Today was not a good day. Today I was supposed to have my prostatic arterial embolisation carried out.
It all started a little over a couple of weeks ago when I was given the appointment details and told to self-isolate for two weeks. Just at the point when the DVSA opened its doors to motorcycle testing, so I had to turn down two weeks worth of work. But never mind, I told myself, at least twenty years of misery will be over.
The plan was for my sister to pick me up from home, take me into hospital and then back to hers as I was not to be alone at home for the first night after the procedure. That plan was made prior to the Covid outbreak. Now, however this would breach my isolation. I asked then, how was I supposed to get to hospital?
“Take a taxi.”
“So how is that different to getting my sister to drive me in?”
“Ah, yes, I see. Hospital transport, then.”
Some people have questioned my approach here as what’s the difference between a taxi and hospital transport and the answer is none at all. Both carry the same minuscule risk. What I was doing was imposing their own rules back on them (or being awkward for the sake of it as some might say). You want me to isolate unnecessarily for two weeks, well, then you play by the same rules and get me to the hospital on time…
Except they couldn’t even do that.
My appointment was 08:00 and I’d booked a journey around ten days prior. Be ready some two hours beforehand, I was instructed. So I got up at 05:00 and waited.
And waited.
And waited.
By 07:30, I knew that I would be running late. I called the booking line, but they don’t open until 08:00. I called the hospital and they said to wait and call the booking line at 08:00 and in the meantime, they would let the department know I was running late.
At 08:00 I couldn’t get through to the booking line – I was in one of those queues that cut you off.
I called the hospital again and while on the phone, the minibus arrived.
Why were they late? Vehicle allocation, personnel allocation…. I lost count of the possible reasons, only that they were running very late, which I knew and they were unable to call forward for some reason.
Still, at least I was on my way.
Upon arrival, I was checked in and my blood pressure was through the roof. Well, yes, I was tired, hungry (not allowed to eat), cold and stressed.
They put a cannula in, did the paperwork and left me to wait.
And wait…
And wait…
And… “Sorry, you’ve been cancelled. An emergency, lack of staff… Very sorry, we’ll try to get you back in as soon as possible.”
When I mentioned that I had isolated for two weeks for this and turned down work to be able to do so, there was mild surprise. Probably because the guidelines have changed and it’s no longer necessary.
So, here I am, two Covid swabs later, planning to return to the breach on Wednesday.
They got me a taxi home. As it turns out, the taxi has a screen that separates the driver from the rear of the car and according to a sign it is sanitised regularly, so not really any difference to the hospital minibus.
NHS? Envy of the world? Sure the individuals I met were fine. Much of the problem rests with the system and its inefficient use of funding, overweening bureaucracy and perverse incentives. They had two jobs to do today and didn’t mange either (although I’m sure the emergency admission is happy with the outcome). If I was a customer in the traditional sense, I’d be taking my money elsewhere. But I can’t, and that’s the problem with the wonderful NHS.
As one of my bike acquaintances who is also in nursing is wont to say, the incompetence of policy makers is astonishing. I really can’t argue with her.
Another friend – who is also a nurse – suggested that Death had probably messed up someone’s day and was quietly having a fag and a drink somewhere laughing at my predicament, which makes me think that this is almost worthy of entry into an Underdog Anthology…
Had a similar experience some years ago when I needed a minor op and they kept cancelling it because machinery said that I’d had a heart attack. Turned out that the machine wasn’t working properly! I was self-employed and was messing my potential customers around and my blood pressure was through the roof. Then they didn’t want to operate because I was a smoker. We had a conversation and the op went ahead.
All very stressful.
Hope your evening is relaxing. Think I’d be getting the taxi next time.
Sorry to hear about this Longrider. My £250 spent on a consultation with a private specialist last month was the best money I’ve spent this year. He took ten minutes to diagnose what four months of interaction with the NHS had not. The subsequent month has proved him to be absolutely correct.
Sorry to hear this. But not in the least surprised. My mother had a dermatology consultation booked for 21st September when we last visited just before Covid.
Yesterday got a letter cancelling it ‘because of Covid’ (which they seem to expect to still be around then despite all Boris’s ‘get back to work it’s over now, plebs’ messages). No new appointment, just ‘we’ll let you know’.
I’d be better off taking her to my vet.
Vets have to diagnose problems without the luxury of being able to converse with the patient, so they are probably better qualified that your typical doctor or consultant…
“I’d be better off taking her to my vet.”
A point that I have made repeatedly whenever discussion of the wonderful NHS comes up. In my neck of the woods the healthcare system is nowhere near as badly run as the one you are describing here. The fact still remains that our cats get better service than we do.
Whenever this matter is discussed, there are always plenty of people joining in with horror stories of their own. I suspect that there are enough to compile into a book. The title could be “Envy of the World”. It could end up an Amazon best seller.
The thing that strikes me about your story is that, apart from the massive inconvenience to yourself, this whole process cost the NHS a lot of money while achieving nothing. The amount of money wasted overall must be colossal.
Well, quite. The of repeated refrain that it is underfunded is a lie. Under resourced, maybe, but not underfunded. If the money wasted on bureaucracy and parasites such as PHE was spent on healthcare, they would have the resources to manage both routine and emergency care.
No point expecting socialists to achieve anything, including medical. Keeps Doctors well paid though.