Women's Health

******SERIOUS WARNING - if you don't know much about women's health, I would advise caution for the penultimate paragraph******

I have sampled the NHS in various places in the last week or so and there is an obvious difference in the way people and situations are handled - there has to be, not everyone can have all the attention all of the time and not everything needs to be fast - but there does need to be a quality, a standard of the way people are treated.

My poor Nan has been through the NHS for longer than anyone I know, and I fully appreciate how she feels after sitting with her this week during a trip to A and E. I won't tell you the full story, because, being a Fisher and with my Nan's voice in my head, that would take too long, instead let me just tell you that the Doctor we saw was unnecessarily abrupt and did not follow through on what she promised at all, she didn't listen and she didn't care. My Nan is of the generation that doesn't want to make a fuss or be a nuisance to anyone, yet she was treated like she was having a tantrum, all for breaking her wrist! Some older people know exactly what they want to say and exactly how to express themselves, others really struggle and just need someone to listen to them, so that they can fully explain how they feel and how they think they should be treated - my Nan is the latter. Yes, she may already have a cast on, but she is in pain and what she is saying is helpful for you, Madam Doctor. Needless to say, the GP surgery were more helpful than A and E, and did the leg work for my Nan's Fracture Clinic appointment so that my sister and I didn't have to. That's service to be proud of!

My second encounter, just a day later, was with a pharmacist, who did listen and fixed my problem within minutes of me speaking to her, so I didn't need to waste a Doctor's time, which is exactly what Pharmacists are for. Huzzah, I am no longer suffering so badly with my hayfever. (As I write, I have a painful right eye, because SWAN decided to send the heavies out to cut the grass!)

My third encounter was on the phone, and I think if I'd have said something different to what I did, I might have got a different response, but it was lovely for me to pick up the phone and get someone pleasant on the other end, who wanted to help me.


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Hopefully, my final encounter this week, was today. I was welcomed, asked to fill out another form, and told to wait. When my name was called, my heart jumped, as it often does when I am in the doctors and the nurse and I went the short distance to the office. Today I have done something that I have never done before and won't hopefully need to do again for 3 to 5 years. I had a Smear test. As I have never had one before - really - this is the very first time I have been examined for anything other than a chest infection, I was nervously trying to act like it was something I had done before. Apparently though, I was not nearly relaxed enough and as the nurse talked me through everything, I did tense up, a lot. A couple of deep breaths later and I felt the need to go shopping! Still, it was wasn't painless, but it wasn't the most painful thing (stubbing your toe or shutting your finger in the door are more painful) and I must remember that - for the sake of my health, my sanity, having a smear test done is far better for me, than spending a lifetime in the doctors/hospital being seriously ill.
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The UK's health service is a tricky one to negotiate some times, you want what is best for yourself, and those you love, but you can't, unless you're wealthy enough to go private, choose your PCT, your A and E doctor or who is in front of you as you sit an important exam (see what I did there?), so you're stuck with it. There are bound to be frustrations with anything, teething problems and the occasional 'Whaaaaaat?' moment, but as a user of the service you stick with it and hope, as promised, that a letter drops on the doormat to tell you it is all ok.