r/nhs

I ask because I applied to a b5 role which was only open between 11 and 4pm the same day. Luckily I got my application in at lunch, with my statement tailored to the person spec, just under 1 year experience ect. Just found out I wasn’t shortlisted. I know how competitive it is right now, but I thought I’d evidenced all the desirable criteria so I don’t know what more to do :(
Given how quickly it closed I was wondering if there is internal candidates?

I've had an open surgery myomectomy on Tuesday morning and currently I am in hospital for the 3rd night. I need a DVR injections to avoid blood clots and found out yesterday night I'll need to take them home and inject myself with 4 more needles.

My problem is, I live alone and I do not have family and friends who can help me with this. I cannot handle needles and I even explained I am neurodivergent and there's things I cannot do and this is one of them.

I have asked my cousin's son to come picking me up tomorrow from hospital which is an 1h away and he said yes but I am hoping he will. My cousin do not live close to me and even if he did, he wouldn't help me. Hence why I asked his son to come pick me up but of course he can't help me with injections everyday night.

The doctors and nurses are very dismissive about my life. Is not my fault I don't have family and friends or people that care enough to take care of me. I can definitely reject the injections but there's a risk of course and I have to take it. They keep asking "no family and friends?" even after saying I do not have and is a very sensitive subject for me.

I know for some people this might be ridiculous but I just can't handle needles at all.

And being told I cannot get a nurse coming to my house because "I am young and fit".

Do people don't realise there's people who are lonely and have different life circumstances.....? 😞

I was referred for a CT scan of my sinuses back in July, but the hospital never booked me in for a follow-up appointment afterwards. Knowing how slow the NHS can be, I waited a full month before contacting them to ask for one. They booked it for today. It was a phone appointment, and my phone did not ring once. Yes, it was switched on. Yes, it had a signal. Yes, I had it near me the whole time. The doctor simply did not initiate the appointment.

I've tried phoning reception to ask about it, but can't get through. I've emailed, but I know from trying to contact them last time that they don't respond to emails of this nature either. I have a copy of the CT report that I obtained from my GP, and I can see something in it that I would very much like to discuss as it might explain everything I'm going through. But how in the name of God do I get an appointment? Can I ask my GP for a 'second opinion' at a different hospital if I haven't technically had a first one? Or do I just have to beat my head against a wall until the department stops being so disorganised?

A friend suggested I report this experience but I’m not sure if I’m just being a bit difficult. I was sent for a stomach and transvaginal ultrasound to check for ovarian cysts. I was told to drink a litre of water an hour before, I was desperate to pee 15 mins before the appointment but held it in. When 3pm came I was relieved, but nobody called my name. They were 15 mins late, at this stage I could barely keep still from how much I needed to pee and was now quite stressed and on edge. I was a little surprised that an assistant called my name and stayed in the room while the radiologist did her job, I was already uncomfortable having an intimate exam with one stranger dealing with me. I lay down to begin the stomach scan, the radiologist begins to explain that an internal scan is also expected today and was explaining the process. As she explained the process her assistant was leaving other patients voicemails about how there has been cancellations and they can book earlier appointments. I thought 1. I hope the patients can’t hear what my radiologist is saying to me about my vaginal scan 2. There’s a receptionist outside that I checked in with so I don’t understand why someone in the room needed to do that.

I quietly let her check my stomach. As she was wrapping up the stomach scan a third person entered the room. There was a curtain covering my bed but being stressed about 2 people had now become 3 as she got out the X-ray probe and started asking if I’m ready to progress to the internal scan. I can hear the sound of a bin bag being waved open and the third male person casually chatting with the assistant. I know this is just another Tuesday for them but for me I was very overwhelmed not knowing any of these people while about to do a vulnerable test. I panicked and said I’m sorry but I don’t feel ready and she said it’s okay she can tell that I’m apprehensive. I got myself organised and left feeling frustrated at myself because now I don’t know if I could have endometriosis or anything that needed an internal scan. Should I bother reporting?

Hi there. I’ve been suffering from anxiety and depression and have a fit note stating it started last Friday and will finish tomorrow, however I’m going to need this extending for at least another week, as I don’t feel I can go back to work yet. I requested an extension through the NHS app to my GP and got this message…

“As you are covered until the 21st August, you will need a sick note dated from the 22nd August. This can be done on Monday and be back dated for the 22nd.”

Is there no way I could get the extension tomorrow instead of Monday so I can send it to my employer as quick as possible? Also do I need to ring my GP up at 8am to request a fit note extension or can I ring at anytime? Sorry I’ve never used fit note’s before. Thank you.

I am a bit confused on this.

A few months ago, I went to NHS GP regarding a certain medical issue and they referred me for ultrasound with the plan that once results come back, they will refer me to the specialist or a specific service that deals with this issue. Results came back as “satisfactory” though it did say clinical correlation required.

I had already seen a specialist abroad and they suggested I take medication xyz as a trial.

As I had already seen a private specialist for this problem, I decided to book a UK private GP appt to get the medication xyz prescribed after checking its okay for me, to which they did and I have been trialing it and paying for private prescriptions.

Now most recently, I see that my NHS GP has added this medication into my repeat prescription list. Does anyone know why? Or even how they know about it?

I mean, I am not complaining and it saves me the hassle of asking them for it, because I was planning to trial it and ask them to do that anyway if it had helped. But just a bit confused as to why this has happened and how my NHS GP know I am taking this. There does not seem to be any letters from my private provider to the GP asking them to do this.

I can see the entry for this medication is related to a letter from my ADHD provider to the GP that possibly mentions current medications I am taking which I must have told my ADHD provider about. But why would this then allow me to request this medication from my NHS GP just because my ADHD provider told them I am taking it? (Note: this is not ADHD medication or anything related to ADHD)

Just wanted to check before I raise it with the practice.

I had a Band 4 non-clinical interview on 6th August. It’s now 20th August and I’ve heard nothing.

I’ve sent two follow-up emails to the interviewer, who is also the contact listed on the job advert, but haven’t had a response.

I was told I’d hear back the following day. I understand NHS recruitment can be painfully slow, but surely even if I’ve been unsuccessful, I should receive some kind of confirmation?

The NHS Jobs page is also still showing as “Interview scheduled”.

Has anyone else experienced this? How long did you wait to hear back after an NHS interview?

I have booked annual leave for 7 months from now and my request was rejected. We work in the same room and it took my manager 21 days to respond my request.

My manager told me that the request had to be rejected because another member of staff had requested the same dates earlier. He said it is usually first come first served and specifically said:

“Our policy rejects 2 people overlapping same days for annual leave.”

I totally understand the staffing issue but we are a team of 6. However I am not sure whether there is actually a policy that says two people cannot take annual leave on the same days. That is why I am asking to confirm whether such a policy exists.

And now the best part: my manager has also booked annual leave for next month which overlaps with the same person whose annual leave conflicts with my request 7 months from now.

Is this a normal NHS policy? And if such a policy exists does it apply to managers too? Or can managers have different rules?

I'm curious. I just saw an article about a male midwife and I remembered a conversation I had while I was in hospital having my son early this year, and I'm wondering if anyone can elaborate a bit. I live in northern Ireland.

I stayed in for over a week, and a few days in a female practitioner and I were chatting about how everyone gushed over my partner holding the baby and then the conversation went like this:

'Our male midwives work in the NICU and the mums love seeing them holding the babies. It helps that they're all young and quite good looking too haha.'

'Oh, I haven't seen any male midwives.'

'You won't see them up here or down in labour and delivery. They don't work in any of those areas. Just the NICU.'

After that she finished up and yes, for the remainder of the week I didn't see any male midwives, nursing assistants, HCAs, or cleaning staff. Just a few male doctors.

Is this normal in some hospitals?

i’ve been experiencing awful residual dizziness after a BPPV attack 8 weeks ago and my symptoms have been worsening so much so that i’m having persistent panic attacks and nausea and struggling to sleep.
i phoned yesterday at 11am to see if the doctor had any cancellations and could fit me in to see the ENT. i was told to phone back tomorrow (today) first thing in the morning and as the ENT was on call they were SURE they could see me.
flash forward to today. i phone at opening time, 8am and i am second in the queue. great! i get through and am told that there are NO APPOINTMENTS LEFT? i’m told to queue up outside the doctors surgery first thing tomorrow morning which is a 10 minute drive away from me and i don’t drive so i’ll probably have to ask someone to take me. i understand the situation the NHS is in right now but i think this is crazy. am i really expected to queue up at 7:30 in the morning to have the chance of an appointment? i can’t deal with this dizziness anymore but i can’t afford vestibular therapy. feeling very disheartened today.

I went to GP for erectile dysfunction 9 days ago, they said do blood tests and review. I got blood tests and results the same day on NHS app. All that came back abnormal was low folate with a short comment to eat more leafy greens. Today I tried to book an appointment to review and they just sent a message saying my bloods were normal and to eat leafy greens- No action required. I feel upset and dismissed because no treatment for ED was offered at all? Can I book a further appointment for ED or am I supposed to just accept "eat leafy greens"?

I’m a medical receptionist working under NHS England at a GP Practice. Ask me anything!
Please note my responses will be based on NHS England policies and even this may differ due to local ICB’s.
Additionally, I am also a single individual therefore I do not represent my employer or the wider NHS. I am simply looking to see if I can help people understand the role of medical receptionists/administrators better.
EDIT: I’m also a prescription clerk.

I read recently that, post-C section, patients are given paracetamol and ibuprofen for pain relief, and are only given stronger pain meds if they request them. My questions are 1) is this accurate for c-section care and 2) is this standard practice for all major abdominal surgeries?

So I checked my nhs app and my specialist blood tests that I had at heartlands hospital aren’t there. I need the test results. I heard u can get them on myhealth@uhb but I don’t have my leaflet code or letter code. How do I access the results ?

Hi. so sorry if this isn’t in the right sub but idk where else to go, I’m 20F and I’ve been dealing with depressive symptoms for a long time with multiple times of crisis as a young teenager that required intervention from School, Police & A&E. (Mental illness & severe personality disorders do run in my family & I have a very complicated physical health history)

I dodged any type of diagnoses, therapy, support etc. due to being told to avoid getting any type of mental health diagnosis by family members as in their experiences they found that getting their mental health diagnosis was the worst thing that they had ever done as symptoms that were as a result of serious medical conditions were either ignored or completely disregarded by GPs because of their mental health history in their record.

This is genuinely my worst fear of having something serious ignored and dying as a result of it so for years i’ve basically suppressed any types of emotions I feel and all my friendships and relationships always break down and are never long-lasting.

My problem is that things are getting too much for me and this time around things are different, as i’m in University and have spent most of first year in student accommodation lying on my bedroom floor and not eating which resulted in near fainting episodes and so I’d stagger desperately to the lifts just to get a snack from the vending machine.
Imagine months and months of this, alongside daily drinking and participating in risky behaviours with friends who basically dragged me out, you can imagine that I would develop some dark, scary thoughts and non-stop browsing through certain “advice” forums (I’m being purposely vague as I don’t want others to come across it)

I would have thought since coming home for the summer, things would go back to my baseline of normal but it hasn’t and going into the next year of uni scares me a little because how long would it take for things to basically reach a crisis point ..?

This week, I finally spoke to my family about how things are and the reaction I got was one of anger and shame and the message I got was to shut up, stay away from the NHS about it and figure something out for yourself. I have always used online chat support services thing (think of things like childline when i was a kid) and yeah it’s nice but it feels like a script and when i do the things they ask nothing really changes and they always say that they can see i’m trying but there’s not much that they can offer me.

Hi all. I’m currently changing my career from healthcare (nurse) in the NHS, to hopefully the admin side of things.

I’m finding it really difficult to get a foot in the door, since I don’t have any admin experience. I’ve always highlighted that I do already have knowledge of NHS systems, confidentiality etc so I wouldn’t be coming in to it totally blind.

To get an HNC in admin I’d have to do a two year part time course, and shoot me down if I’m wrong but it seems a little excessive when I’m looking to get a band 2 or band 3 position, I’d be happy starting as a medical receptionist. I believe I have enough knowledge and skills to do the job, but I suppose with the job market right now there will be lots of other people with more experience and skills applying, which I understand.

Anyone done this or have any advice? Thank you

Hi all, I have a genuine question (aimed mostly at A&E/GP staff) from the point of view of both NHS admin staff and patient.

This has come up because I have once again come across a patient in my job who was sent home from A&E without any scans. On review second or third time by spinal team, it is discovered they have a major spinal issue that could leave them paralysed. The specialist consultants are all shocked.

So my question is, why would this happen? Surely if a patient was seen properly the first time, it would waste less time in future? (Please don't read this as passive aggressive, I genuinely want to hear it from your POV!).

Similarly, I have been back and forth with various GPs for the same issue for over 4 years now. One of my major symptoms is fatigue and my ferritin was only tested after 4 years of complaints (it was low btw). I was told constantly that it was psychological.

I have now been diagnosed with a chronic illness but couldn't this have saved so much of the GP surgery's time if they'd taken me seriously the first time?

Same question as above, why are so many patients being brushed off with the excuse of not enough time, when it wastes even more? (Again, genuinely asking so I can be less grumpy with my GP surgery!!)

Thanks :)