NHS front line - A plea

[neal]

Hello all,

 

I today attended a regional hospital for a Prostatectomy following cancer diagnosis at Christmas.

 

I was second in line for the operation, and ready to be taken down, when my surgeon arrived to tell me that the operation had been cancelled.  This was due to delays on the day, and staff being reallocated/retrained to serve on general wards to support general admissions.

 

I was told that the operation is probably to be delayed until the Autumn, which - given the stage of my cancer - is still likely to be operable, but will inevitably impact the likelihood of a clear prognosis thereafter.

 

I accept wholly that this is a result of the upturn in admissions due to Coronavirus and that I was particularly unfortunate to have been ‘bumped’ having gone through the whole pre-op procedure, however having experienced the hospital and staff today (and encountered other patients and their families) I would make the following plea.

 

Please, please follow the government guidance and follow self isolation and/or social distancing relating to your age and vulnerability.  The preparations being made on the wards are deadly serious, making way for multiple casualties in what will be harrowing environments.  Staff are being retrained to cover general admissions and provide specialist care required of the current outbreak.  Macmillan Nurses will be redeployed on general wards.  The words ‘war-zone’ were mentioned by staff on multiple occasions whilst I was there today. THIS IS REAL.

 

I overheard a couple discussing the recommendation that over 70’s would need to self isolate from the coming weekend with the words ‘they’ll never keep me locked up’.  This is concerning, and whilst I fully understand that many 70 year olds are more spritely than myself (a mere 50 year old), such behaviour will lead to behavioural ‘contagion’ and wider disregard of guidance.

 

Honestly you do not want this disease, or to be in any way a part of it’s spread.  I know it will be hard but please stay in as guided, minimise direct contact with others and tough it out.  Don’t be afraid to ask for help, there is an increasingly active support network for the isolated and vulnerable.  This forum can offer a strong part of this for us hobbyists.

 

 

For my part, I now have to wait and see what the health service can provide later in the year. For the time being I remain far more concerned over this outbreak and it’s wider impact, than my own cancer outcome.

 

 

I am sorry if these words are alarming - I have not taken writing this post lightly.  At this time there remain inconsistencies with policy which are difficult to understand, however please do what is within your control and together we can beat this thing.

 

 

I remain grateful to my specialist surgeon who has been honest and frank with me today, I wanted to share this with you.

 

Best Wishes,

 

Neal

Edited March 18, 2020 by neal

[Nearholmer]

Well put.

 

And the stats show that even 60-69yo are pretty vulnerable, if not to the very worst then badly enough to need hospital treatment ....... the way I read the stats about 1:7 in that age bracket that catch it will need need time in hospital.

 

One of my son’s friends mother is a nurse and she was retrained last week, ready to go into battle, and frankly looked terrified when telling me about it.

[Allegheny1600]

Hello Neal,

Wise words that we would all do well to heed.

 I have seen some utterly appalling, selfish behaviour being discussed on the corona virus thread, where some people have stated that unless they are actually unwell, they will continue as normal! Great! 

The thing about this virus is that you can be a carrier for up to seven days and not know it, witness that British couple in I think, Vietnam a week or so ago.

Plus, people need to think about others who may be more vulnerable than themselves even though they may be younger.

 I understand that the most vulnerable are those with heart trouble followed by the diabetic and only then by such as COPD sufferers.

 I wish you well and hope you do receive treatment before too long.

John.

[davefrk]

I agree,  just had a call from the Asthma nurse that oversees my COPD condition and I've been advised to stay at home for the duration so not really a change there then as I work from home anyway.

Anyway, everyone keep safe and WASH YER HANDS.

Dave Franks
 

[Phil Bullock]

39 minutes ago, neal said:

Hello all,

 

I today attended a regional hospital for a Prostatectomy following cancer diagnosis at Christmas.

 

I was second in line for the operation, and ready to be taken down, when my surgeon arrived to tell me that the operation had been cancelled.  This was due to delays on the day, and staff being reallocated/retrained to serve on general wards to support general admissions.

 

I was told that the operation is probably to be delayed until the Autumn, which - given the stage of my cancer - is still likely to be operable, but will inevitably impact the likelihood of a clear prognosis thereafter.

 

I accept wholly that this is a result of the upturn in admissions due to Coronavirus and that I was particularly unfortunate to have been ‘bumped’ having gone through the whole pre-op procedure, however having experienced the hospital and staff today (and encountered other patients and their families) I would make the following plea.

 

Please, please follow the government guidance and follow self isolation and/or social distancing relating to your age and vulnerability.  The preparations being made on the wards are deadly serious, making way for multiple casualties in what will be harrowing environments.  Staff are being retrained to cover general admissions and provide specialist care required of the current outbreak.  Macmillan Nurses will be redeployed on general wards.  The words ‘war-zone’ were mentioned by staff on multiple occasions whilst I was there today. THIS IS REAL.

 

I overheard a couple discussing the recommendation that over 70’s would need to self isolate from the coming weekend with the words ‘they’ll never keep me locked up’.  This is concerning, and whilst I fully understand that many 70 year olds are more spritely than myself (a mere 50 year old), such behaviour will lead to behavioural ‘contagion’ and wider disregard of guidance.

 

Honestly you do not want this disease, or to be in any way a part of it’s spread.  I know it will be hard but please stay in as guided, minimise direct contact with others and tough it out.  Don’t be afraid to ask for help, there is an increasingly active support network for the isolated and vulnerable.  This forum can offer a strong part of this for us hobbyists.

 

 

For my part, I now have to wait and see what the health service can provide later in the year. For the time being I remain far more concerned over this outbreak and it’s wider impact, than my own cancer outcome.

 

 

I am sorry if these words are alarming - I have not taken writing this post lightly.  At this time there remain inconsistencies with policy which are difficult to understand, however please do what is within your control and together we can beat this thing.

 

 

I remain grateful to my specialist surgeon who has been honest and frank with me today, I wanted to share this with you.

 

Best Wishes,

 

Neal

 

Neal

 

It is a brave behaviour pattern when faced with your condition to be able to accept that the need of others may be greater in the short term. I hope that when systems recover and your time comes that your disease has behaved as predicted and that your procedure will be successful. Look after yourself meanwhile.....

 

[polybear]

5 minutes ago, jf2682 said:

Well Neal, I feel for you, but as it's your life and you have a potentially terminal condition I would have taken a somewhat aggressive line with the surgeon.  He's already increasing your probability of an early death, so what have you get to lose?

JF

 

 

I think (if at all possible) I'd be asking for a recommendation towards a Private Hospital....

[neal]

I have been booked in to get a PSA check in June, should this show a deterioration this may elevate my priority, but for the time being cancer surgery is to be focussed upon immediate life saving. I accept that, and hope that things will be better soon. 
 

It is hard to argue with a surgeon when you are both in tears.

 

N

 

 

 

 

[cctransuk]

1 minute ago, polybear said:

 

 

I think (if at all possible) I'd be asking for a recommendation towards a Private Hospital....

 

They'll be requisitioned before many more days pass !

 

No part of normal life is going to be unaffected by this crisis.

 

Regards,

John Isherwood.

[Phil Bullock]

1 minute ago, neal said:

I have been booked in to get a PSA check in June, should this show a deterioration this may elevate my priority, but for the time being cancer surgery is to be focussed upon immediate life saving. I accept that, and hope that things will be better soon. 
 

It is hard to argue with a surgeon when you are both in tears.

 

N

 

 

 

 

 

And you deserve admiration and support from all on here for not doing so Neil. We are sailing in uncharted waters.....

[Re6/6]

It worries me that there is a large number of people out there that just don't seem to realize that a huge storm is coming with all that that implies.

 

I am over 70 and have some 'underlying' health issues which could put me at risk so I started self-isolation three days ago. I suppose that the consequences of all this haven't really dawned on me yet. Not being able to have close contact with my 18 month old granddaughter will be hard to bear. 

 

A very uncertain world is upon us.

 

KBO everybody and keep well.

[neal]

11 minutes ago, polybear said:

 

 

I think (if at all possible) I'd be asking for a recommendation towards a Private Hospital....

 
We will see how the next few months go, and look at that if it is an option.

 

My post was not meant to highlight my condition, moreover to stress the importance of distance/isolation and highlight that the NHS will be massively strained in coming months.  
 

Neal

[Nearholmer]

20 minutes ago, jf2682 said:

I would have taken a somewhat aggressive line with the surgeon.  He's already increasing your probability of an early death, so what have you get to lose?

Dignity, decency, and an understanding of the plight of your fellow human beings, and the respect of everyone who sees/hears you do it.

 

The OP, on the other hand, clearly deserves all of our respect; he’s certainly got mine.

 

Kevin

[30368]

Neal,

All the very best - I can only add my great respect for your approach.

I suggest that perhaps you should see your GP and get a PSA blood test every month rather than wait until June. They are not too expensive if you are asked to pay, hopefully the Phlebotomy Lab will be able to cope. That way you can perhaps be assured that either the PSA level is static or you are able to trigger a case review as soon as possible.

 

I have been in your situation although in better times.

 

I have two daughters who are senior sisters in the NHS, one is managing Infection Control at a largish Trust and I can confirm that many people are behaving in an Irrational and totally selfish way to the extent that my daughters team require protection from hospital security. Another British Myth goes up in smoke!

 

Kind regards,

 

Richard B

 

Edited March 18, 2020 by 30368

[neal]

Thanks for the advice, my Macmillan team are on the case, 

 

It’s all still a bit raw, I am going to sign off from this thread.  Much to think about.

 

 

 

Neal

[Ron Ron Ron]

My wife had a minor orthopaedic operation on her hand, just 2 days ago on Monday.

This was at a very large main hospital on the south coast.

She had a call on Friday afternoon to confirm that it was definitely going ahead......and told it would be just in time, before the situation deteriorated.

 

On Monday she reported at 0700, not knowing where she was on the list.

She waited 8 hours as they were doing more complicated ops under general anaesthetic first.

She was having hers under a local anaesthetic.

After a very long wait and as the afternoon wore on, she worried that they would call off the later operations, knowing that the department would be immanently stopping all non emergency work.

The nurses said that they were expecting everything to be turned on its head.

Thankfully, my wife had the operation just after 3pm.

They did one more op after her (the last one for that day) and the unit was closed for normal business.

The orthopaedic theatres and the staff were being prepared for the expected inrush of virus victims.

 

Good luck and best wishes Neal.

It could be any one of us, or one of our loved ones, that is in a similar position to you.

I don't know you, but I hope your outcome is a positive one.

 

Cheers

Ron

 

 

.

 

[chris p bacon]

5 minutes ago, jf2682 said:

we have a virus with a low contagion rate and low death rate

 

Have you not learnt anything in the last few days.

[burgundy]

@AY Mod Is there a way in which the original post on this thread can be pinned, please, so that those who refuse to social distance themselves can at least be confronted with the consequences of their actions. Hopefully, it might give pause for thought. 

Best wishes 

Eric 

 

[AY Mod]

On 18/03/2020 at 17:26, jf2682 said:

 

 

I have seen several stupid and irresponsible posts from you. We don't need trolls so you can have a bit of isolation from us for a while.

[Nearholmer]

Thank you Mr AY.

 

Saved me from myself there, because I was just about to give him both barrels, which I would probably have regretted later.

[Joseph_Pestell]

44 minutes ago, chris p bacon said:

 

Have you not learnt anything in the last few days.

 

Sadly, no he has not.

 

But the big problem is that so many others have not either. The Govt's message is not getting through despite the 24/7 news coverage. I don't know if these people are too stupid to understand, too cynical about Govt to believe them, or something else.

[Nearholmer]

There’s none so deaf as them that will not hear.

[The Johnster]

I am depressed that some of the worst behaviour is being indulged in by people of my generation (I'm 68), the sort who are first in line to complain about selfish and anti social activity among younger folks. Just back from a trip to my local Aldi; able to get everything I needed but there was no toilet paper, very little fresh bread, and no fresh meat, and a prevailing 'me first' attitude.  I'll give it to the end of the week before the Black Market gets under way.

 

My nearest corner shop has plenty of toilet paper by the way, but I'm not telling you where it is...

[Nearholmer]

[runs as required]

Is there nothing you cannot turn your hand to Kevin?

[Welly]

On 18/03/2020 at 15:53, polybear said:

 

 

I think (if at all possible) I'd be asking for a recommendation towards a Private Hospital....

 

I would not bother now... the private sector has just agreed to give over almost the entire sector to the NHS for COVID 19 patients.

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-51989183

 

I work in a hospital and there is a LOT more preparation and concern over COVID 19 than over the last few viral outbreaks such as Swine Flu - I hope I don't get infected and pass it on to my Dad before I develop symptoms but washing your hands and keeping them away from your face is the single most effective step to avoid catching that (apart from not getting sneezed or coughed on)

Edited March 21, 2020 by Welly
typo