Another NHS complaint

For those who don’t want to read a rant on the bullshit of the NHS, skip this blog entry and please go and read something else. This entry will highlight the lunacy that exists in the system and the complete lack of improvement in over 8 years of a supposedly left leaning government who supposedly believe in the NHS.


Today has proved itself to be a day where I have seen the worse of the NHS and the best, and I thought I had seen the worse having to wait for two years for an operation for a busted wrist. This day will prove just how bad things are getting and we are due for a lot lot worse and I rue the day this incumbent bunch of morons in the government were allowed to run the country.

I had three hospital appointments today, one for my ears to keep a check on them to ensure I don’t ever suffer a chloesteatoma again like I did 6 years ago, something I never want to go through again. Another was for a cardiology appointment to find out why I suffering blackouts and dizzy spells for no none reason, and the last one was for new hearing aids.

Well the first one went okayish, I usually see them every 3 months and managed to push that out to 6 months because sorting out time through work isn’t easy to do especially when the specialist is only available on a Monday morning in the week. Though they left me running to a very close deadline, I was given the all clear, and given a backup in case of emergencies, incase of an ear infection, so I was very happy with their can do attitude.

Onto the second appointment, having to get half way across London, which anyone who knows, that isn’t easy to do at anytime of the day, but especially at lunchtime, when people seem to just congregate in places, that you don’t expect. Thankfully I made it to the Chelsea and Westminster (C+W). Well I have to say I was very impressed by them, they showed me a side of the NHS I generally never see and they were very helpful. I did have to wait over an hour from the time of my appointment, but given that this appointment had been a very quickly arranged appointment because of my problems with blackouts, etc. I wasn’t too unhappy about it.

My anger and frustration boiled over when I saw the specialist though, it transpires that my local hospital – Northwick Park Hospital (NPH), saw it fit after the cardiologist saw me there in January to refer me to C+W as an urgent case, so far so good, but it took NPH 6 months to write the referral letter to C+W. 6 months, the specialist themselves was astounded that a case that is so urgent could be left. He blames the admin of NPH, which doesn’t surprise me, the trust that NPH is part of is millions and millions in debt, what the hell, just how, what are they doing to accrue that much debt and they also dropped in the governmental ratings. Well duh, if the services aren’t being provided, then of course it will happen.

Waiting 2 years for surgery, waiting 9 months to see a specialist for cardiology, the list goes on, I know many people who are suffering at the hands of incompetancy. Whoever is in charge, seriously needs to be fired and thrown out now, and get this situation fixed, they are even close to reaching targets and are running the place into the ground.

The specialist did his best to apologise for NPH, despite the fact it wasn’t his problem, and I have spent the last 6 months being left in limbo by a hospital that shows it doesn’t even know how to do the basics, like send referrals. You would think they would do this fast, as it means someone else is paying for it, and not them, oh no. This is the same hospital that made me do a 24 hour tape test twice, because they lost the original results. Like I say needs to be shot. And yes I will be making a complaint as advised by this specialist, and if I do ever get a letter of response I will be posting it and I am less than impressed by NPH, so it is going to take a lot to fix this.

Thankfully I am now more likely to get the situation resolved now being part of C+W for the tests I need, something I have relief over, and instead of waiting up to 9 months like before for tests, it should take no more than 2 months, and to me that is f**king fast, so hats off to C+W to doing a good job, only wish I had such a decent hospital near to me.

After leaving that hospital I then had to go and get my new hearing aids, well, thank you Royal Free, I have to say I am not impressed by your actions. I go along expecting new aids, and it seems the mistakes made two weeks ago, where you deemed the aids I was going to have weren’t the right ones, so you suggested these others, well these others were even less powerful than I have, so what on earth were you thinking. Come on, get with the plot. It was only rescued by the fact the principal audiologist whom I know after repeated visits was shocked to see me, and corrected the complete and utter bulls up. The hearing aids I am supposed to have aren’t even in yet, so a completely utter wasted journey, yet again, two in two weeks, getting good aren’t we eh?

Oh, I ain’t finished yet, a bombshell was dropped, well I say bombshell other might not say so, but as the Royal Free is suffering money problems as well as NPH is, they are making cutbacks, and lo and behold where are some of the cutbacks coming – audiology. Great, just what I need, to be told that if I get these aids and there are problems I might not be able to get ones that I can hear with. Well just f**king great. It is bad enough that for the past 3+ months I have suffering aids where I can’t hear with, which is useless, and not exactly helping with work. It doesn’t make me look clever and it certainly doesn’t endear my new company to me at all. What I also didn’t like is the fact that if the aids breakdown I am screwed basically. They won’t give me spares, and so if they breakdown and with my bad luck with aids, as they always breakdown, I am forever going to be going back and to, and what makes it worse I won’t have a cover aid whilst it is sent off for repair. For a deaf person, the hearing aids allow me to have some chance of communication with the ‘normal’ world, and without hearing I am more susceptible to being injured, suffer problems, as you would expect with someone who can’t hear. Their response to my request, no chance pal, you have to lump it. Well thank you, you caring people!!!!!

I only hope that when I have to go back next week, that they actually have the aids in, and I won’t be forced into a third wasted journey.

I am looking forward to blasting the NPH, and I look forward to seeing what bullshit they manage to pull out of their fat f**king behind as an excuse.

And I apologise to those reading this whom didn’t like the strong language, but when you have repeatedly suffered this, you begin to get less able to withhold it, through the sheer frustration, and yes I found out my blood pressure is excessively high for the first time in my life, and you wonder why.