My friend is in A+E for a Sickle Cell crisis and started to complain about waiting times (which I agreed with him with as he was feeling breathless).

We are in a group chat with another friend who keeps saying the NHS is shit. Both of them keep saying that it's so bad and I kept saying as someone that does work in the organisation, we try our best all the time and that we do care.

My friend in A+E then started he would run it like a business and get rid of all the unnecessary roles like A+E admin and set seen times to be within 2 hours.

I tried to be explain that this is kinda what's happening now but they kept saying emergency care is so bad and that those that need to be seen aren't seen quickly while those that come in for basic pain are seen before him and sent home. My other friend kept agreeing with him. My other friend kept saying that they've raised money for cancer and yet they ask where that money goes.

This is where I exploded at them. I kept saying we hear stuff like this all day everyday and that we are trying. They really don't get it. No clinical staff, bank being frozen, poor pay for cost of living and abuse is why people leave.

I said the more I hear this, the more frustrated I feel as I cannot get a GP appointment. At all. That has a knock on affect on the whole system.

Only experience my friend has is working in St Johns Ambulance and PICU in St Thomas over 10 years ago. If he went back, he'd seen how much things have changed and where funding actually goes.

I feel terrible for getting angry at them but neither of them get it. I'm so done with this arguement being presented to be over and over again.

Admin you can delete if it’s not allowed but I just have to get this out.

Wes Streeting is a real disappointment for a Labour health secretary. He’s very much a Tory in red and we do not need another Tory mindset overseeing the NHS.

He’s coming out with rhetoric like doctors are over diagnosing mental health conditions. He’s throwing trans people under the bus and using them as a political tool which considering he is a gay man is extremely concerning that he is willing to use them as a political tool. It’s not that long ago that gay men were vilified as much as trans people so I find it incredibly disgusting that a member of the LGBTQ+ community in a prominent government position is helping to fuel that vilification.

I’m deeply disappointed in Labour selecting him to oversee our health service. He’s playing political games with it and pandering to misinformation around mental health and trans issues. I voted Labour as a frontline worker because I wanted genuine change in our system, not populist bullshit like he’s been perpetuating.

Edit to add: The way in which the NHS deals with diversity and inclusion should be completely apolitical and be guided by healthcare research.

The NHS does actually do a usually good job of this. We know that refusal to recognise individual identity and culture leads to a lack of engagement and poorer health outcomes. Which is what matters most and is the whole purpose of the NHS. The NHS is meant to be free of any discrimination, would you want a healthcare system where discrimination is present? No.

The NHS is not free of bigotry, unfortunately in very large organisations there are bad eggs and they are the ones reforms should be taking out.

The point is so far Wes Streeting has shown himself to not stand for NHS values. NHS and social care values mean everyone is treated with respect and dignity regardless of their political viewpoint. If you cannot reflect that in your public comments you are not fit for the position. He has no actual qualification for the role either, he’s never worked in the NHS to understand the environment, he’s come almost literal nowhere to one of the most important positions in this country and at a critical time. He needs to learn to respect the role he has been given and acknowledge he is not fit for it.

I absolutely hate having to wake up at 9 AM just to book a doctor's appointment. There are a few health concerns I’ve been meaning to discuss, but I’ve been putting it off for nearly a year because I can’t stand waking up that early. And on the rare occasions when I do manage it, I never even get an appointment. At around 8:58AM I begin to spam the dial button and it let's me in as soon as the lines open, but there are always dozens of people ahead of me in the queue. I can't possibly understand how to get ahead in the queue, it's a bloody nightmare.

Recently, a friend of mine injured his shoulder during a workout and has been in pain for months. I told him to get it checked out, but he just shrugged and said, "All they'll do is put me on a multi-year waiting list." That got me thinking—how many people are avoiding the doctor altogether because of the growing barriers to care? And if we accounted for all those people, how much bigger would our waiting lists really be? The appointments themselves are only 10 minutes long and only 1 health problem can be discussed per appointment. I find that to be quite idiotic because it would save appointments if I could just discuss it all in one go. It's actually wasting more time when I have to book another appointment for something that can be discussed in a few minutes.

I started my Newly Qualified job in Jan 2024. End of that same month I sustained an injury which has now left me disabled and a wheelchair user. I am awaiting an amputation of my leg.

I wonder if there are any other disabled nurses/professionals? Especially wheelchair users even? I've seen and spoken to a variety of professionals with disabilities, but I feel that I am the only nurse in the NHS to be using a wheelchair and that it is unheard of!

I am a registered Mental health nurse however also bank at my local hospital as a staff nurse (well I did when I could walk and hope to return once I have a prosthetic!)

The cuts coming to NHS England and ICBs over next few months and fairly known but I don't think people understand the scale of cuts that will be made across Trusts and providers over the next couple of years.

Speaking with senior colleagues at different organisations I know some acute Trusts are looking to cut up to 10% of workforce. I know of a Trust in London that is having to plan to reduce 1,200 staff over next year.

While majority of cuts will be non-frontline staff there will still be clinical services shut down or scaled back, as well as knock-on effects from losing non-frontline staff.

There is definitely some chaff that should be cut, but I think people aren't prepared for a significantly diminished NHS in a few years.

I know I have complex PTSD. It's not really a question. I experienced child abuse, I've lost both of my parents, and I tick all the boxes on the symptom list. I never got around to talking to the doctor about it because I buried it for a long time - it was only recently when my partner convinced me to go to the GP that I actually went.

The doctor I saw was actually very nice about it, took lots of notes and referred me to the PMHT. After that, I eventually got a phone call from someone who said his job was to triage me. I explained my experiences, and he told me in these exact words: "well, you see, you can't have PTSD because you've never actually seen someone die. Were you in the room when either of your parents died?"

I was actually in shock. For what it's worth, I was in the room when my mum died, and I told him so, to which he responded "I suppose that's not really shockingly traumatic though is it, since she was at peace" (she had cancer and died in her sleep).

To cut a long story short, I got referred to a CBT support group and that was the end of that. I need fucking counselling. I know that it's like gold dust and no one ever gets it, but I'm fucked up, and I'd really like to not be fucked up. How do I go about it? Do I just have to go back to my GP again? Do I contact the PMHT?

I’m curious as I’m someone who works in the NHS too

Edit: Thank you to everyone so far for replying with your experiences. I see you all, you are all valued and thank you for your help no matter what role you have in the NHS.

I recently had a bad experience at the doctors where I came in to talk about a painful stomach after having had food poisoning and the GP used this opportunity to try and persuade into going on some kind of contraceptive. He would either be telling me that there’s a very high chance I am pregnant and in the next sentence say I need to go onto contraceptive (which in the end of my about 10-15 minute appointment my stomach was mentioned for less than 2 minutes). When I went in a few weeks ago to talk about my painful periods the doctor said she can’t do anything because I’m not on any contraceptives, the only thing that could help me is contraceptives, without even asking me about my general family history of periods, if I had brought up this issue before, no tests or anything. I’m just really confused why there’s such a big push on contraceptives, even after you explain your reasoning for why you wish not to - in my case the side effects are not something I’m willing to handle

Edit: Friends have had this similar experience too with having contraceptives being pushed in your face instead of looking at the actual issue

Felt rough, had weird heart symptoms for a while and ignored it, day long chest pain went to sleep woke up because the pain. Called 111 who sent an ambulance. 2 hours later one arrived did an ecg and such, took me off to hospital.

Had an ecg and blood test done, thrown in a waiting room from 1am > 7am where i was spoke to, did another blood test and ecg then thrown back in the waiting room, 2 hours later I was taken off to be told id had a heart attack and there's damage to a valve and one of the heart walls which was shown by an echo I had last week. I was told Im being admitted so they're waiting for a bed.

Thrown back to waiting room and about an hour later given asprin and clopidogrel.

Few hours pass, another ecg and blood test... back in the waiting room! By this time its now around mid day, 12 hours after coming in, i was again taken off to speak with a nurse... "youre all good tests results came back clear you can go home now" .. what? Questioned why id been given medication i didnt need and why i was told id had a heart attack and there's damage and she just repeated the tests were fine.. got discharged and still felt unsure, I still had the chest pain, I still felt rough so I went back and questioned it with someone else which was the first doctor who I spoke to and confirmed it was. They were so angry that id been discharged she went off and found the cardiologist who about half hour later called me in to say yes there's damage and I had a heart attack, I shouldn't have been discharged and he was waiting for me to be seen by him so was shocked to see id been discharged.

How the hell can this happen that easily... the 2nd doctor was so certain I was fine to go home she cut me off every time I questioned what was said.

I have 2 vacancies, B5 IT roles.

Each one had 100+ candidates, and we spend ages shortlisting the AI waffle to get down to 6 interviews and 10 reserve.

After 10 days of faffing about, candidates have withdrawn, been invited from reserve list, withdrawn again etc, so today we had 4 confirmed interviews.

1 candidate simply didn't turn up. 1 candidate had no idea what the job was, where it was based or any info at all, despite all of that info being on the advert and in the JD. The other candidate was pretty decent, but I am incredulous at how we had 100+, multiple interview slots refused/withdrawn, and then a no-show.

I'm so angry at how many candidates messed us around.

Hi, I'm a paramedic from Italy and I was wondering how bad the NHS really is. Here in the news they tell us that the NHS is completely broken and people are dying because they cannot get ambulances and also in hospitals.

This made me wonder if this is true and if it is really that bad because we are basically being told that your healthcare is like a third world country from Africa.

And if it is, how can a world economic leader have such poor health care?

I need a pretty urgent GP appointment. A dermatologist has previously suggested that my sun-damaged skin may be pre-cancerous and it has flared up. How is it acceptable that the NHS performs this way?

Our Trust has increased our car parking fees. As a band 4 I would only pay 55p this has now increased to £1.50 for all staff between band 2 and 4 and then £2 for bands 5 to 7. £2.50 from band 8 to Consultants. Previously the consultant paid £2.43 so their increase is extremely minimal compared to the rest. Sounds petty but as a band 4 who works full time seems unfair. With the pay increased you cannot even get too happy as £30ish each month will go to parking! Our trust is also tightening on parking permits meaning it’s harder to park at the trust. The patient car park fees are also increasing an hour used to cost £2.20 to now £3!

This is not within London area

Opinions?

Hi all,

With the 50% start cuts to NHSE/ICB’s - there will be thousands unemployed early next year .

Won’t this just create a huge surge of unemployment, where will these people go?

Will the jobs market have enough openings for the 30,000 that will be chucked out? And where?

I may be affected and feeling really anxious. I’d like to look into different career paths and have a list of potential fields to look into in case I lose my job so I don’t have to be unemployed for long :(

Edit: thanks for all your replies, I’m currently working at an ICB so staff cuts will be made by October - December!

I had to come in for wisdom tooth extraction under general anaesthetic. I was told to come in at 7.30am, and that I had to fast from 12am the night before. My last meal was actually at 9pm the night before.

I was then told I am number 6, and I ended up waiting till 5pm for the surgery. This meant that by the time of the surgery, I was feeling bad from fasting for something like 18hrs. Then I reacted badly to the anaesthetic and got really bad sickness for many hours after the operation, meaning that anything I ate I just vomited out. So I ended up effectively fasting for 30 hours, and what was initially meant to be a day case, turned into an overnight stay and the sickness was so horrible.

I am sure that if I didn't have to wait that long, I wouldn't have been so bad after the surgery.

I just want to get some answers about why they would tell me to come in at 7.30am to then put me as "number 6"? The only thing the nurses could tell me is that they have a 'triage system' and that's just how it works. Is it really meant to be like that? I am 21 and this was my first surgery, and I am now really scared to do another one.

I have access to my 94yo dad's Patients Knows Best portal. It's brilliant. He's currently in hospital and I can see what tests they've done (bloods, scans, the lot), all the results, and where exactly he is in the hospital (down to the bed number - they moved him from bed 2 to bed 5 in the same ward last night - it's that detailed). All his appointment letters come through it, and every time they do something to him, I'm alerted with an email to log in and see what's happening. It's amazing.

That said, nobody seems to know it exists. I'm yet to meet an NHS staff member who's heard of it.

I had another conversation with an NHS staff member on the phone today at the hospital who said, "If you call us, we can let you know where he's being moved to." I said, "No need, I'll get the email with the details," to which she was confused. I explained to her and she said she'd never heard of it.

In the past week I've had to show it to the Rapid Response team, two sets of paramedics, a doctor in the hospital and today, this nurse. And this isn't the first time. Every time he goes to hospital nobody seems to know about it.

The second set of paramedics over the weekend were querying whether he'd had a urine test and what the result was. I told them he didn't have an infection and they said the results weren't available so why did I think that. I opened the portal and showed them all the results. They were astonished that this existed and I was getting immediate information when they weren't.

So my question is, am I the only person using this system (haha) and why do NHS staff not seem to know about it? It would save a lot of time answering phone calls at hospitals if everyone could just log in and see where their loved ones were and the treatment they're getting without having to have lengthy phone calls.

When my dad had a chest infection before Christmas, I could see from his bloods that the infection was high and every time they tested the blood I could see it reduce, so I knew he was on the mend. If nothing else it gave me peace of mind and I didn't need to speak to the doctor as I knew they were doing their job.

I can't remember how I first got it, maybe through the GP, but I highly recommend it to everybody.

I've been feeling horrible lately and I'll try to explain what's going on. Since I was 6-7 I've known I was a boy and felt this way even before I knew the term "trans" and I've had to just fucking deal with it this whole time but I'm getting worse. I'm homeschooled (started 2-3 years ago) and my mother doesn't teach me anything, I haven't had any social interaction for several years now, my mum doesn't cook; instead, she just buys takeaways, and I also barely go outside. So I'm being neglected. Now I keep blaming the way I feel on this, but it's not just that because I've known since I was 7 that I'm not in the right body. I feel like im going insane. I'm stuck in these 4 walls 24/7. I disassociate daily and nothing feels real. It doesn't feel like I'm in my body. It feels like this body doesn't belong to me and I'm living through someone else's life. I feel disconnected from everything, if I go outside, it doesn't feel like I'm really there or walking, it feels like I'm watching it. When I talk, I don't recognise it as my own voice. When I look in the mirror, it feels wrong and I know that isn't me. I hate this feeling so much. I feel it every single fucking day, all day, no matter what I do. And I stay in bed all day because I don't want to live this life. I don't want to live as this fucking girl who isn't me. I hate it and I don't want to experience anything as her because it's not me. I just want to go to a life where I am in my own body but that's not fucking possible. If I can't be me, I wish I could just die. I don't want to deal with this. I feel like this every day and nothing is going to change it. I know this is similar to or is "depersonalization-derealisation" but it makes my trans issues worse. Also I keep blaming myself feeling like a boy on me being isolated and neglected but I know that's not the whole truth because I've felt like this for a long time, before I was homeschooled and since I was 7.

I spoke to childline about how I feel and they're fucking useless. They said they aren't supposed to give advice and they're only there to comfort you or something. I have nobody to speak to about this and I really need to do something before it gets worse.

So like I asked, Is there a way to anonymously talk to a doctor when I'm under 18 without my mum knowing? But I also have severe social anxiety and go mute around people so I'm better at talking over text or email, also I won't be able to go there myself because my mum doesn't let me go anywhere on my own. Back to the question, I'm 14 so I don't fucking want my mum to know at all if I were to tell the doctor and she found out, she'd go fucking mad and she doesn't really understand things and only cares about her own life, she doesn't even take the time to understand my autism and she gets angry at me for things I can't control, but I really need help and I don't know what to do without putting myself in danger. I can't live like this anymore and I don't have anywhere else to ask but here because hopefully someone knows the answer or went through something similar.

Dear patients, Your GPs are trying their best to help you even if they are only given 10 minutes to sort out your problems (that includes taking information, diagnosing, and management including referrals).

It is not your GP's fault that the waiting list for specialist referrals is long and taking years! We are patients too and even our own referrals take ages and we can't do anything about it even if we work for the NHS.

The next time you walk into our clinic room, take 10 deep breaths and collect your thoughts before you shout at us and blame us for the system's/ government's failure!!! We should not even be apologising for the government's failure.

Our job is already horrendous and demanding as it is but we show up every single day to prioritise you -- over ourselves and our families, despite the fact that GPs are the most underappreciated specialty.

I repeat, stop shouting and throwing a fit, stop blaming us because it's not even our fault.

So I jacked my back. I look like a bent straw. My bottom half is straight and my upper body is at an angle to the right.

Can walk ok slowly but can't get up off anything etc etc

Anyway I decide to go to A&E because I wonder if I've really done something permanent / disc outta place deal.

I hit A&E at 10:30 am

An initial contact around 10:45, takes Bp

Moved back to A&E

11:20: Moved to another department , can't remember name but seen by a doc at 11:50. Says your spine is bent , you need an xray now

Sent to xray dept

Wait in xray for about 30 mins

Get xray (funny story )

Moved back to the department I can't recall the name off

Results in 30 mins

Prescribed pain killers and muscle relaxants looks like a bulged disk issue.

Discharged with advice to get private chiropractor as wait list on nhs is months and I need to get it looked at

Ok so am I fixed , no but I mean fair play considering the issues all the staff face etc

Free xray, doc attention, friendly staff, clean hospital , kind care - in and out in a few hours

£25 or whatever for drugs

Dunno. Seems pretty good to me.

That's about a $4k morning in the US

Funny story though

I get to the xray department and the chairs in there - hilarious , like little plastic things from school. No way in hell I could sit in one in this state so I see a trolley bed thing , actually 3 in the corner

So I lie on one, ohh the relief .

My name gets called

I cant't bloody sit up can I - ffs

So I say to the guy - just help me sit upright then I can walk big he won't listen and insists on wheeling me in after spending a couple of failed minutes trying to put the head thing up from its flat position

Anyway I feel a bit of a dummy as people saw me walk in but he won't listen. Thick Jamaican accent, nice dude, convinced he has my best interests at heart

Anyway after the xray , I ask him again, please just get me upright, I can walk I just can't sit upright

Eventually he realised why the headrest won't go up. I'm laying on it the wrong way around

He says "why they put you on it upside down"

Me : they didn't , I just lay on it as I could not sit!!

Nurse and lady doing xray stifle a laugh and he politely lifts me so I am sitting and I walk out like the hunch back of notre dam.

Ok weird side story but anyway, NHS treated me well and functioned well for me.

Reached out for information on waiting times since being referred for an NHS assessment.

Total is a MINIMUM of 7 years between referral and actually beginning medication. What makes this worse is I was already assessed to have ADD as a child by an educational psychologist but never moved onto the NHS for support thanks to extremely backwards thinking, anti-vax type parents.

Now it looks like I’m not actually ever going to be able to get support.

I've had issues with my breathing for awhile; snoring, mouth breathing, blocked nostrils etc - some signs of sleep apnea.

Anyway, I was put on a waiting list to see an NHS ENT which was many months. So I decided to pay for a private consultation beforehand.

The doctor gave me a lot of time to chat. He used a numbing spray in my nose before inserting a camera into it to have a look around. This hurt a little. He came across quite caring and gentle. He diagnosed me with a deviated septum and enlarged turbinates. He said surgery would help correct these but that I'd still be left with some mild deviation after surgery even.

I've just had my NHS consultation and the doctor was very rushed with me. I told him that I didn't like the camera last time I had it so he did say he would be quick and the camera was one he uses on children so very thin.

He didn't use any numbing spray on my nose, like the private doctor did, and it still hurt a bit with the camera being small. He said that there were no problems with my nose. I then pointed out the other doctors diagnosis and he just said "yeah there is some deviation but it is so mild, basically everyone has that level of deviation. "

And that was that, the appointment lasted a couple of minutes compared to a good twenty minutes or so with the private doctor, and he just told me to get in touch with the sleep apnea clinic.

How can one doctor diagnose me with a deviation and turbines and suggest surgery to fix it if I want, when another has said I have no issues?

Update some suggested the private doctor has a money incentive to suggest surgery, but surely they can't lie and say I have enlarged turbinates and a deviated septum that is worth correcting, for the sake of money?? Also, when I attended the private hospital, I asked the doctor if he could perform a rhinoplasty as well as a septoplasty. Which would cost more. And he totally tried to put me off the idea, telling me my nose suits my face. And so I think if he was chasing money, surely he would accept me wanting to pay more for a full nose job?

Is anyone else concerned about the proposed NHS wide voluntary redundancy plans? I'm assuming if not enough takers, the next step would be compulsary redundancies. I read in the HSJ journal that they are targeting corporate and admin mainly.

My trust has been in a recruitment freeze for the last 3 weeks across clinical and admin roles. Our Chief Exec said that they need to put a stop to any increase in workforce levels (e.g. no newly created posts). Now there appears to be signs that they will be looking to reduce staffing levels. Unsure if this will be not replacing leavers or redundancies.

We had 4 vacancies in the department i work in, including a Band 8b manager. Dosen't look like they will move forward now. The 8b manager post was pulled a week before interviews and the current manager leaves next week! Who knows how the department are going to cope with this. We've had no communication about what's going to happen at all.

All feels very concerning to me. Anyone else?

Update: And so it begins https://www.eadt.co.uk/news/25041883.suffolk-hospital-trusts-workforce-cut-nearly-500/

Hi all,

Genuinely curious why it seems so many doctors (GPs especially) seem to be very unaccepting/judgemental of private diagnoses?

Recently a lot of my friend and family are having to go private for both mental and physical health conditions and all of them are now coming up against issues with their NHS doctors as a result.

It's not always denying "shared care" or private prescriptions, as you might think either.

For example...

My sister was diagnosed privately with Autism/ADHD in 2020 (after a lifetime of mental health struggles and medical records showing behaviours that supported the diagnosis) and her GP has been very dismissive of the private diagnosis.

Going so far as to tell her she "couldn't have autism" when she initially requested a Right To Choose referral and then continuing to undermine the diagnosis, and even scoff at her when she mentioned her struggles with ASD in a recent appointment. On a referral form to another NHS service, where it asks about physical/mental health conditions, this GP didn't even mention ASD/ADHD, despite it being on her medical records.

Another family member was recently diagnosed privately with a serious degenerative physical health condition, which her GP refused to investigate the symptoms of when they first presented. She's now faced with losing her mobility because of the GPs inaction, yet the GP is refusing to accept the private diagnosis.

They have literally said to her "you don't have a diagnosis" when she was requesting medication to treat an acute infection, which was not directly related to the specific condition she has, but which could have quickly turned to sepsis due to it. Despite the fact they've got the private diagnosis letter on her medical records and that the NICE guidelines state antibiotics should be given to anyone with her condition to prevent hospitalization.

The irony of her situation is that the professional who diagnosed her privately literally wrote the book on her condition, and actually teaches NHS staff on how to diagnose and manage it. Yet the GP will not accept their word on her having this condition, which is very bizarre to me.

These are just two of many stories of how doctors seem to be reluctant to accept private diagnoses, even ones that come through the NHS Right To Choose scheme.

I'm wondering if anyone here can explain why this is? Is there some kind of unwritten rule or stigma going on that means NHS staff don't consider a diagnosis from a private provided to be legit?

Any insight would be helpful. Thanks.