Parvo Posted May 25, 2013 Share Posted May 25, 2013 My sister was in hospital in Chesterfield last Friday to have gallstones removed. She was sent home on Saturday. She had a nurse come to check her wound on the Sunday and to leave her some dressings and painkillers. She has had to change her dressings herself. She lives on her own. I asked her if the nurse was due back to check on her wound but she said no. She is in constant pain - I have told her to contact her GP and to get him to come out and check her but she says she doesn't want to bother him! So she is struggling along on her own. She says she will just keep taking the painkillers. Seems like there is no such thing as after care on the NHS anymore. She could try ringing the ward for advice, or 111 but if she's in a lot of pain she should get it checked out... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laineyiow Posted May 25, 2013 Share Posted May 25, 2013 I have told her to get advice but she says she doesn't like "causing a fuss". I've told her that she must get her doctor out if she's no better. She's going to see how she is this week!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandem Posted May 25, 2013 Share Posted May 25, 2013 My son has just had a pretty major operation, he brought quite a few dressings home from hospital, then had the district nurse for two weeks to dress his wounds. He never paid for any of them, and yes, he does pay for his prescriptions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna B Posted May 25, 2013 Share Posted May 25, 2013 Sounds like Government Cuts in action. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parvo Posted May 25, 2013 Share Posted May 25, 2013 My son has just had a pretty major operation, he brought quite a few dressings home from hospital, then had the district nurse for two weeks to dress his wounds. He never paid for any of them, and yes, he does pay for his prescriptions. he's lucky...the nurses have to get a prescription for dressings just like they would for medicines......they may have wangled it or used some 'leftover' ones...most district nurses I've met hate the fact that patients have to pay for dressings ....(and yes I have met quite a few) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rupert_Baehr Posted May 26, 2013 Share Posted May 26, 2013 Dont we pay taxes, and have a free NHS; SEN/Gipsies kids can get free transport to school and pensions free bus pass and lots of other stuff. Yet a health related item and ordinary people need to pay. This is one of my 'pet subjects'. You pay taxes which contribute towards the cost of healthcare, but the amount you pay in taxes is rather less than citizens of other countries pay and doesn't cover the cost of the NHS. You certainly don't pay enough to fund the full cost of a 'Free NHS'. When I first came to the UK, there was no such thing as 'prescription charges' - but then again there were far fewer items available on prescription. (As I remember, there were two: "The Mixture" (a liquid) and "The Tablets". They certainly weren't going to tell you what you were getting.) You were 'the patient' and you certainly didn't need to know what was going on! 45 years on there are prescription charges, parking charges, charges for a TV by your bedside and charges for a phone. (Those are the ones I'm aware of - there may well be others.) Then again, the range - and cost - of services provided 'at no charge' by the NHS has increased dramatically. You could have a completely free NHS, with no charges for anything anywhere - but you'd have to pay significantly higher taxes. The NHS provides a lot of things at no cost but there is also a significant number of things which - although other healthcare systems provide them - are not available through the NHS or are available in strictly limited quantities and whether you are entitled or not seems to depend on where you live. (There is, of course, no "postcode lottery" ) I'm a strong advocate of 'ring fenced' taxes where the taxes levied are 'supposed' to pay for a service. That's anathema to British Politicians (who are renowned for being less-than-honest.) Q: "If we had to spend the money we collect for health only on health and weren't able to 'divert' it to pay for something else, how would we 'govern' the people?" A: Rather more honestly and certainly more openly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howden Posted May 26, 2013 Share Posted May 26, 2013 I have told her to get advice but she says she doesn't like "causing a fuss". I've told her that she must get her doctor out if she's no better. She's going to see how she is this week!! Why don't you phone the doctor? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister M Posted May 26, 2013 Share Posted May 26, 2013 I had a minor surgical procedure on Tuesday at the Hallamshire Hospital and was advised by my GP's practice nurse that the wound needed to be packed and dressed every day. Over the weekend it was arranged for the district nurse to come out to do this, but I must provide all of my own dressings and the packing material for the wound, at my own expense. This has now cost me two prescription charges just for 5 dressings/packing and it is likely that I will need more. Is this right? Surely if it needs to be dressed each day and the practice nurse can't do they should provide me with the dressings (as the Hallamshire did for the first couple of days). For the next couple of months I'm having quite a few prescriptions, and as I pay for mine the chemist suggested a Prescription Pre payment Certificate (form FP95). It'll work out cheaper for you in the long run.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terminator Posted May 26, 2013 Share Posted May 26, 2013 yes, its unfair.....and very expensive if you need packing, saline, dressing, 3 types of bandage and tape to stick t...that is 7 items potentially, which is 7x£7.40 or whatever it is now.... ---------- Post added 25-05-2013 at 23:20 ---------- but do they get free prescriptions? and telling the nurses you can't afford the dressings might help.. they may well not realise you pay and could have more sympathy with you than you think Yes pay for scripts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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