One of the problems with getting Britons to know just how awful the NHS has become and how bad it is compared to other healthcare systems in Europe is that although the NHS is bad, it is good enough in parts to allow people to think that, at the very least it’s an OK sort of healthcare system. If you’ve had good experiences personally with the NHS then it’s probably difficult to comprehend that there are vast numbers of people for whom the NHS does not work. In the case of this guest poster, who I have anonymised in order to protect they and their family’s identity as I’ve not been given permission to do so at this point, we have a person who has relatives who’ve had really good treatment, but who has personally experienced the sort of crap treatment by the NHS that myself and my family have experienced.

This post, entitled ‘Doc Martin is Dead RIP’, shows just what a bureaucratic mess the NHS has become. It should not take threats of legal action to get a healthcare provider to give a Tetanus vaccine when requested and also when there are sound grounds for doing so.

19TH Jan 2023
DOC MARTIN IS DEAD, RIP.

Setting the scene: Last night just before 2am when trying to break up a
fight between our cat and the neighbourhood bully cat, the latter attacked
me and drew a lot of blood from the back of my right hand.
Washed it with copious amounts of water and applied disinfectant, but it was
damned painful, swollen and bruised. My wife suggested a tetanus shot as I
hadn’t had one for 35yrs, but that’s another story.
Right…here goes for another Tale from the Crypt that is becoming
increasingly par for the course in parts of Our Esteemed NHS.
At 11:33am I rang the GP practice we’ve been with for 44years and once the
usual blurb about the KungFlu and going through the website was finished,
got through to reception quite quickly.
“Doctors Practice, can I help you?”
“Yes, I was scratched badly by a cat last night and need a tetanus shot and
possibly antibiotics. It bled a lot, but I’ve washed and disinfected it as
best I can. When can I come in?”
“What’s your name and D.O.B?”
Gave them my details.
“We haven’t got any appointment slots at the moment, it’s best you call 111
and they will advise you.”
“Why? All they’ll do is tell me to contact my GP, which I have and I’m
certainly not going to clog up A&E with what is a minor matter.”
“Well, we haven’t got any slots and they will be able to advise.”
“Advise what? Listen, when I was a kid you could turn up at the doctor’s
surgery and if it was a simple procedure the doctor would see you with no
disruption to the practice. This will only take a couple of minutes
especially as these wounds can be quite seriously infected and my last
tetanus jab was 35 years ago, at Hemel Hempstead Hospital.”
“I’ll speak to my colleague” (about a 3 minute wait) (Comes back to phone)
“We haven’t got any available slots, but if it gets worse, contact 111 or
visit A&E”
DEEEEP breath to keep calm.. “You, my GP practice, are supposed to be the
first line of defence dealing with minor issues, it seems that Doc Martin is
dead. Here’s the thing, if I cannot see you reasonably quickly and I end up
with an infection or complications, can you tell me who I should sue,
personally; the practice, or the person who made this decision?”
“If you’d like to hold on, I’ll consult my colleague” (Another long wait
with the now standard looped phone music) “Hello, can you come in tomorrow?”
“Yes, what time?”
“11am, in the meantime if there is any deterioration, call 111 or go to
A&E.”
“Thank you, I’ll see you tomorrow.”
(Length of call 24 Mins 56 Secs, I could have gone there and been checked
and jabbed in that time, plus the line was engaged to others trying to get
through.)

This obfuscating nonsense seems to be embedded like an infected tick in
General Practice, where procedure and paperwork takes priority over the
process of “doctoring”. The frustration it creates in people already under
stress is appalling with any annoyance on the part of the patient seen as
“bullying staff”, worse, everything is passed back and forth between the
hapless 111, the surgery and A&E wasting time and supposed “scarce funds” on
trivia that could be sorted out by any half-competent GP, they won’t even
syringe out earwax, instead sending people to hospital. Plenty of money for
the “gender” crap, drugging and slicing up confused children and infinite
“resources” it seems for “diversity” and tiers of management and non-medical
staff. As an aside, the district nurse visits my father every now and again,
she told him that are NINE layers of management above her, a huge inverted
pyramid. That is where enormous sums of money are going.

The NHS is not all bad. The best description is that the service is “patchy”
and seems to be particularly bad regarding GPs who clearly miss the
relatively quiet surgeries during the Covid PANdemIC. While I’ve got your
ear, I must give special praise to both the Royal Free Hospital and the
Whittington Hospital for their outstanding care of my parents, likewise
Barnet Adult Services. Credit where credit id due.