Formerly the envy of the World or not

Apparently, the good old NHS has been the 'envy of the World'.

But, our dear old NHS is rapidly becoming not fit for purpose. More often than not the GPs at the heart of the service are part-timers. Actually obtaining a GP appt is not quite as rare a hen's teeth, but it appears that way.

I had the same GP for several years. Then he began phoning in ill, and it occurred when I was supposed to see him. This led to being fobbed-off with a-n-others including the latest Practice Nurse and a student doing his practical in the community.

With one problem I ended up contacting the local CQC (Care Quality Commission). After 10 months I finally got a hospital appt. Better still I was referred for pre-op assessment.

Over the last month, I've become aware of back pain, more precisely in the area of my right kidney. Cue - Worry... Then I tried to get a GP appt. only to be told there were none available until next month. Also, on a Wednesday only one GP is in attendance and surgery closes at mid-day. Even more startling was being informed that they do not provide emergency appts!

Hence, I made my way to the local Drop-in centre. As its name suggests, no appts, you just turn up. How long you are there is like answering the question, 'How long is a piece of string'?

Reassuringly you are guaranteed to be triaged and seen by nurses. As I learnt to my cost from one nurse 'am a complex' person i.e. having a long case history due to getting older.

Then I found out that the prescribing nurse was off ill. However, I did receive a thorough examination.  Two litres of water imbibed later, I went home.

The next couple of days were too hot and humid to venture out. I went back to the Drop-in centre yesterday complete with urine sample. Back thro' triage with a different nurse since it was a different team. Back to another interview and obs etc. The hot, humid weather and stress accounting for raised pulse / heart rate. What had been commented on as 'low' at the pre-op assessment had morphed into 'worrying' high reading. Then the nurse too the water sample for testing. Good news! Everything she tested came back as Negative. Suddenly it was worth all the waiting to know that.

Negative results are Good! No signs of any infection. Hence the back pain is not a result of infection! Hooray!

Continuing conversation with nurse led to her recommending that I make a formal complaint to the Practice Manager. Too many people are being fobbed off by Health Centres / GP Surgeries and attending Walk-in Centres.