What is your best experience in health care?

building_with_lego

For balance

I could mention my lovely midwives, eager to support me giving birth at home, or the GP who thanked me for letting him come out to do the newborn check at home, or my surgery who "always have appointments if it's an emergency", or my son's wonderful dentist who talked him through a small filling in a gentle, honest way, or our local pharmacy, happy to advise on small things, or the surgeons who removed a (benign) lump from my infant child.

I could mention the GP who spotted that my friend's double hernia might be something more sinister, or the surgeons who worked so hard to ensure the success of another friend's mastectomy/ reconstruction operation, or the district nurses offering emotional as well as nursing support.

I could go on and on and on. They get it right more than they get it wrong, so let's appreciate them!

sillyvixen

For me it was the the way my mum's terminal illness was managed from diagnosis untill the end. She had the most wonderful oncologist who saw the whole person not just a disease, and would take an interest in all areas of her life. We got to know his whole team really well and they were all as caring.

The community palliative care team, her GP, the district nurses and the carers, who all supported her decision to die at home.

The speed that a hospital bed, and pressure relieving mattress, were provided and set up in her living room when it became apparent it was necessary (under an hour). The ambulance crew that came round in between emergencies to get her downstairs to said bed - she wanted to be downstairs so she could see the garden and watch the birds on the feeder through the patio doors.

She had carers in 3 times daily and the district nursing team daily (twice daily towards the end) and the GP every other day unless the the carers or district nurse had concerns in between visits.

The nurse who when it became apparent she had not got long left offered to stay with us despite being at the end of her shift, we did not take her up on her offer, but it was offered. She attended the funeral and thankfully was able to help a family friend who fainted in the hot overcrowded church.

The NHS gets alot of stick, I myself have found the service is not as good in other departments, but they really pulled out all the stops for my mum, and that made a difficult situation easier to bear for my family.

Kim_kim

My GPs surgery can always fit you in, if needed.
I’ve found a fantastic NHS dentist - I no longer dread the dentist. Such a simple thing, before an injection he gives you a scratch of anaesthetic, let’s it take and when you are numb, does the proper injection - why don’t they all do that.

The NHS is this countries greatest achievement.

Mrs_Ryan

My NHS dentist- he is an absolute superstar. He’s really knowledgeable about how my illnesses affect my oral health and what I can do to help, he’s friendly and helpful and extremely efficient. I used to be scared of the dentist but he knows I suffer with anxiety and tries to put my mind at rest when he can.
I have a wonderful lady GP. She trained at Nottingham University at the same time as I was doing my nurse training there (I didn’t know her, there were so many medical students around!) - when my anxiety is very bad she gently distracts me by having a chat about something nice, like our shared uni experiences- then gently coaxes out of me what the problem is. She’s particularly good where my mental health is concerned. I haven’t seen her in a while as she has been off having a baby but I think the whole surgery must have heard her exclamations of delight when I showed her my engagement ring when I saw her last week after hurting my knee.
Also my fiances consultant- lovely chap, extremely helpful and very understanding of my own needs- he is always available to listen to me if fiance has a problem. He was my consultant for a while too and fantastic with me as well. He also acknowledges my previous roles and experience in mental health and talks to me like an equal professional while being careful not to alienate fiance from the conversation- explaining anything he needs to without being patronising.
Finally- the lovely surgeon who operated on me to remove my fibroids. She was so kind and caring and gave me a hug when the news wasn’t good about what she found when operating.
There are so many more I could mention- the Student nurse who held my hand and talked gently to me, and took me for walks round the hospital to try and calm me when I cried for three days after being admitted into the hospital which had caused my PTSD- the nurse working on the ward I was on after my hysterectomy who despite being busy came and sat with me when I cried and told jokes and funny stories to try and cheer me up- the nurse who tucked me in after my gallbladder operation when I was crying again- so many unsung heroes, I’ve had a lot of horrible experiences in the NHS but there are so many fantastic staff who do fantastic things and you so rarely hear of them.

alba7

The lovely NHS dentist I went to after a particularly unpleasant experience with another one.

I have a head tremor caused by a neurological disorder, which gets worse under stress, a fact my previous dentist ignored ("can you stop shaking your head" was a frequent comment). My new dentist took the time to research my condition and asked me what she needed to do to make it more comfortable for me. She stops when I need a break and manages to examine and treat me despite the tremor.

I'm so glad I insisted on changing dentists!

K80_Black

My mental health team got me a cake and sang to me when I had an appointment on my birthday. Really unexpected and very much appreciated!

They're great in general - my social worker always has time for me and has gone above and beyond what I would expect many times. Little things like offering to pick up a few bits for me when I was ill with flu.

I've had some terrible experiences with other mental health teams, glad this one are much better!

Murphybear

We’ve got a good NHS dentist. When we moved we stayed with her, it is about 40 miles but she was happy with that.

I had a total knee replacement 10 years ago. All the staff were excellent, the surgeons, nurses, physios etc. We had a lovely Polish male nurse who was always on nights, he would come round and talk to us and make us cups of tea if we couldn’t sleep.

However the experience I will never forget - I felt really ill one Sunday evening, OH phoned Devon Doctors, the out of hours service. They told him to take me in and pack a bag. They were waiting for me and I was admitted. I had a really nasty infection and was put on a drip with antibiotics. A few days later I had a seizure followed by 5 more over the next few weeks. It took them a month to get me well enough to be discharged. Fortunately I don’t really remember much as I was “out of it”.

I weighed myself when I got home, I had lost nearly 3 stone.

The care I received by all the staff was beyond good, they were absolutely amazing. I know a lot of people are disillusioned with the NHS but if you really need them, they are there.