Could someone please explain......

[only1billybonds]

After 2 days of trying, I have finally secured a doctor's appointment and I should be picking up some antibiotics later to shift this cսnt of a chest infection. These things are dished out 18 at a time (ish) and necking a pack might give you a headache.
So why is it that I can buy enough booze in tesco to drink myself to death before the pubs open but i cant get a course of pretty harmless tablets without seeing a doctor first? 
Seems fucking bonkers to me but am happy to have this explained to me. Feel free to do this as if you are talking to a carrot!

[Gaffer58]

People not attending their appointments at the hospital outpatients dept has me wondering, the hospital moans about people not turning up but when I’m there for my six monthly eye appointment, that in theory is for say 2pm it’s always at least 20/ 25 minutes before I’m seen, so if everyone turned up for their appointment on a particular day then some of them won’t be getting seen until 7pm that evening.
 

[only1billybonds]

Mmdc.

Well its no worse but not much better thanks.
As ridiculous as it sounds, I can't move from one room to another without taking a few minutes to catch my breath. Got out of the bath earlier and immediately had to sit on the loo to get my breathing under control again. My Mrs has totally different symptoms and she reckons we both have covid. Only good thing is work wont be getting in the way of the Ashes for me.

[Bungo]

 

To be fair, once she was diagnosed with dementia things have been a lot better, but waiting times are still often very long, and to a certain extent in regard to dementia, all they really did was confirm she has it, then gave us some leaflets and info with support organisations and such and we are pretty much on our own 

 

 

Focus is improving but has a way to go before being up with higher profile conditions such as cancer.

Presumably contact has been made with the Admiral nursing organisation? Great patient advocates and knowledgable about dementia which is their specialist area. 


dementiauk.org

[Sydney_Iron]

The main trick in the UK is getting in the system. Once you have managed to get seen and referred for a genuine reason, the system USUALLY works quite well then at moving you through to the appropriate service/specialist. Of course, there will be many individual examples out there when this has NOT happened.

 

 

To be fair, once she was diagnosed with dementia things have been a lot better, but waiting times are still often very long, and to a certain extent in regard to dementia, all they really did was confirm she has it, then gave us some leaflets and info with support organisations and such and we are pretty much on our own 

Give how many people will suffer from this illness in old age (and younger) i was shocked at the lack of help available from the NHS or even things/info on help or claims from the government or have access to, had she got Cancer or heart problems then seems plenty they can assist with but dementia is left to family's and loved ones to look after/pay/sort out for care etc

Fortunately my sister in the UK is a Lawyer and she swung into action and found out a lot of things we can claim or access, like carers allowance etc but i suspect a lot of people may not be aware of this, as above, no one told us, also good having my sister dealing with the GP/NHS when things were not going well, before the diagnoses when the local GP office would only offer a phone consultation my sister went to the surgery and blew her stack in a controlled and point by point way at them with what was going on with my mum my mum was seen that same week!!!

[Bungo]

I must admit I was impressed with the "my skin doctor app", where you send a photo of your skin issue and I assume a dermatologist checks it and either gives you a diagnosis or calls you in.  They diagnosed a dermatofibroma on my leg via that, which was a bit nervy as I thought how can they diagnose it from a photo?!  I did get called in for a check of age spots on the face, which is why I always put on sun screen on the golf course these days.  Whislt I was there I asked if the dermatologist could check my back, as obviously I can't see it!  She raised her eyes to the heavens as it obviously wasn't what I was there for, but 30 seconds later she asked if I was busy that afternoon.  They cut out a mole right between my shoulder blades and it was later diagnosed as a dysplastic nevus that can turn dodgy.  Quite frightening how both we and the experts can miss things.

Dermatology is an area where technology/ new approaches have worked well, the vast majority of dermatological diagnosis being visual anyway. Many GP surgeries now farm this out to a dermatologist who can quickly review masses of photos, and highlight the ones that he/she believes need a follow-up.

Took off in a big way during covid for obvious reasons.

[Monsieur merde de cheval]

After 2 days of trying, I have finally secured a doctor's appointment and I should be picking up some antibiotics later to shift this cսnt of a chest infection. These things are dished out 18 at a time (ish) and necking a pack might give you a headache.
So why is it that I can buy enough booze in tesco to drink myself to death before the pubs open but i cant get a course of pretty harmless tablets without seeing a doctor first? 
Seems fucking bonkers to me but am happy to have this explained to me. Feel free to do this as if you are talking to a carrot!

I hope you're better now ?

[F 129 Row66]

I think it's great when you finally get an appointment and rarely see any english looking people in the waiting room. When the screen calls the next punter all the names are foreign too. I  hope these people are enjoying their free treatment. Last time I went it took me 4 attempts to get an appointment, but why should I complain, I've only been paying in for 62 years. 

[zebthecat]

Private referrals have been very much a thing for certain procedures for ages,
My ex-wife had a knee replacement three years ago at a Nuffield hospital and it has turned out really well especailly given her job as airline cabin crew. From having to stay in bed in agony after every shift to no pain whatsoever and being able to go back to the gym is a quite a result.

[Far Cough UKunt]

Yeah, I was referred for a procedure to a clinic in Harley street, which as you may know is where upmarket private clinics are based.

[,]

I underwent a minor procedure this year and this was carried out at a private clinic to which many NHS patients are referred. This is a good way to farm out minor speciality work because it is cheaper for the NHS and it cuts waiting lists.

The clinic throughput was up to about 30% of patients being NHS referrals. Here is the thing though because nurses told me very few private patients missed appointments, just one or two per cent, but NHS referred patients had a one in three or four failure to attend. 

One other thing I noticed was that there is a lot of self funding going on to enable diagnoses to be made privately with the individual then being filtered back into the NHS system for treatment.

[zico]

I must admit I was impressed with the "my skin doctor app", where you send a photo of your skin issue and I assume a dermatologist checks it and either gives you a diagnosis or calls you in.  They diagnosed a dermatofibroma on my leg via that, which was a bit nervy as I thought how can they diagnose it from a photo?!  I did get called in for a check of age spots on the face, which is why I always put on sun screen on the golf course these days.  Whislt I was there I asked if the dermatologist could check my back, as obviously I can't see it!  She raised her eyes to the heavens as it obviously wasn't what I was there for, but 30 seconds later she asked if I was busy that afternoon.  They cut out a mole right between my shoulder blades and it was later diagnosed as a dysplastic nevus that can turn dodgy.  Quite frightening how both we and the experts can miss things.

[Bungo]

Pharmacies are increasingly taking on more of the GP surgeries roles and can in some cases prescribe and dispense drugs for certain conditions.

AI is also now playing a part in diagnosis of certain conditions which can be dangerous according to a dermatologist I was talking to a few months ago.

The risk of a a misdiagnosis or warning signs not being picked up on by untrained or artificial screening is increasingly likely unfortunately.

All true.

The thing that is also being evaluated is the AI rate of misdiagnosis versus the trained human rate of misdiagnosis! If AI becomes better then it will become harder to argue against it…

[Gary Strodders shank]

Pharmacies are increasingly taking on more of the GP surgeries roles and can in some cases prescribe and dispense drugs for certain conditions.

AI is also now playing a part in diagnosis of certain conditions which can be dangerous according to a dermatologist I was talking to a few months ago.

The risk of a a misdiagnosis or warning signs not being picked up on by untrained or artificial screening is increasingly likely unfortunately.

[Mr Anon]

After 2 days of trying, I have finally secured a doctor's appointment and I should be picking up some antibiotics later to shift this cսnt of a chest infection. These things are dished out 18 at a time (ish) and necking a pack might give you a headache.
So why is it that I can buy enough booze in tesco to drink myself to death before the pubs open but i cant get a course of pretty harmless tablets without seeing a doctor first? 
Seems fucking bonkers to me but am happy to have this explained to me. Feel free to do this as if you are talking to a carrot!

you could just walk into any pet shop and buy some antibiotics designed for fish, it's the same stuff

[Bungo]

Absolutely.  What's quite baffling is when you do manage to get a face to face appt there is hardly anyone sitting in the waiting room.  As said before our surgery now seems to have moved to an online triage service.  They have had phone appointments for a while now, certainly since Covid, which are ok for some things but hardly a diagnosis tool, but with these online questionaiires, you answer questions about your issue and then they decide if you need a face to face or not.  They just have too many patients.  Last time I checked the surgery stated that they had 14,700 patients, and they have around 8-10 GP's at any given time.

 

 

’Online triage system’ is 100% accurate. There could well be many GPs in the building that are not actually seeing patients in traditional GP surgeries. There has been a large rise in peripheral services in recent years, some of which they can charge for (such as minor surgery), which dilutes patient face time considerably.

[zico]

Sure. Everyone will have a personal story or two to tell, some good, some bad but I have watched what is happening across large parts of the NHS for a long time, so my comments are inevitably generalisations but based on masses of examples in multiple locations across large parts of the UK.

Absolutely.  What's quite baffling is when you do manage to get a face to face appt there is hardly anyone sitting in the waiting room.  As said before our surgery now seems to have moved to an online triage service.  They have had phone appointments for a while now, certainly since Covid, which are ok for some things but hardly a diagnosis tool, but with these online questionaiires, you answer questions about your issue and then they decide if you need a face to face or not.  They just have too many patients.  Last time I checked the surgery stated that they had 14,700 patients, and they have around 8-10 GP's at any given time.

[Bungo]

It seems people seeking treatment have to practically diagnose themselves via the online booking platform and will completely miss signs which a doctor can see but the patient might not.

 

 

This is massive problem with 111 too which has a LONG way to go before it is remotely close to being fit for purpose.

[Bungo]

Even when you finally get there it can be a while.  I have been fortunate on a couple of occasions to have seen a pretty on the ball GP who sent me on a two week urgent pathway and quickly had the relevant tests, which thankfully came back negative.  My sister on the other hand had two odd years visiting a haemotologist who seemed fairly useless after telling my sister that she suspected blood cancer.  Two years of various tests, many delayed or postponed, months between appointments, my sister having to chase results and lost emails or letters, it seemed quite a shambles.  Two and a half years on they have just said they can't find any evidence of cancer (which of course is good) but for her continuing symptoms she has just been re-referred back to her GP.  I must say most are absolutely brilliant in the NHS but in some cases they just seem totally overloaded.

 

 

 

 

Sure. Everyone will have a personal story or two to tell, some good, some bad but I have watched what is happening across large parts of the NHS for a long time, so my comments are inevitably generalisations but based on masses of examples in multiple locations across large parts of the UK.

[Far Cough UKunt]

It seems people seeking treatment have to practically diagnose themselves via the online booking platform and will completely miss signs which a doctor can see but the patient might not.

[zico]

The main trick in the UK is getting in the system. Once you have managed to get seen and referred for a genuine reason, the system USUALLY works quite well then at moving you through to the appropriate service/specialist. Of course, there will be many individual examples out there when this has NOT happened.

Even when you finally get there it can be a while.  I have been fortunate on a couple of occasions to have seen a pretty on the ball GP who sent me on a two week urgent pathway and quickly had the relevant tests, which thankfully came back negative.  My sister on the other hand had two odd years visiting a haemotologist who seemed fairly useless after telling my sister that she suspected blood cancer.  Two years of various tests, many delayed or postponed, months between appointments, my sister having to chase results and lost emails or letters, it seemed quite a shambles.  Two and a half years on they have just said they can't find any evidence of cancer (which of course is good) but for her continuing symptoms she has just been re-referred back to her GP.  I must say most are absolutely brilliant in the NHS but in some cases they just seem totally overloaded.

[Bungo]

Mind you at least if i want to see a GP, i can see one same day if i want to, to see my regular Doc, i call up and they apologize if he's fully booked that day , say really sorry you will have to wait until tomorrow, is that ok? imagine that in the UK My old mum is late 80,s with early dementia, diabetes and arthritis and trying to get a GP appointment even with a MONTHS notice is difficult, i reckon quite a few preventable deaths occur in the UK these days through lack of being able to see a GP, how many people with early symptoms of cancer for example, just give up trying to see a doctor due to the unavailability of a face to face consultation and examination, mind you even if you get a referral for specialist from my old Mums experience it takes months, in Sydney its usually a couple of weeks at the most! if Doc marks it urgent then within days.

 

 

In the UK GPs are without question the health care professionals with barriers that are the hardest to penetrate. This has come about unfortunately largely because so many people have booked totally unnecessary appointments in the past, many of which have been wasted when the patient does not even attend.

Although unpopular, the unspoken desire within the NHS and government is to try to get away from people having an individual ‘named’ doctor in the interests of speedy throughput. I’m sure many will already have rarely seen the same GP twice in their own practice.

The main trick in the UK is getting in the system. Once you have managed to get seen and referred for a genuine reason, the system USUALLY works quite well then at moving you through to the appropriate service/specialist. Of course, there will be many individual examples out there when this has NOT happened.

[Mike Oxsaw]

They have this 2 pack rule for Paracetamol (Panadol down here) in Oz as well, but the crazy thing is that they still stack them on shelves in supermarkets to help yourself  would imagine if you were going to do something dodgy with them then you would be the type to nick them anyway!

All a bit too nanny state for me, but thats the fucked-up world these days.

Mind you at least if i want to see a GP, i can see one same day if i want to, to see my regular Doc, i call up and they apologize if he's fully booked that day , say really sorry you will have to wait until tomorrow, is that ok? imagine that in the UK My old mum is late 80,s with early dementia, diabetes and arthritis and trying to get a GP appointment even with a MONTHS notice is difficult, i reckon quite a few preventable deaths occur in the UK these days through lack of being able to see a GP, how many people with early symptoms of cancer for example, just give up trying to see a doctor due to the unavailability of a face to face consultation and examination, mind you even if you get a referral for specialist from my old Mums experience it takes months, in Sydney its usually a couple of weeks at the most! if Doc marks it urgent then within days.

I suspect that NHS staffing levels are based on official population size & location data, and we all know how reliably accurate that is, don't we, children?

[Sydney_Iron]

They have this 2 pack rule for Paracetamol (Panadol down here) in Oz as well, but the crazy thing is that they still stack them on shelves in supermarkets to help yourself  would imagine if you were going to do something dodgy with them then you would be the type to nick them anyway!

All a bit too nanny state for me, but thats the fucked-up world these days.

Mind you at least if i want to see a GP, i can see one same day if i want to, to see my regular Doc, i call up and they apologize if he's fully booked that day , say really sorry you will have to wait until tomorrow, is that ok? imagine that in the UK My old mum is late 80,s with early dementia, diabetes and arthritis and trying to get a GP appointment even with a MONTHS notice is difficult, i reckon quite a few preventable deaths occur in the UK these days through lack of being able to see a GP, how many people with early symptoms of cancer for example, just give up trying to see a doctor due to the unavailability of a face to face consultation and examination, mind you even if you get a referral for specialist from my old Mums experience it takes months, in Sydney its usually a couple of weeks at the most! if Doc marks it urgent then within days.

[Bungo]

I must say the packaging of paracetamol especially seems to ward off the possibility of taking too many as well.  Maybe I got dodgy packs but it isn't easy breaking them through the wrapper and when you finally do get there the whole saga breaks them into two!  If you have arthritic fingers forget it!
 

 

This is a bit of a ‘watch this space’ topic within the industry. Although I would doubt anything too dramatic will happen imminently, it is an area that is being looked at, with the inevitable concerns about the ‘recyclability’ of empty blister packs. 

My guess would be that the blister pack will stay but evolve as new materials and methods of manufacture are discovered.

Whether that makes pills easier to pop out though is anyone’s guess…

[devonhammer]

Paramedic here.....
The restrictions on paracetamol buying came in quite a few years ago....and there is good evidence that it had reduced the number of deaths by overdose.....so it's kinda annoying, but makes sense.
Antibiotics are still dished out way too much .... often for infections which are viral anyway.
If a new super bug pops up which has developed resistance to the current antibiotics then humanity is .....fucked