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Vera
Membership Moderator
 United Kingdom
8652 Posts |
 Posted - 26 Mar 2007 : 11:07:56 PM
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Mnnnnn, having spent several hours in A+E today I can't say that I have much faith in the NHS. Mind you half the public in there probably shouldn't have been!
My knee dislocated on Saturday which, as you can imagine, is bit painful and a lot inconvienient. It does from time to time but usually only for a few seconds but this time is popping in and out constantly.
I am very friendly with my consultant and phoned her today and she told me to get to A+E for specific xrays. I had to wait for John to finish work before going.
I get there and I take my ticket and wait. 3/4 hour later I get called, asked my name etc and told to wait, 30 mins later a nurse asks me some questions and tells me the wait for a doctor is 2 hours. We wait and we wait and eventually see the doctor nearly 3 hours later, I explain what has happened and that my consultant, who, by the way, works at that very hospital, says I need this and that I relate exactly what she said. He says that I don't meet the criteria for having xrays and says that I will have to go to the fracture clinic. Feeling a tad frustrated I asked how long the wait was ........... expecting maybe hours to be told at least a week!!! 
By which time my already dodgy ligaments and extremely unstable knee cap will more than likely require surgery.
Unbelievable!!
I came home with no xrays and told to phone the fracture clinic in the morning.
I'm taking Dennis to the vets tomorrow, shall I bung them a few quid to do some xrays.
Vera and Dennis
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Hampshire |
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heatherr
Platinum Member
England
1882 Posts |
Posted - 26 Mar 2007 : 11:14:36 PM
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Blimey Vera, don't fall apart before the 7th  .
Take yourself off to the vet tomorrow; they fixed Dennis up pretty well, maybe THEY can sort you out, no point waiting on the NHS, you'll be drawing your pension before they get to you |
Heather 
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Vera
Membership Moderator
United Kingdom
8652 Posts |
Posted - 26 Mar 2007 : 11:31:16 PM
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Nothing will stop me!!
Can you send me the PO of the yard so I can AA route plan it please?
Thanks
Vera and Dennis |
Hampshire |
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Tahir
Platinum Member
United Kingdom
4572 Posts |
Posted - 26 Mar 2007 : 11:58:54 PM
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Bloody NHS, they can be soooo useless, and I can't believe how they rush around so in A&E!!!!
We had to take a friend's TB into the vets with a suspected gun shot wound (air rifle). No wait, straight in, completely organised. Luckily it was just a puncture wound, but while we were waiting for the filly to recover from the tranquilizer, the vet ultra-sounded (is that a word?) OH's leg:
Many years ago, when OH was just a lad (18), he had used a metal hammer against a metal spike and a small fragment of the hammer had buried itself in his leg, just below the knee. He paid a visit to the doctor at the time of the accident, and the doc assured him that the "foreign body" would work it's way out - it didn't. So, just for a laugh, and after telling them the tale, these vets decided to scan OH's leg to see if they could find the offending piece of metal, they were all convinced that it must have erupted without OH's knowledge many years ago. Sure enough they found the little tike - in his upper thigh!!!! That was after 20 years of invading OH's body, how much further will it travel!!!???
Carla, xx. |
Edited by - Tahir on 27 Mar 2007 12:01:33 AM |
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nicolanapper
Platinum Member
England
4247 Posts |
Posted - 27 Mar 2007 : 07:34:37 AM
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Carla, is it still there, or his you OH going to have it removed?
Vera, poor you, bloody A&E I too had a 5 hour wait recently as my son had torn muscles in his neck (playing football) and it was so swollen he was in agony, our GP sent him there as he thought there may have been a fracture because of all the swelling. Luckily there was not and he had to wear a neck brace for a few weeks and all turned out fine.
Is your knee going to cope with going to the vets with Dennis, for goodness sake be careful.
Years ago a friend of my parents who owned a sheep farm in North Wales had the vet out to his sheep. The Weather was horrendous, lots of snow, blizzards and high winds. Their next door neighbours wife was in labour and because of the weather the ambulance/ doctor could not get to her. The vet ended up delivering her baby (he was snowed in and could not get back to his practice), so all was well, lucky for her she had a medical professional on hand at the time!!!
Yes, Vera, get your knee scanned at the vets today, sometimes I think our animals have better and quicker access to medical care than we do!!
Nicky |
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Vera
Membership Moderator
United Kingdom
8652 Posts |
Posted - 27 Mar 2007 : 07:41:09 AM
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euweeeeee Carla, that made me feel all funny. The thought of a piece of metal migrating around my leg 
Vera and Dennis |
Hampshire |
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nicolanapper
Platinum Member
England
4247 Posts |
Posted - 27 Mar 2007 : 08:00:39 AM
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Carla, sorry that first sentence went a bit wrong. Is your OH going to have this piece of metal removed or are the doctors quite happy for it to remain travelling around his leg?!
Nicky |
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Vera
Membership Moderator
United Kingdom
8652 Posts |
Posted - 27 Mar 2007 : 08:05:20 AM
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Nicky,
I can walk as long as I keep the knee bent but I won't be trotting him up thats for sure!
Will ask the vet - you never know!! I have spent an awful lot of money with them since owning Dennis  .
Vera and Dennis |
Hampshire |
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nicolanapper
Platinum Member
England
4247 Posts |
Posted - 27 Mar 2007 : 08:08:03 AM
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Well Vera, be careful, it is frightening just how much we spend on our animals at the vets isn't it, but they are worth it!!!
Nicky |
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pat day
Moderator
United Kingdom
5324 Posts |
Posted - 27 Mar 2007 : 08:16:53 AM
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Would a knee support help Vera until you get to the fracture clinic at least???
Good luck with D and yourself ofcourse. |
       
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~TREASURES AT TEMPLEWOOD~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Vera
Membership Moderator
United Kingdom
8652 Posts |
Posted - 27 Mar 2007 : 08:20:25 AM
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I keep telling him that but he's not in the least bit grateful!
I gave him a bath yesterday as I was too embarressed to take him to the vets looking like a poo monster. So what does he do over night... uses a nice fresh pile of poo to use as a pillow. He's even got it in his ears - who'd have boys!!!!!!
Vera and Dennis |
Hampshire |
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unicorn leather
Bronze Member
England
229 Posts |
Posted - 27 Mar 2007 : 09:22:16 AM
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I went out with a vet nurse years ago and she said a farmer nearby to her practice cut his hand badly on a hay baler, he went down to the vets and got the vet to stitch it up rather then waste valuable baling time in A & E.
Apparently, it's legal for a vet to treat humans as they are so highly trained for various species but a Doctor is not allowed to treat animals, or so she told me.
Good luck with your knee,Oz :) |
Traditional Working Saddler |
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Judith S
Platinum Member
Wales
15686 Posts |
Posted - 27 Mar 2007 : 09:43:25 AM
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Oh Vera - that sounds painfull - hope you can get it sorted ASAP!
Judith |
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arabic
Platinum Member
England
4562 Posts |
Posted - 27 Mar 2007 : 11:41:40 AM
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Oh not nice Vera!!! Knee injuries can be very painful, hope you soon get is sorted
Sandie |
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Jilly
Platinum Member
England
2431 Posts |
Posted - 27 Mar 2007 : 12:11:06 PM
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| Grrrr...don't even get me started on this one!!!! Vera I do hope you get your knee sorted soon. |
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Zoe Tyzack
Platinum Member
United Kingdom
4047 Posts |
Posted - 27 Mar 2007 : 12:19:46 PM
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hi
ooooh Vera
you poor thing and a big OUCH !!!
Years ago a family member went to the vets and got xrays.
Vets are far better than the doctors anyway |
     
Zoe.x |
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NUTTER
Platinum Member
England
2452 Posts |
Posted - 27 Mar 2007 : 2:06:37 PM
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| Becouse the knee waits!!!! are one of the longest waits!!! and you will be making it worse carrying on even with a special splint at a grand price of £90, be very carefull, to jump the queue it is worth paying out between £175 to £375 depending where you live as an xray does not show enough up for them to tell the full extent of injury,so they will make you wait yet again further months for you to have mri , then you have to wait up to 3 months for results depending what health authority you come under as they send them to africa!!!! honest to be read and some dont come back they get lost so you have to start all over again!!!if done on NHS up to 6 months waiting list after 3 month plus waiting list to see consultant,in doing this it can save you a good 6 months if you are needing some form of othopeadic procedure. |
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MirandaToo
Silver Member
England
381 Posts |
Posted - 27 Mar 2007 : 2:13:06 PM
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Euwww! Aren't you in agony (or should that be ago-knee! )? That really doesn't sound too pleasant! Hope you are mended soon.
Have to say though (just to buck the trend!) I've found our local A&E to be fab, although that was with kids so maybe they treat them better! Had to do an emergency dash there with youngest daughter last summer. She was playing horses and jumped over a broom handle balanced on two buckets, slipped and in completely freak accident managed to totally smash her arm, so much so she pushed the bones out through the skin, .
A&E were soooo good, we were blue lighted there so we got priority treatment, but they were so lovely I really couldn't fault them (APART from the junior doc who decided the bone sticking out of the arm was in fact some foreign object that needed pulling out - needless to say he was VERY quickly removed from the room!). They had us in theatre within about 2 hours, so no complaints at all!
What I NEVER understand is why we don't do as USA and have operating theatres open all night - all routine ops could go on 24 hrs a day (would you care if your op was 3pm or 3am?), it would cut waiting lists and mean that all the expensive equipment wasn't sitting there doing nothing all night. (OK so it would cost more in staff pay, but not that much....),.....and now climbing off my soapbox...
Good luck with your leg, and let us know whether the vet will x ray! |
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Jingo
Platinum Member
United Kingdom
3632 Posts |
Posted - 27 Mar 2007 : 2:53:25 PM
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| Poor Vera - think we have a knee brace somewhere from when Chris had his skiing accident, maybe I should post it to you |
Jude
www.auchmillanarabians.org.uk
      
photos:Anthony Reynolds,Sweet,Deano,Real Time Imaging |
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Tahir
Platinum Member
United Kingdom
4572 Posts |
Posted - 27 Mar 2007 : 6:01:04 PM
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Nicky, that was so funny, I had to read your post 3 times to "see" what you had said, it appeared to be ok the first time I read it!!!!
OH is rather fond of his foreign body, so it will probably stay there for another 20 years or so (wonder where it's gonna go next - up or down!?!?!?)
Vera, you knee sounds really painful, I hope you get it sorted soon, and I reckon the vets are the best bet!!
Carla, xx. |
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Grey Girl
Platinum Member
England
1554 Posts |
Posted - 27 Mar 2007 : 7:08:17 PM
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Vera: poor thing, hope your next experience with A&E is better and that your knee gets seen quickly - might be worth ringing your consultant and see if he can do anything?
I tried to persuade Amelia's dentist to knock a jagged bit off one of my broken teeth with one of his little files, but he wouldn't - insisted I saw a human dentist!
And actually it is true: vets can treat humans but doctors can't treat animals: no-one can treat animals except vets and certain quailifed persons.
Grey Girl |
 Said the little eohippus, "I´m going to be a HORSE"  |
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SEZ
Gold Member
England
1101 Posts |
Posted - 27 Mar 2007 : 7:48:30 PM
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| I work for the NHS and, like the rest of the staff, am at breaking point. I don't want to go into work tomorrow or the next day. We work so hard and do the best we can but it is never enough. We have hundereds of nurses who cannot get jobs. I was very lucky to get a permanent, full-time post. And yet we are chronically short staffed at every level and struggle to perform even basic nursing care each day. Our backs are breaking. |
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Vera
Membership Moderator
United Kingdom
8652 Posts |
Posted - 27 Mar 2007 : 9:31:39 PM
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Sarah, I didn't mean it to sound like I was having a go at the staff, the nurse and the doc couldn't have been nicer. I am peed off at the system though AND like I mentioned before half the people in there didn't look like they should have been. The boy sat opposite us, approx 16 years old, had dropped something on his foot days ago and now his toe nail had gone black HELLOOOOOOOOOOO. He walked in without the slightest limp!!!!!!!!!!!!! Then theres the likes of me who walked round with a bloody tumour for 18 months before it go so painful I had to go to the doctor. I have a benign tumour in my foot which makes me walk funny - hence knee problem.
They gave me a knee support at the hospital. The trouble was that its only confortable if the knee cap is in the right place.
The good news is that it clicked back in unaided a couple of hours ago and fingers crossed has stayed in so far.
Now I'm left wondering is I should bother calling the fracture clinic? I will if it pops out again but I'm seeing the consultant in a couple of weeks anyway.
I have been putting off surgery. They want to operate it is me who is resisting. Hospitals are for sick people, I'm not sick!!! Even when I was having radiotherapy last year I didn't see myself as sick - I see what I have as an inconvienience (sp). Besides the hospital is the third worst in the whole country for MRSA and that is one bug I don't want!
Vera and Dennis |
Hampshire |
Edited by - Vera on 27 Mar 2007 9:33:36 PM |
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Lanabanana
Platinum Member
United Kingdom
2691 Posts |
Posted - 27 Mar 2007 : 9:40:49 PM
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Hiya Vera,
How did Dennis get on at the Vets today? |
     
Hampshire. |
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Vera
Membership Moderator
United Kingdom
8652 Posts |
Posted - 27 Mar 2007 : 9:47:36 PM
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He's been admitted AGAIN. I collect him tomorrow. I'm so depressed I'm sitting here eating chocolate.
Vera and Dennis |
Hampshire |
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Jilly
Platinum Member
England
2431 Posts |
Posted - 27 Mar 2007 : 11:25:12 PM
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Awww Vera, you are having a rough time of it aren't you, give Dennis a big hug from me, and at least you've got an excuse to eat chocolate......I just eat it for the hell of it....lol  |
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