NHS insurance card

Only the midwife and the aneasthetist?!  Yeah... things are very different here!

Yup.  I don't know how it is in the USA, so no idea how different it is or isn't!

I love the Yes Minister and Yes Prime Minister videos.

Thanks for posting the DVLA link, I hadn’t realized that it would be up to the individual to fill in a form and send it to DVLA. I wonder how often that actually happens. I did find the form, HT1 that is used to report heart issues and Atrial Fibrillation is among the conditions. Even before my treatment I never had any of the symptoms listed that would cause me to not drive, i.e. severe dizziness and/or blackouts.

I am sure the 48 hours not driving after my procedure was more to do with the anesthesia than anything else. I had 3 suspicious moles removed from my back in August and there was a 24 hour ban on driving for that even though it was a pretty trivial day surgery with just a local injection at the site of the moles. However I expect that some folks could have adverse reactions to anesthesia so they are just being super safe.

My mother once went in for a test for a particular cancer where they injected her with a chemical and then drew blood an hour later. They then kept her in bed for an hour or 2. My dad was with her and when they came to leave it was lunchtime so they decided to eat in the hospital canteen. Great decision because after they had collected their food and sat down my mother said, “I feel dizzy”, then collapsed unconscious, no heartbeat. Plenty of doctors eating lunch and they called for a crash cart and restarted her heart with paddles after about 10 to 15 minutes. (The batteries were dead on the first cart so they had to fetch another).

My mother once went in for a test for a particular cancer where they injected her with a chemical and then drew blood an hour later. They then kept her in bed for an hour or 2. My dad was with her and when they came to leave it was lunchtime so they decided to eat in the hospital canteen. Great decision because after they had collected their food and sat down my mother said, “I feel dizzy”, then collapsed unconscious, no heartbeat. Plenty of doctors eating lunch and they called for a crash cart and restarted her heart with paddles after about 10 to 15 minutes. (The batteries were dead on the first cart so they had to fetch another).

How scary! I hope your mother was ok.

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

Only the midwife and the aneasthetist?!  Yeah... things are very different here!

I had my oldest child, born in 1992, in Houston. I had a midwife throughout my pregnancy. When I was ready to deliver, I had complications so my midwife was joined by a nurse, an anesthetist and the delivery doctor.

I had two c-sections in England and there were only four medical staff in with me. Seeing as there were so few people in my past experience, I didn’t think it was that different.

My oldest grandchild, born in Houston in 2012. The only people in the delivery suite were the parents, the delivery doctor and a nurse.

From my experience it wasn’t that different.

My only gripe is that Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading threw my c-sectioned self out of the hospital after 2.5 days. But I didn’t drive myself home. That happened with the second child and a c-section 🤦🏻‍♀️


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I had my oldest child, born in 1992, in Houston. I had a midwife throughout my pregnancy. When I was ready to deliver, I had complications so my midwife was joined by a nurse, an anesthetist and the delivery doctor.

I had two c-sections in England and there were only four medical staff in with me. Seeing as there were so few people in my past experience, I didn’t think it was that different.

My oldest grandchild, born in Houston in 2012. The only people in the delivery suite were the parents, the delivery doctor and a nurse.

From my experience it wasn’t that different.

My only gripe is that Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading threw my c-sectioned self out of the hospital after 2.5 days. But I didn’t drive myself home. That happened with the second child and a c-section 🤦🏻‍♀️

Well.  Now I'm beginning to question my sister's reports.  To hear her tell it, it was practically Grand Central Station in there when she was delivering my nieces.  My mother's accounts were much the same as my sisters... but now that I'm questioning everything, I do have to admit they are both a bit overly dramatic.  But they described multiple nurses, orderlies coming in and out, the aneasthetist, the delivering doctor, plus one family member (my dad for my mother's deliveries of me and my siblings, and my other sister for my nieces because my brother in law has a weak constitution and couldn't take being in the room during any sort of procedure).

My only gripe is that Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading threw my c-sectioned self out of the hospital after 2.5 days.

That would be a long luxurious stay at the Royal Berks these days.  LOL!

How scary! I hope your mother was ok.

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

Yes, she made a full recovery. She said it was just like going under for an operation. No dreams, nothing, just a gap in time.

Yes, things are different here.  Very 1950's with no partners allowed on the ward with you from 9pm to 9am. 

Only if you use the NHS for a bill free birth, because others on ther wards might want to sleep. In the private hospitals you can do what you want as you pay for a different setup.

Thanks for posting the DVLA link, I hadn’t realized that it would be up to the individual to fill in a form and send it to DVLA. I wonder how often that actually happens.

I suppose from this bit of the DVLA link, some would not find out unless they were involved in an accident or stopped by the police-

You can be fined up to £1,000 if you don’t tell DVLA about a medical condition that affects your driving. You may be prosecuted if you’re involved in an accident as a result.

That made me wonder if the insurance would be invalid too?

It is up to the individual to complete and submit the form, but upon diagnosis, if applicable to the condition, the doctor should inform you that you need to inform the DVLA.

Upon one of my diagnoses, I had no less than 3 doctors ask me if I was aware that I needed to self-report to the DVLA.

I suppose from this bit of the DVLA link, some would not find out unless they were involved in an accident or stopped by the police-

You can be fined up to £1,000 if you don’t tell DVLA about a medical condition that affects your driving. You may be prosecuted if you’re involved in an accident as a result.

That made me wonder if the insurance would be invalid too?

I would never drive if a medical professional told me not too, but for short periods such as recovery from surgery I would also never think of mailing in a form to DVLA unless told to do so by the doctor.
 

Ahh, if it's just surgical recovery, then that's likely fine.

Ask your doctor if you’re not sure how your operation will affect your driving.

Fill in the form for the health condition you had the surgery for and send it to DVLA if you’re still unable to drive 3 months after your operation. The address is on the form.

If your surgery was for a hip or knee replacement, follow the process for a limb disability.

https://www.gov.uk/surgery-and-driving

I would never drive if a medical professional told me not too, but for short periods such as recovery from surgery I would also never think of mailing in a form to DVLA unless told to do so by the doctor.
 

You're ok, it was all the other conditions that I was think of.

Yup.  I don't know how it is in the USA, so no idea how different it is or isn't!

First birth, 1995. It was me, my 2 very drunk best friends, my mom, my sister, my brother and my niece all in my room for a 517am delivery. My labor started at 2am, while I was driving myself home from karaoke. My drunk friends beat me to the hospital.

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

First birth, 1995. It was me, my 2 very drunk best friends, my mom, my sister, my brother and my niece all in my room for a 517am delivery. My labor started at 2am, while I was driving myself home from karaoke. My drunk friends beat me to the hospital.

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

Ha ha ha! Classic! I could only imagine the drunk friends because I was the drunk friend at a friend’s labor.

However, I’m all annoyed that you were in labor for 3:15 hours and KFdancer at under 2 hours.

My darn kid was supposed to be born around December 18, 1991. I had plans for the “new dependent” on my 1991 tax return and a nice, juicy refund. That kid needed to be sand-blasted out of me! I obviously stupid as hell because I was married at 19 (it should be illegal before 30) and having this child at 21 that I opted for a midwife because, “Hey! I’m young and pretty strong and I don’t need anesthesia!” I collapsed in exhaustion one day and forced my then husband to take me to the hospital and demanded to get the boy out. After 17 horrific hours, I heard a doctor remark, “Wow, 17 hours and she hadn’t asked for drugs.” My head turned like the freaking Exorcist and I demanded the drugs. That darn child finally showed up after 25 hours and on JANUARY 10, 1992. He was enormous and looked like he was ready to start first grade the next day. Hence why my other kids were c-sections.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Ha ha ha! Classic! I could only imagine the drunk friends because I was the drunk friend at a friend’s labor.

However, I’m all annoyed that you were in labor for 3:15 hours and KFdancer at under 2 hours.

My darn kid was supposed to be born around December 18, 1991. I had plans for the “new dependent” on my 1991 tax return and a nice, juicy refund. That kid needed to be sand-blasted out of me! I obviously stupid as hell because I was married at 19 (it should be illegal before 30) and having this child at 21 that I opted for a midwife because, “Hey! I’m young and pretty strong and I don’t need anesthesia!” I collapsed in exhaustion one day and forced my then husband to take me to the hospital and demanded to get the boy out. After 17 horrific hours, I heard a doctor remark, “Wow, 17 hours and she hadn’t asked for drugs.” My head turned like the freaking Exorcist and I demanded the drugs. That darn child finally showed up after 25 hours and on JANUARY 10, 1992. He was enormous and looked like he was ready to start first grade the next day. Hence why my other kids were c-sections.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Under 2 hours sounds great on paper and in stories.  But it was nearly 2 hours of contractions on top of one another and no break.  NONE.

And for the first hour and 20ish minutes they REFUSED to check me as there was "no way I was far along."  Once I finally demanded someone stick their arm up there, they moved FAST.  It's a miracle I didn't have the kid in the hall.