NHS has been ‘exceptional’ for us in a non-Covid way
The NHS has never been so needed or appreciated as it has been in the past year, but for some, it has been a different story. We’ve all heard about cancelled operations, meaning treatment for some has been put on hold. We’ve also heard how some people may have seen the cancellation of other vital treatments, or even receiving a late diagnosis and therefore losing precious treatment time.
But my experience has been a very good one and it concerns by father-inlaw who in December found a worrying lump on his neck.
He went to see his GP one morning. After a thorough examination, his doctor expressed his concern and made a phone call to Queen Alexandra Hospital, Cosham.
That afternoon he received a phone call from QA asking if he was free to come in for a scan. He was.
Just after Christmas a biopsy was taken and he was booked in for an MRI scan. Things were progressing at a worrying pace.
After several conversations with the consultant it emerged that he feared the lump was cancerous and the MRI was to show how far the cancer may have spread. Such worrying times.
A further biopsy was planned to decipher once and for all the situation as after two different scans, nothing was conclusive.
Then, just two months after first seeing his GP, my father-in-law received his results.
Benign. What an incredible relief.
It was incredible the speed at which his care happened. From a worrying lump to a full diagnosis in just two months.
Now, with the pandemic in full flow and lockdown introduced you could argue that maybe that department wasn’t as busy? But doctors, nurses, radiographers, the whole team that works together had to do so in the most challenging conditions ever seen in the UK.
We tend to only hear the negative stories of people’s experiences with the NHS, so here is another side of the story.
For my family, our experience of the NHS and our local hospitals has been exceptional.