WAITING ON THE NHS, TREATMENTS AND PROCEDURES

There must be few of us without an opinion about the NHS at the moment. Regardless of your own personal health, you’ll have had some experience of the difficulties experienced by people with challenging or changing medical needs.

Even for those with the means and opportunity to look at private health care, the journey from diagnosis to recovery is still not a walk in the park. My work in exercise therapy and Pilates has brought me into contact with people experiencing a wide variety of medical procedures either before or since we've met.  I'm fortunate to be able to hear many of these stories, and I'm nosy enough to ask. The pathway from initial concern to diagnosis to treatment to recovery and onwards to the new normal doesn't seem to follow a standard route. It's possible to compare two people undergoing knee replacements with the same apparent level of pain plus the same surgeon on the same day and still hear two completely different stories. And yes, this has happened.

In this newsletter series I'll be drawing from my clients’ experiences through the NHS and the private system to help inform readers affected by the journey of medical procedures and treatments. The aim is to cover the broader threads of diagnosis, consultation, treatment pathway, procedure, immediate aftermath, recovery and long-term changes using real life accounts and examples. I hope that other similarly affected readers will enjoy and feel informed by comparing this with their current situations and the medical assistance that has been offered to them.

Today we’ll look at the ‘finding out’ stage. What brought people to their GPs and onwards to the consultant level of investigation?

Here’s the story of my own back surgery back in 2015.

I had suffered with sciatica and chronic back pain for around 15 years since the kids were born and one day I felt a definite change in the pain levels. It was accompanied by several days of tired, flu-like feelings and when I reported to the GP she heard all the therapy/physio/treatment/exercise I had already tried and sent me straight off for an MRI. It all happened pretty quickly after that. The consultant showed me the MRI results and explained that a disc was pressing on the nerve and wasn’t going to slot back into place this time. Six weeks after that I was in surgery for a micro-discectomy.

Although I had endured the pain for a long time, I felt that as soon as the NHS could make a real difference they didn’t hang about.

Here’s a very different story from Caroline who was diagnosed in 2000 with colon cancer.

"I first went to my G.P. In 2000, when I saw blood in my poo.  I probably left it a bit too long, as one does.  this was before the regular home testing kits were sent out. Incidentally, I knew someone who couldn’t be bothered to do his and who later died of colon cancer, so do encourage everyone to do this test.

My G.P organised a colonoscopy which confirmed that I had bowel polyps in my small intestine.  I was booked in for op a month or so later and part of the intestine was removed.  I spent about 2 weeks in hospital but didn’t require a stoma at this time. (I think it is more like 5 days in hospital these days.) I then went through some sessions of preventative chemo which was not much fun.

Afterwards it took some time to get back to my formal fitness.  I just increased to distance I could walk each day until I felt fully myself. I would really encourage anyone recovering from a serious illness to work at this, or they will never get back to how they were.

I don’t remember much about aftercare, but I didn’t really need it.  However, I was supposed to have a colonoscopy every three years in order to ensure the cancer hadn’t returned.  Unfortunately, I was told, or I understood - possibly my fault - that it was to be 5 years.  Even more unfortunately, I wasn’t recalled at all and eventually went to the Doctor to ask for the test, which I was given fairly quickly.  I asked why I hadn’t received the recall and was told that it had been an error, but the person involved had now left the NHS.  The health board enquired as to whether I wished to sue, but I said no as that wouldn't have done any good and the NHS was hard up enough as it was!

Sadly, when I did get the test it was too late and the cancer had returned, though I had not had any of the previous symptoms."

To my mind, this example demonstrates the importance of reading up and understanding our conditions more so now than ever. I don’t believe Caroline could have done anything more she did then, however the content available on the NHS website now is rich, factual and easy to digest. The next two stories demonstrate how an awareness of the support available and access to help can make a difference

Here’s a straightforward example of what to expect with a dicky knee at the finding out stage from Pat:

"I first went to the doctor regarding my knees and particularly the left one about April 2022. I was sent for an xray and the results showed arthritis in both knees. The pain was pretty bad.

The doctor advised physio and referred me for that. I got physio privately to begin with which was very good but eventually I was told that she could do no more for me and that I should go back to the doctor and seek seek a referral. After 12 weeks the NHS physio came through and I attended Blairgowrie Hospital where the physio I saw there was also excellent. She sent me for more xrays and shared the results with her orthopedic colleague who said I should be referred for surgery. The Blairgowrie physio then referred me herself and informed my doctor. That was in January 2023 and I am most grateful to her.

I received a phonecall from NHS Tayside in October 2023 to say that it would be at least another 10 months before I saw anyone but if I was prepared to travel to the Golden Jubilee in Glasgow I would see a surgeon within 2 weeks which I did. He informed me that both knees would need to be replaced. The process was thoroughly explained to me and I was delighted at the thought of getting rid of all the pain."

And a similar diagnosis experience from Marion:

Initial diagnosis wasn’t really a shock. It was the second time I had seen the consultant and this time I was walking bone on bone in my right knee.

This was right before Covid so an unreal time. My first date was cancelled because of Covid but was given a second date as, apparently, my knee was so bad. Before the op, if I wanted to do anything active, and I was very active I was taking lots of painkillers so I could do the things I loved.

I can attest to how busy all these women are and how damaging pain can be on overall fitness. Understanding who to contact and when is vital for speedy treatment, as is the ability to be flexible in locations and times – not that anyone predicted Covid! Many people who are waiting for a last-minute cancellation for osteoarthritic conditions feel that their lives are on hold, that they can’t book holidays and worse, that they need to avoid their usual activities.

For the clients with whom I have worked during this time, we have had good feedback from surgeons that continued exercise throughout this lag time has helped reduce overall pain and speed up long-term recovery. A great example of this is a lovely woman named Helen who shared the story of her hip replacement with me during Covid. Please CLICK HERE if you’d like to learn more about her journey.