Calis Beach and Fethiye Turkey Discussion Forum
General Topics => All things that have nothing to do with Turkey => Topic started by: Ian on November 09, 2013, 09:36:35 AM
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Gill's mum had (just over 2 months ago) - at the age of 81 - a triple bypass combined with a replacement aortic valve. They had some complications so a planned 4 hour operation became 7 hours and then she developed some blood clots so they took her down and re-opened her up the following day for a further 4 hours.
She was in Wythenshawe Hospital (Manchester) which has carried out transplants for over 20 years and has an excellent reputation in this area - and they lived up to it.
When she came out of theatre and for 5 days and nights afterwards - she had one to one 24/7 care with a nurse at her side and so many computers it looked like a scene from Star Trek!
The ward she was in at this point had 6 beds - all receiving one to one care and then patients moved to a sub ward where care became one nurse to 2 patients before moving to main ward.
With Gill moving in to help her recovery when she came home - I am so pleased to say that last week her mum went out on 3 social occasions (meals out) and to a rehabilitation clinic and shopping twice!
She is still a little unsteady but we can see she is recovering well.
So, the point is?
I was speaking to someone in the USA who said - "it would cost a fortune over here - if you didn't have health insurance" - so I googled it and the best I could find was:
£75,000 if in a small shared facility and £105,000 in a totally private facility.
So, in spite of all the criticisms we hear - how lucky are we?
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Everyone in America I know does have health insurance. I don't think many people would be paying that.
Glad to hear Mum in law is doing so well.
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There are many more people extremely grateful for the care they receive on the NHS but unfortunately its only the bad things that are wrong that we all hear about so regularly. Best wished to Gill's mum for a speedy recovery.
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Great post Ian - best wishes to all.
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Thank you for your kind comments - in our case - we are very fortunate and grateful.
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Ian thanks for posting such a ringing endorsement of the NHS. So often these days we only hear the bad side of the service. Also glad to hear that mum-in-law is enjoying her recover. :)
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USB - we were clearly "fortunate" that at 81 - Gill's mum has so far coped with the treatment - what amazed me was the cycle of one to one care - with 3 nurses handing over to one another and making it clear you could ring them at any time to get an update.
Then to arrive the first evening after the 2nd operation to see the nurse - holding her hand and talking to this delirious 81 year old woman - giving her comfort - really exceeded my expectations - wonderful :)
Also I know my own mum and some of her circle of friends (all 87+) genuinely believe that "at their age" they would likely not get the same attention as a younger person - this is a real fear for them.
I think Wythenshawe Hospital proved that to be a myth as well.
I know treatment differs in different hospital trusts - but when it works - it is fantastic.
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Heartening post Ian. Best wishes to all your family.
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Many thanks and glad to know you are getting a first-class service as well - as someone said "the normal day to day things" - never make the headlines.
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Yes the NHS gives outstanding service and I am very grateful. But we are fortunate in another way. The first open heart operation in Europe took place in Britain in the year I was born. When I met my heart surgeon with the results of my tests he told me that the size of my heart valve shout be 2 square centimeters; mine was only 0.7 square centimeters and he said "It's the worst I have seen". He paused and then added "If we do nothing your life expectancy is 18 months." He paused for longer after this to make sure I had taken this in. "But I don't propose we do nothing." He then explained exactly what the procedure would be, the risk factors and such like detail. By the 21st century open heart surgery is such a commonplace thing that we don't even call it that; just heart surgery. Perhaps we take it for granted but it is still an astonishing achievement and not all that many years ago it wasn't widely available and by now, in all likelihood, I would be dead.
Yes, I feel very fortunate.
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You are so right - advances are amazing - not least when you get given the choice of a mechanical valve, or one from pig tissue or bovine tissue - really is Star Trek times we live in.
Coincidentally my youngest daughter went into the same hospital a week after my mother-in-law was discharged to have her first baby.
As I held Amelia for the first time I said to my daughter - "you know the life expectancy of a girl born today will be 88+ - so she will be around in 2101 - I wonder what the world will be like then!!!
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Lovely post, Ian. I do hope Mum enjoys good health for a good while longer.
As someone who also has recently had reason to take advantage of the many services the NHS offers, I too am extremely grateful to this most noble of institutions.
Yes I've spent a lot of time waiting at various appointments and yes sometimes they have made a few errors. However, I genuinely have no complaints. I just count myself very, very lucky to be benefiting from Mr Bevin et al's astonishingly brilliant foresight. And the naysayers I come across whilst waiting are given a very brief history lesson and offered a comparative scenario.
Long Live The NHS! Which means voting out the Tories on 7th May 2015. Our only chance before they damage it beyond repair.
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Thank you for your kind words and words of wisdom :)
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Very interesting to read this and may the recovery continue.
Here on Guernsey we have no NHS despite it being part of the UK. There is no reciprocal health agreement with the UK any more either. We do however enjoy a good health care funded by our tax and private insurance. Ambulances are paid for separately if you need one and have no private insurance for ambulances specifically. A doctor visit is around £45 a trip now. We do however, rely on UK specialist facilities occasionally.
To amplify the value of the NHS, just a short story.
One of my drivers suffered a minor heart attack as he was arriving for work. His son came and took him to hospital A & E (No ambulance thank you). Assessed quickly as needing specialist operating facilities he was flown off island the following morning to Southampton hospital. There, just two days after his attack he was given two stents to help arterial blood flow. Two days later he was back on Guernsey. He's now, two months later, in good shape, able to drive his car and being delayed returning to work solely due to paperwork coming from the UK. NHS is mainly excellent.
It's staffed by people that care about their profession and get things done. Long may it continue to produce heartwarming stories.
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I have the totally opposite view of the N.H.S. Probably because I loathe the hospital in Aberdeen. I have never had a good experience there, either personally or with family members. Latest report showed the Maternity Wing of that hospital in a very poor light. Filthy dirty with blood on bed and equipment. This is not new as my daughter found the place so squalid and that was over 3 years ago. The ward toilet had blood all over the floor and walls and it was like that all day and the next morning.
My husband was admitted to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary last week with a suspected bleed on the brain. We took him in, there was no one on reception and I eventually used an internal phone to get directions to the ward. On arrival, there wast no way into the Ward, reception not manned and door locked, ringing the bell was no use either it was ignored. Eventually found a nurse to let us in. Again we hung around for 2 hours waiting. with my husband. When he did see a Doctor we were told that tests would be another 2 hours, as it was 9.30pm we where told to go home. They moved my husband into another ward after 12.00 midnight and he had no pillow on his bed, three nurses at different times said they would bring a pillow, he never got one and spend the night without one. At the time he was suffering from a slipped disc and was in a lot of pain. He was given two paracetamol.
On the other hand, the local NHS Cottage Hospital is such a lovely place and they cared for my Father so well when we as dying. However, our Doctor suggested to him that a blood transfusion could prolong his life but he wold have to be moved to the hospital in Aberdeen, he totally refused, as he had such an awful time in that place he was terrified to go back and have to die there. He stayed on in Peterhead Cottage Hospital, where we was really content and happy with the great care and attention he got from the lovely staff. He died two weeks later. There was no way I would have wanted him back n ARI.
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Jacqui - so sorry to hear this - that does sound very very bad.
We are lucky to have a hospital like Wythenshawe Hospital. Strangely I remember my parents and their friends complaining about 15 years ago - very vociferously when A & E's and other facilities were being scheduled to close in South Manchester at other hospitals as they felt services would suffer. But what actually happened was that much much more money/funds were pumped into Wythenshawe Hospital and the other hospitals became centers for other things like cataract operations.
I actually said one day as we were walking out of the hospital "you can see what happens when they pump all the money into a central hub - they seem to have all the state of the art equipment and facilities"
Maybe we are lucky - one of the few advantages of living in a very densely populated area?
I hope your husband is on the road to recovery and your next experience at that particular hospital is a far better one.
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Jacqui - that's an awful experience for you. Do hope your husband is ok.
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I have to agree with Ian re Wythenshaw Hospital. My wife has been seeing a consultant there for about 5 years for chronic asthma. Our local hospital in Chester has an asthma department but after seeing a consultant there for 3 years he said he had exhausted all options of treatment available to him and he referred her to Wythenshaw.
They have a much bigger department with the latest kit in it and take on all of the 'problem' cases other hospitals can't deal with.
Her consultant gave her medication / treatment that was only available at the time through Wythenshaw.
I also have some horror NHS stories that happened to a friends father. I think that all hospitals have good and bad stories. I wouldn't want to be without the NHS though.
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Jacqui - that's an awful experience for you. Do hope your husband is ok.
Thanks Marina, He had his back operation yesterday and is doing fine (In the private hospital in Aberdeen, his company have a medical plan for employees and wives).
No bleed on the brain, headaches caused by cocktail of drugs for the back pain).
Off to visit him this afternoon.
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That's good to hear, hope he has a full and speedy recovery :)
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Hi Jacqui, give him our best wishes to get well soon. x
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Wishing your husband a speedy recovery Jacqui.
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Awful experience, Jacqui. Very best wishes to Mr Harvey.
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Yes, good to hear no bleed on brain. Wishing a full and speedy recovery.
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Thanks to everyone, he is now on the road to recovery. Had a large lump of bone that had become loose, removed from his spine and also some bits of bone. Operation took over 3 hours. Lucky they do keyhole surgery now. He is not allowed to sit up for more that 15 minutes at a time and this for 3 weeks... Will drive him mad lying down.
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Lovely to hear such positive tales of NHS experiences. Those of us who work for the NHS do get very demoralised by the awful experiences detailed in the press. Undoubtedly, as in every walk of life there is good and bad, and I can't deny it exists, as I have seen with my own eyes things no one should have to endure, so it is very uplifting to read your praise, and I do still think we are extremely lucky with the treatment we get. There are times when I actually feel embarrassed to admit to being a nurse, which I never thought would happen :-[
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Angela - oh - that is so sad - you should never have to feel that way.
We did have another experience in a "local" hospital - before Mum went to Wythenshawe for her heart surgery. We were visiting one Saturday afternoon - a jolly young chap came to take her BP - he was very nice - very chatty - and told us he was an agency nurse and had been called in to do a 12 hour shift.
A few minutes later Mum was eating a grape and got it stuck (swallowing / reflux have been recent problems) - after a few taps on her back - she was going blue. I dashed to the reception where I saw 5 people stood chatting / one or two on pc's. The scene then went like this:
My mother in law is joking - please can you come?
All of them look at each other - no-one moved.
She has gone blue - please come now!
Where is THE NURSE? one said.
OMG I thought - not one of these is a qualified nurse
Then the man who had taken her BP appeared - ran to her bed and it was sorted in seconds.
Afterwards I said "are you the only nurse on duty?" - yes - he said.
The others are admin / cleaners / and one auxiliary.
There were approximately 16 patients in that ward.
That is NOT the fault of the nursing staff
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Barrie had a small stroke which paralysed him again last week and was admitted to The stroke unit in Blackpool. .Something that was not available after his first one 25 years ago when he had to spend 5 months on the ward from hell!!!! . What a difference!! he had scans, bloods etc and results in 2 days.. "There wasn't even a scanner 25 years ago".. The treatment from the staff in there was top quality.. Really hard working and really caring... He was discharged 3 days later and is now recovering at home. We hope he will be back to his usual self in a few weeks. It was a terrible shock after all these years and just shows that "you never know". It was such a relief to be in The UK.. We had trouble enough giving his past medical history to the Doctors here. Don't know how we would have managed in Turkey with the language. My family have had to use The NHS for various health problems over the years and we have always been grateful and well looked after..
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Dear mercury
I cannot tell you how glad I am to read that Barrie is back home. Brenda will be so pleased to hear that news.
We both wish Barrie the speediest and fulliest of recoveries.
Lots of Love xxx
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Anne - sorry to hear your news but so pleased Barrie is recovering - with out as his day nurse he will be back to his best sooner rather than later ;)
Best wishes to you both and we hope Barrie will continue his speedy recovery x
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Mercury - really sorry to hear about your husband. Hope he continues to make a full and speedy recovery.
I do think that, on the whole, most of us on here have been grateful for the NHS at some point.
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Wishing you and Barrie all the very, very best, Mercury. So pleased to hear that he received such an excellent service.
And Angela, how could you EVER feel ashamed to be a nurse! I don't believe in angels, but you guys are the closest we'll ever get.
I've just spent 10 mins with the practice nurse at my GP's today. The wonderful Maxine - always cheery, always attentive and very efficient. Wonderful woman.
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Anne (mercury) now I understand your message on FB, so pleased that you and Barrie are OK wishing Barrie well.
I have nothing but praise and admiration for our UK doctors and Nurses, I say this every time I hear or read a damning report regarding the NHS, you will never fully appreciate it until it is not available to you, going to the GP appointment or not is a luxury that we did not have when living in Turkey, also, appointments come through the post frequently when men and women reach a certain age for free checks, including an eye service.
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There has been a lot of discussion on the news media today about increasing pressure on A&E hospital departments. A frequent theme has been the length of time to see a GP so people go to A&E. Frequently people say there is a two week waiting period to see a GP - one bloke from Scotland actually apologized for complaining about a two week wait because he had heard it was a lot worse in England.
I am signed up to a clinic practice that has, maybe, a dozen practitioners comprising of partners, seniors, juniors and locums. Their policy, whichI have never known to fail, is that if you phone reception first thing in the morning (8.30) you will be seen by one of the doctors on that day. If you want to see your own doctor (mine is excellent) you have to wait longer but not usually as long as two weeks (except for holidays) but for some some quick advice you can usually get a telephone consultation with your own doctor within a couple of days. For face-to-face meetings with your own doctor you can pre-book at a time convenient to you by phone or on the web (my preferred method).
I think this is excellent service (and as you might guess I am a frequent user). Am I really lucky to enjoy this level of service? How common is it? What is your experience?
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Colwyn - we have an identical system in Rochdale.
Coincidentally I rang late afternoon on Friday to book an appointment for Gill - she initially wanted to see her own doctor - automated booking system said 8 working days - went back through menu and selected "any lady doctor" option - result 3 days.
I suspect if we selected "any doctor" we would have got one/two days.
Very satisfied with our local practice which again operates with about 12 GP's - a couple of clinics for "tests" - and also has one late night opening.
Not sure how hard it is to get a doctor out to see you in the home as we have never needed to - but I hear people (generally - not just in our area) complaining most about this option.