Ron Avery Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 Pleased to hear that it all went well and that the NHS is not the pits that some would have us believe[Www]. Now you can plan the rest of your life and the move to France. Maybe leave it until the £ gets a bit stronger against the euro its hard going here at the moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathyC Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 [quote user="Ron Avery"]Pleased to hear that it all went well and that the NHS is not the pits that some would have us believe[Www]. [/quote] Perhaps you missed the bit about its being in a private hospital? Dorothy, I'm so pleased it went well for your husband. I was a bit concerned because Southampton has a terrible reputation locally and when we went to the respiratory clinic for my husband we really weren't very impressed. Obviously, wasn't going to mention that when I knew you were going there though!Hope you can make it to France soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russethouse Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 But the NHS PAID ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Avery Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 [quote user="Russethouse"]But the NHS PAID ![/quote]Quite right RH, it shows the flexibility that now exists in the NHS that allows hospitals to take up the slack in the private sector but it matters not where it was done, just under what system and that the outcome was a success.I know from bitter experience that private hospitals are not always what they are cracked to be either. Yes its nice to have your own room and gourmet food, most NHS hospitals allow visiting at reasonable times, but at the first sign of anything going awry in the operating theatre and the staff are on the phone for an ambulance to take the patient to an NHS hospital. Local NHS A&E staff around East Kent will readily give chapter and verse on the cock ups made in a couple of the private hospitals on the Kent Coast that have to be put right by the skill of the A&E staff of the NHS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathyC Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 [quote user="Russethouse"]But the NHS PAID ![/quote] Absolutely, I quite understand that. I just don't think that having excellent service in a private hospital (and I agree with Ron that they're not all wonderful) is a justification for saying that the NHS isn't "the pits". I don't necessarily think the NHS IS "the pits" but having good treatment outside it, however funded, doesn't say anything about standards of care within the NHS itself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DorothyJ Posted January 22, 2009 Author Share Posted January 22, 2009 I do not know how the private & NHS hospitals work together and who decides which hospital a patient is allocated to. Pete was monitored for 4 years at Poole hospital, passed on in December for further tests at Bournemouth but only Southampton could carry out the operation. I presume the private hospital could offer a place sooner than the NHS. But I think either hospital would have performed equally well as the team of surgeons work in both.An intensive care nurse told Pete that she used to work in the local NHS hospital where the cardiac facilities were 'state of the art' and equal to those he experienced. She felt the only difference between the two, apart from better pay in the NHS, was that she was no longer rushed off her feet but had more time to care for patients. Our experience at all 3 hospitals has been very positive and I feel so sorry that this is not so for everyone who needs treatment. Its a sorry state when you can't go into any hospital confident that you will get the best care possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helen Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 ' further tests at Bournemouth but only Southampton could carry out the operation. I presume the private hospital could offer a place sooner than the NHS. But I think either hospital would have performed equally well as the team of surgeons work in both. ' Definitely no complaints (apart perhaps from the food!) about the Bournemouth hospital. My parents each had both knees replaced there during the last year. The orthopaedic wing is a former private hospital. Single rooms, ensuite, very clean, very similar to my local French hospital . When planning the timing of operations,they took into account that both had problems and that we had to be in the UK for driving and aftercare. The biggest difference to in France was probably that the post op physiotherapy was less intensive, though to be honest I think neither of them would have wanted to go to a rehab centre for three weeks as can happen here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russethouse Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 Kathy, isn't the patient just interested in the treatment and result and the fact that they do have not have to pay extra ?BTW We used to have a lady post here who sung the praises of Southampton as compared to a hospital in France - I guess everyones experience is different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathyC Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 [quote user="Russethouse"]Kathy, isn't the patient just interested in the treatment and result and the fact that they do have not have to pay extra ?BTW We used to have a lady post here who sung the praises of Southampton as compared to a hospital in France - I guess everyones experience is different.[/quote] Of course, from a patient's point of view it doesn't make any difference, I was just discussing generally. Before we moved in 2007, we lived on the Isle of Wight, which had it's own hospital, but certain things were dealt with in Southampton. In the 3 years before we moved, I had a colleague who nearly died after they botched a routine surgery in Southampton, having to spend a week in intensive care and a total of a month as an inpatient. My husband went to the Respiratory Centre a couple of times a year and it was often chaotic with equipment not working and x rays never available for your appointments. (Come to think of it, we went over twice for appointments when a doctor wasn't available!)However, the worst thing was that they were supposed to be referring him to be assessed for a lung transplant. We telephoned every couple of months for more than a year, to be told every time that the referral had been made and they'd chase up the appointment. Eventually, after 18 months, a new consultant confessed that he'd had a look at my husband's file and no referral had ever been made! At that point he was just coming up to his 65th birthday, which made him ineligible for a transplant so the consultant was very apologetic but could do nothing about it. I think you can probably see why we're less than thrilled by Southampton. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
odile Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 most doctors I know say exactly the same Ron- and would prefer to go to a NHS hospital for that reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathyC Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 [quote user="odile"]most doctors I know say exactly the same Ron- and would prefer to go to a NHS hospital for that reason.[/quote] Of course, if you stay in the private section of an NHS hospital you get the best of both worlds, private service and full access to NHS facilities. It always puzzles me as I thought the UK stopped having "pay beds" years ago! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
odile Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 no I am talking about normal NHS hospital facilities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now