For Every Good Is A Bad

I have been dealing with the NHS system here in the UK for almost 5 years now.....this last 3 years more so .I as most Americans , can see the plusses of the NHS system....but in the last 2 years the minuses have been coming out in droves.First of all, my friend Pauline, who was english..she was actually my only real world friend...she dies due to NHS error....she had bowel cancer....was treated..went into remission..then a year later wasnt feeling right, went in got tested...tests came back..oh well they told her she was free and clear..and it must just be a flue or something......she got worse..got re tested....once again telling her she was clear no cancer...5months after she had first gone back to them and was first told she was free and clear..she died in her early 40's of cancer..it had completely taken over her entire bowel, and nearby parts.Now this of course has made me very leary of any test results I get back as I live in the same area as her...well as she used to.I have been dealing with a very embarrasing and under estimated illness, well its more a dysfunction than an illness, but it weakens your system to them make you prone to illnesses.(colds, flues, ect.) I have been treated with meds, which failed, so then back on the waiting list..to then try an implant....which failed, to then get back on the list to get a resection..which failed..to then get on the list AGAIN for a ablation..which looks now like it too has failed....which leaves me in one place..to get BACK on the list AGAIN for a full hysterectomy......which is what I had mentioned as an option from day one..as my tubes are tied, hubby wants no kids,female  cancers  run in my family so the removal of the part wouldnt bother me.This all began 2 1/2 years ago as far as my treatment goes....the problem itself has been going on for 3, it took me a year of talking to my GP to convince them no what im going through IS NOT NORMAL! To date they have never gotten back the results of any of the tests they ran..we only know this because every visit we ask for the results of test taken 2 years ago..and still no one can say where the results are or what they are.Financially we can not afford for me to be off work any longer....so now..this need of the hysterectomy and its healing time...its just going to have to wait..which means in the mean time I will suffer, my marriage will suffer as poor hubby and I have only been married since 2002 so this has gone on durring most of my marriage..and has capped all thoughts of intamacy.The waiting lists have made this whole thing drag on way too long, the lack of listening to the patient has meant un needed treatments were tried first....when all that needed done is the one I will now end up with! They say they have to try cheaper things first....you add up the cost of all those treatments and surgical proceedures I have had....it will have cost more to the NHS than to of just done the Hysterectomy in the first place.It will have cost me loads in loss of earnings and put us into un realistic debt....so Im not sure how this was the cheaper or better route for me...or the NHS. O.K. sorry to gripe....but when it comes to UK health care I have seen the good side of it....and I have seen the endless red tape outdated old ways of it..people die and people suffer and peoples lives suffer..because the system as it is is failing the ones it was meant to help.If I could afford it I would get private care..I can't..so this is my only course of action..grin and bare it I suppose. O.k. I have had my say.Thanks for listening.

i'm sorry to hear you are dealing with this...as a nurse working for the NHS, i am not its biggest cheerleader but i am surprised because i have always said one thing they seem to be very good about is cancer treatment. i went to my GP with a fast growing "growth" on the bridge of my nose and was seen within two weeks at the dematology clinic. i suppose the problem is that you are relying on your GP to flag you as a potential "cancer" patient, which is needed to get you fastracked into the oncology system. i know that patients have to have a referral to see the specialist liver consultants that work on my unit, no such thing as just booking an appointment.
 i am so sorry to hear about what happened to your friend, i have seen too many patients end up in critical care with very similar stories, it always breaks my heart.... my cousin in the states was diagnosed with cervical cancer a few months ago and had a radical hysterectomy and lymph node dissection within 2 months of her abnornal pap...unfortunate but at least she is free from worry.
i'm afraid i'm just on my way out, but i will have a think and see if i can offer you any advise.
for now, i just want to show my support, it must be so difficult for you and your husband.
feel free to PM me
hugs, tracy

after having a think.....i just have a few thoughts.
as far as getting the results of your tests/medical records, i found this. having the medical records and interpreting them are two different things. i can help a little with that, i remember when my cousin first said squamous cell...my heart sank.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/actionnetwork/A1181657
the problem with the NHS is they are the only game in town, and there is a perception that it's free, therefore you should accept what is given. i wouldn't......

the other thing i am familiar with is the two week rule
http://nhsblogdoc.blogspot.com/2006/01/two-week-rule.html
the nhs blog doc does a very good comparison of the pros and cons of such a system.
all i can say is don't become complacent, don't be afraid of being percieved as "the pushy american".
your health is paramount.....

DezertBLU, where do you live?  I'm having a test next Friday and am a bit concerned about trusting the results....

While the NHS is the "only game in town" each care trust does to a certain degree, run their own show.  They make independant purchasing decisions and have different rules and regulations as well as things that they cover and don't cover.

So while we tend to look at them as a whole, they are really basically geographic bound monopolies and often times these boundries don't make a whole lot of sense.  Currently lots of smaller trusts are being reoganized into larger trusts in an effort to "improve effeciency" but in a lot of cases, their computer systems and processes and procedures are so different they have a hard time combining.

I would hate so say, even in the States, with private medical care, some of the things mentioned here could have easily have occured.  The NHS is staffed with people and people make mistakes.

Personally I feel there is a fine line between trusting our Doctors and medical professionals and taking personal ownership of our own health.  It is tough, because we are battling someone who knows a lot with someone who knows how they feel, but at the end, the Doctor is only treating a symptom and it is our lives and bodies we have to continue to live with, so we should always make sure we feel comfortable with the answers we are getting.

The biggest problem I see with the NHS as a whole right now is that things that require operations or invasive diagnostic tests are not as easily perscribed as a pill that might fix things.  Because dispensing medication is almost always quicker with the NHS these days, most GPs will easily write a perscription versus actually getting to the root cause of what ails a patient.

My father-in-law is being very hampered by a hernia that needs operation.  Without a moments hesitation, the doctor asked when 4 months was up and scheduled the surgery.  So my father-in-law has had to live with a very limiting disability that is easily fixable simply because the surgeries are backed up.

I totally agree, as I believe I mentioned in my original post, I got excellent care when I lived in County Durham, now I have moved to Cleveland County, and I feel it's not even down to counties, but actual practices you may attend, I have not a bad word to say about the care I got in other clinics of other counties here in the UK....some actually were better than care I'd gotten in the States....but..now for the past 3 years..which I feel is a very long time for my particular problem....the care has been bad....I know because I did go to nursing school, and do have vast medical knowledge....which is part of my problem in speaking up...I don't want to be some "know it all American" , because I am not.....but I do know many things...and good healthcare is one of the things I do know....and what I am getting is not good health care. I won't even go into the nightmare of post op sickness I have had due to cleanliness issues at the hospital. I realize each clinic, hospital or private practice is down to the people there on site, those who are hands on in running the show.....I don't blame the NHS for what I go through...but I do blame them for what they have listed as criteria to "qualify" for certain things in care and treatment....my consultant HAD to go through this entire list of treatment options before getting to where I am now....in need of the one proceedure they should have done in the first place, as with my age and situation it would of just made sense to do it.I cant go get this proceedure done now, as financially we just cant afford me to have any more time away from work....so it just has made me feel the last 3 tears of my life have been wasted and not put to good use. But your right..it is down to where you are in the country and whats your nearest healthcare options.