WINE LIST NOT WAITING LIST – OP COST ME £20,000

“It began as an intractable shoulder pain I couldn’t shift. Yoga and physical work got harder. The trainee at my GP surgery explained they weren’t allowed to refer patients for an MRI, but he booked me a hospital X-ray to get things moving. A decision immediately reversed by his senior. Instead, I saw the practice physiotherapist who, after a simple test, confidently announced it wasn’t nerve damage and made a (six-month wait) referral to the Conquest’s musculoskeletal department. Meanwhile, my condition was becoming increasingly desperate. I’m a child of the 1950s – we didn’t have pain, just discomfort. This was extreme discomfort, and I was starting to limp.

“Scrambling over bureaucratic obstacles in a fragmented, cost-cutting health care system where no one had overall responsibility for my treatment, I got a private MRI and a consultant appointment. He did the same test as the physio: “Textbook case of nerve damage.” My GP made an urgent referral to Brighton hospital (waiting times of up to a year).

Hurried research secured a consultation with a leading spinal surgeon. An operation would stop further damage, with a 50/50 chance of ending the now constant upper body pain and recovering some functions. My dragging leg required intensive physio – with no promise of success. I was just a couple of months from paralysis.

“An hour in theatre, a 5cm incision in my upper chest, a metal support in my spine and a bill for almost £20,000. Thank goodness a relative had remembered me in their will. The private hospital had a wine list… 

“And for those thousands unable to find the cash, less assertive and informed? Misery, avoidable life- changing outcomes and an increasing burden on the state. The NHS isn’t teetering on the edge of breakdown; parts have already collapsed.”

Name withheld on request

LOCUMS FOR LOCUMS

A nurse in a rural GP’s practice on the East Sussex border told HIP: “There are supposed to be three GPs holding surgeries today but there’s only one present. And that’s not unusual. We just can’t find doctors who want to work here full time. We even have to arrange locums for the locums sometimes!

“We used to have an online appointments service but too many people were booking slots so we’ve reverted to phone bookings where we can triage (sort for urgency) the patients. It means you could have to wait for up to three months for a non-urgent doctor’s appointment like a general check-up. On the other hand, if you’re concerned about possible cancer, we could probably get you seen within a week or ten days.”

Nurse’s name withheld on request

REQUEST FOR GP APPOINTMENT SIDELINED

“I called my surgery for an appt with my GP for a medication review (apparently overdue from 2023, was only picked up on because I’d queried something). I ended up getting a phone call from a pharmacist, who then made me two appts, one for a med. review with an advanced clinical advisor and one with a nurse for a pill check. How is one phone call and two appts more time and cost- efficient than the GP appt that I’d actually asked for in the first place?

“Could have had it all done and sorted in ten mins. Too many admins trying to do different jobs and triage rather than just doing what the patient asks for. I used to be a GP’s receptionist years ago, so know the stress and pressure they are under, and that they are just following orders. But it’s so infuriating when you want to see your own GP and can’t get through the system.”

Sarah

NO COMPLAINTS

“I am with Carisbrooke surgery, I find them very helpful and efficient. Likewise with referrals to Conquest.”

Liz

“I can’t complain. I’ve been having health issues since Christmas and from doctor’s surgery right through to the Conquest, the care has been efficient and first class.”

Matthew

“It seems pretty good at the moment.”

Oliver

“My experience of the Rye Surgery and various departments in the Conquest in the last decade has been excellent. Staff are thorough, kind and professional.”

Chris

NHS WAITING TIME FIGURES

^{Source: East Sussex NHS Healthcare Trust}

Average waiting time in weeks for a routine first outpatient appointment at East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust, when referred to one of the specialties listed above.

HEALTH NOT IMPROVING

A new report from the Sussex Community Foundation titled ‘Improving Health’ has found multiple health problems are particularly impacting coastal communities. Areas with the most severe health challenges in Hastings are: Broomgrove, Central Hastings, Central St Leonards, Hollington and Ore.

Hastings ranked highest in Sussex for nearly every mental health indicator measured, while mental health needs across Sussex are higher than average and getting worse.

Men in Hastings live two years less than the national average, while generally people living in Hastings, Eastbourne and Brighton & Hove were found to be dying prematurely as a result of largely preventable conditions, all with rates more than double the baseline for England.

Read the full report at sussexcommunityfoundation.org