Home Visits from a GP

[Drisgirl]

I look after a very independant sprightly elderly lady on a Friday morning.Just clean and do the heavy stuff -take gher shopping.

She is fabulous.

She has been very unwell for 3wks with cystitis -she has now been on 3 different types of Anti's.I went across this morning and was shocked by her appearance.(wasnt ther last Fri as i was away and avoided going across as I have had a bad virus)

She is tiny but has lots so much weight -she could barely walk -she was crying out in pain.

I phoned her GP -he phoned back and said for as long as she could walk he wouldnt come out to see her !!

I couldnt respond as I would have liked as she was there -so we had to virtually carry her out to the car at 5pm so he would deign to give her the privilege of his presence.

She is 84 today and I doubt if she has been at the Docs more than half a dozen times in her life -she is a trouper.

I am so angry and upset that elderly people are treated in such an offhand manner -yet manic drunks and junkies have all the emergency services there at the drop of a hat -and believe me it does happen- as there is a danger of 'harming' themselves.

What do you have to do to get a home visit those days from our 'overworked' GP's -they dont even have to do the night shift now.Bleeding annoyed -anyone else????

[smudge]

*maxillo-facial

Thought I'd better correct myself Bathsheba, otherwise I'll have MrXLA telling me off! -xx-

[Bathsheba]

Yeah smudge- i wear one as well- but the dentist got it made for me. Called a "splint" for some reason :-)
Sorry Dris, for the hijack :-) xxxx

[sqad617]

Well done MrXLA. I agree with every word that you have have said. You must learn quickly that the average person who has paid his "Taxes" doesn.t care a sh.t about the service, as long as there is one.

[sqad617]

There is a thread under Body and Soul called "What could this be" check it out, you will find it quite interesting.

[Drisgirl]

WOW MrXLA -well i'll keep this succint -as I am absolutely shattered doing the NHS's work for the past 3days -my lovely lady was admitted as an emergency this afternoon -by the same GP who wouldnt visit on Friday.The severe infection she has had has infected her blood-therefore most of the rest of her body -the GPs words not mine with the result her ummune system has shut down completely.

I wasnt for your judgemental information expecting a GP to just home visit at the drop of a hat but had she been admitted on Friday she wouldnt be so seriously ill now.I just hope at the ripe age of 86 she can pull through.

Want to get off your soapbox now hmm??

[Bathsheba]

Sorry to hear she's badly, Dris. At least she's in the best place now xx

[Drisgirl]

Thanks Bath -its a worry though and very mentally draining doing a 'job' your arent trained for x

Thing is -GPs choose this career path -thats why I dont get the bleating about long hours -I daresay no-one twisted their arms up their backs.The majority would have known at the end of the day their hard work would pay off.

.

[MrXLA]

As your on your soapbox that hardly seems equitable does it unless you feel that I don't deserve an oppinion.
But my posts were never a personal attack on your post merely replies to it (apologies if that was not clear).
Your post highlighted one of the many problems in the NHS, others merely blamed the dedicated people working hard in the service for them and that is what annoyed me.

[bednobs]

problem with her not being admitted on friday is this: you are looking at it with hindsight. Equally, the antibiotics may have worked for her and she could have stayed at hme. Theres a lot of work going on at the moment about preventing unecassary admissions because it is a fact that if people can stay at home the do better.

[Drisgirl]

bedknobs -honestly I am not looking at with hindsight -I would be the first to admit it if that were the case.She was very ill on Friday and her condotion had deriorated since she first contracted the infection 3wks ago.She was on her 3rd set of antibiotics so quite obviously even to a layman she required more specialised care.
We absolutely tried our hardest to keep her at home -I spent hours everyday completely sanitising her home from top to bottom but despite our best efforts she just couldnt fight it.She quite simply needs to have her antibiotics intraveinously.

Thanks everyone for contributing to this thread -everyone has an opinion and I do appreciate it.

I'll keep you posted on her progress (fingers crossed).

[MrXLA]

One problem is:
- Medicine should be preventitive
(however it simply isn't possible for it to run that way in the UK, at least not 100% of the time)

But when do your visit your GP?
Answer: when you have symptoms/a problem

I do understand the consequences of under staffing, lack of resources etc... in the NHS and have been equally distressed an annoyed by it.

The only major difference is that I understand why its the way it is and appreciate that whilst it may be possible to improve things in its current form it will NEVER be perfect.

Even if money wasn't an issue there simply isn't the manpower available to run a 100% efficient, preventive service.

However I will give you an example of truly exceptional care:
- a patient was suffering from chest pain for approximately 40 minutes before ringing for an ambulance (he was having a 'heart attack'/MI)
- within 20 minutes he was in hospital and thrombolysed, whilst in the ED he had a second MI he was then transferred to a tertiary/'specialist' hospital department by ambulance (a bed was available)
- he had two stents placed in one of his major vessels (it had completely occluded)
- as a result he is alive
- after being informed he could be discharged it was more than 48 hours before he was given is take home script and discharged home
- some people may have been upset about waiting around for that length of time after a traumatic experience (which clearly is not ideal)

- However this man is aware that if the team had not acted as efficienctly and as professionally as they did, he would almost certainly be dead
(He appreciates the limited resources and understands that while he was waiting to be discharged other people in immediate need of urgent medical attention were being cared for).

[MrXLA]

NB - Drisgirl I genuinely hope that the lady you care for recieves the care she requires and is able to make a full recovery

[bednobs]

me too!
i just want to finally point out that no-one goes to work to do a bad job, and even doctors can get things wrong

[Bathsheba]

So was i right, Mr XLA? Are you a max fax guy? (heartwarming tale, by the way) x

[MrXLA]

I think I've mentioned on here before that the views and oppinions I express are not necessarily from one individual or even one 'group' of healthcare professionals.

[Drisgirl]

Quick update for all the people who were kind enough to pass on their good wishes.

She was diagnosed with kidney stones today -so little wonder she was in such agony and the 3 sets of antibiotics didnt work.

Anyway -no point in point scoring here -the crucial thing is that they now know whats wrong and she gets operated on in 2 days once she is strong enough.

Looks like she will be in hospital for a long time but at least we can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Thanks all again for your good wishes.

[mrs.chappie]

Glad to hear that, Dris. Everything crossed for her speedy recovery.

Hey lass, will you tell me about your weight loss? Green tea - do you drink it like ordinary tea? Did you follow a diet sheet? Did you do lots of exercise?

Sorry to fire all those questions at ya!

Thanks doll.x

[Drisgirl]

Hey Mrs -Email me and i'll give ya all my secret tips lol.
Would be good to catch up as well -I have fallen way behind with loads going on -I have just posted 2 EMails which were long overdue and it took a couple of hours cos i keep getting interupted but im almost there -fire me an EMail xx

Thanks for your good wishes BTW -sometimes just sometimes GPs should listed to the people who actually know the patient.

As it happens she has only ever been in hospital twice and that was to have her girls -I think he could have weighed everything up and i still maintain she should have been in on Friday and looks like i was right -but then i know her.
Thats the reason i was so frustrated when i posted this but hey it wasnt too late and she is obviously morphined to the hilt as every Doctor (in her opinion) is extremely handsome -now we all know thats not true lol

[mrs.chappie]

Thanks Dris. I'll drop ya an email doll.x

[Drisgirl]

Look forward to it hun xxx