During my life...
...I've experienced NHS staff:

* Diagnose a multiple joint fracture as a hairline leaving me in excruciating pain until the end of a bank-holiday weekend, whereupon I was rediagnosed correctly in a different hospital and operated on that night.
* Take too long to get to my brother on a 999 call after heart failure, that 20 precious minutes resulting in brain damage caused by lack of oxygen, wiping my brother's conciousness from his head forever. The paramedic who finished his coffee before attending was subsequently seriously reprimanded and his job now hangs by a thread.
* Take 3 wisdom teeth out of my skull under local anaesthetic with the express intent of selling them to a dental school. Put me into shock. Turns out I had an abcess and my w-teeth were fine. Said practitioner has since been relieved of his licence to practice.

I could go on, and could malign the NHS as a bunch of malingering twats with stories to prove it, but I won't and I don't. As so many have said already, there's good and bad everywhere no matter what kind of organistion you work for. There'll always be shitbags who don't deserve the job they fail to do. But for every one of those resentful, workshy incompetent twats in the NHS there are more than a handful who know very well the vital function they undertake and take it as seriously as they should. My BF is a senior sonographer in a local hospital and the dedication he applies to his work and the constantly-changing knowledge that surrounds it takes my breath away.

If the decision had been taken by me and/or mine to pursue any of the three examples above in the courts, we probably would have made a pretty penny out of it. The fact is though that the NHS doesn't have enough money as it is, and my tearing off a few grand could mean some other poor fucker's life down the line. No amount of money is worth having that on my concience.

Anyone who has a bad experience at the hands of the NHS is either unlucky to have dropped on one of the incompetent/wankerish minority that shouldn't be there, or is simply reaping what they sow either for being an idiot or being a twat to people who are trying to help. That's just life. In the NHS' case though, the sub-code minority can cost people thier lives. As for how to fix that, well, if I was that smart I'd be a lot better off than I am now :)
(thatblokeoverthere not quite as much an arsehole as I thought, Wed 17 Mar 2010, 11:59, 4 replies)

But by taking these people to task
would surely prevent such mistreatment to others in the future?
( Blind Meach Cautiously optimistic, Wed 17 Mar 2010, 12:19, closed)

Take them to task by all means but
Don't take the money. That's just stupid. (Unless it's needed for care).
(porkylips looks better as the sun goes down., Wed 17 Mar 2010, 12:30, closed)

I agree completely
with this.
( Blind Meach Cautiously optimistic, Wed 17 Mar 2010, 13:32, closed)

In the latter two examples...
...we did indeed demand that someone got spanked, resulting in a dentist-without-a-job (though it took a few more complaints from others before that happened) and a paramedic who'll remember my brother for the remainder of his career, and if not his job won't last long either.

As for the first one, I was too busy going 'ow' in-and-of myself to think about making someone share the pain, and in the end I was just grateful that the highly talented consultant managed to restore my elbow to almost-full working order with his medical meccano. Also, the physio I visited thrice-weekly for nine months after was gorgeous - my mates were jealous as hell :)
(thatblokeoverthere not quite as much an arsehole as I thought, Thu 18 Mar 2010, 9:17, closed)

*Shakes hand*
You have my utmost respect, sir.
(Petite chien is going to do science to it, Wed 17 Mar 2010, 13:24, closed)

I can't imagine any payments comng out their coffers directly.
Surely they're insured?
(The Boy Monders I have ginger bits in my beard., Wed 17 Mar 2010, 13:38, closed)

Yes
but the insurance premiums are pretty eye-watering.
( sm.pl.crt.rs I don't fucking know, do I?, Wed 17 Mar 2010, 16:31, closed)

A fine attitude to have.
My hat is doffed.

:-)
( sm.pl.crt.rs I don't fucking know, do I?, Wed 17 Mar 2010, 16:30, closed)

The company for which I work...
Sells two products to the NHS indirectly. 48% of the cost of the products is liability insurance.
Sad but true.
(Captain Placid 24/7 ball gags, brownie mix and clown porn, Wed 17 Mar 2010, 17:41, closed)