Covid and the lockdowns are still being felt by the NHS and compounded by the issue of there being not enough hospitals and the under staffing, i fear the service will bump along with the same old problems until someone has the guts to propose a solution.

[webbo3]

My hospital is back to normal.