Update on the burn. I've never had a burn like this before. Usually the skin gets a bit red or at worst, I get blisters, which usually break) and then it gets scabby and starts to heal. This time, no visible blisters. The skin is a dark reddish brown and swollen where it was burned and I suspect the blisters are deep below. It hurts. It hurts a hell of a lot.
So, deciding to take advantage of the much lauded NHS "free" medical care which I pay vast amounts of my tax money into, I stopped at the A&E walk in clinic. The so-called medical person who looked at my hand advised me, "that's burned innit?". No shit, Sherlock. So what did he propose to do about it? A nice perscription burn cream to take away the sting and pain? Oh no, he suggested "don't do anything rough with it" and "let nature take its course". And that I should take some paracetomol is the pain kept me from sleeping. Nothing else, not even some sensible advice like wash gently to keep it clean.
Waste of my time. This is a serious burn. The NHS can be good at times but sadly, most of the time they are little better than the witchdoctor.
3 comments:
Okay, so I'm confused. Is it that the good doctors are pay-only, and thus only the shit ones are free? Because I hear lots of people complain about the quality of the NHS doctors. Or are they all free, but locating a decent one is such a hardship?
It's complicated. There are a very few good doctors but they are hard to find and mostly not available. There are very few in hospitals. Most staff seem pretty damn incompetent. They are bogged down with insane gov't regulations and rules and most have poor training. MAny are not western trained and speak little English and comprehend less. The really good doctors? A lot of them flee to Canada & the US and Australia. No fools they. Others are here and there but how do you find them? No clue. My GP is a good doctor but like almost all NHS doctors, she is pressured by the local PCS (Primary Care Service - the authority that supervises all the local medical practices). They keep 9-5 Mon- Friday hours, closed from 12-2pm for lunch. So when can you pop in to see the doctor? You have to take off half a day from work and wait around for an urgent "emergency" appointment. Otherwise, figure on a 3-4 week wait for a regular appointment. Therapies and medications are limited to what the PCS will allow which is almost solely based on cost ie cheapest possible. So forget time-release capsules and say hello to uncoated tablets you take every 4 hours. Forget new meds, say hello to prescriptions your great grandparents used to take.
It's generally crap you get from the NHS. And dirty - the standards of hygiene are not what we're used to.
You can go to a private doctor, but first you have to find one, then travel some distance to their office. Cost is high - try £80 - £100 for a basic visit. (Translate that to dollars and shudder). There's an "American" hospital near where I used to work, so a 1+ hour drive each way to get there assuming no traffic. You don't drive, you can't get there.
If I needed serious medical care, I'd probably call Astrid's former doctor in Switzerland and fly over to see him. (Cost is high but care is top notch)
Bottom line is, my gustimate is 5% of NHS doctors here are good precious-metal quality doctors. The rest are crap. Finding the good ones when you need them is completely a matter of luck.
AH, okay, thanks for clearing that up.
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