NHS Direct
When I had my first stroke in March, I called NHS Direct, as I woke up and couldn’t speak very well. After answering lots of questions and phoning me back a coiuple of hours later, they felt I needed a visit from an out-of-hours doctor. They called him and he arrived an hour later. He advised me to go to hospital, as he felt I had had a small stroke. I was then driven to Addenbrookes and they confirmed the diagnosis and said that I should go to A & E if it happened again.
NHS Direct actually delayed me doing, what I felt I should have done in the first place by their bureaucratic procedures and delays. Let’s hope that the proposed 111 service would either upgrade my call to 999, send a doctor immediately or tell me to go straight to A & E.
It would appear that the Royal College of Nursing is against replacing NHS Direct. Are they just protecting jobs or thinking what is best for the patients?
But whether we have NHS Direct bor 111, does it affect the real problem in the Emergency Service of those that turn up in A & E, with things that need a visit to their GP or a pharmacist in the morning.
The Anonymous Widower 
I have never found NHS Direct to be particularly useful either, it is a nice idea but as you say, they take the message, ring you back, you wait for the call, then often they are vague and leave the decision to you! And as you say, you would have been better getting to the hospital without them faffing around.
The new 111 sounds much better idea, people hopefully will view it as a service to use for an emergency which isnt life threatening, for instance someone has a fall, is conscious but in pain and probably needs an x-ray.
Comment by Liz P | August 29, 2010 |
IF it handles the out-of-hours-sdervice it might be a good thing. With this stroke, I sometimes feel that a talk to a doctor is a necessity. I just get paranoid and think every little bit of pain is something serious.
Comment by AnonW | August 29, 2010 |
I am the same after my accident, I worry that any new pain will stay forever, and I also worry in case I do anything to make the pain worse permanently. At present I am in the middle of a pain flare, my own fault for doing more than I am capable of and pushing myself too hard, and despite what my doc says, I am scared it will stay as bad as this forever, or that I will have to go on stronger pain meds which will make me woolly headed.
Comment by Liz P | August 29, 2010 |
I suspect that most of my pain is caused as my arm tries to sort itself out. My humerus was broken when I was 14 and the pain is all around the break and my wrist. Let’s hope the pain is the nerves trying to repair themselves. At least, I can do everything with my right hand.
Comment by AnonW | August 29, 2010 |
There are tests they can do to see what the nerves in your arms are doing, they arent nice though. If the pain continues, talk to the doc, and ask if you can see someone who specialises in pain control. They have far more idea than any other docs about ways to deal with it – acupuncture is a good method of pain control too, I use that from time to time.
Comment by Liz P | August 29, 2010 |
I’ve read that acupuncture is not recommended for stroke patients opn an acupuncture site, so I suspect if they say no, it might not be a good idea.
TENS units have also been suggested on stroke sites.
As has exercise, which is what I use.
Comment by AnonW | August 29, 2010 |
I use TENS, and find it helpful, although not much use when out and about – you cant use it when driving, and if you walk around with a small electrical box with wires coming from it, security guards get a little upset. I have pointed out that if I was a suicide bomber I could hide all the wiring under a burka and they wouldnt even approach me, but they still get upset!
I dont know about acupunture and stroke patients, you would need to speak to an acupuncturist. Not everyone responds to it, but it is apparently using a similar process to TENs, and if one works for you, the other usually does.
I have exercise too, which in theory stops my problems getting worse, and “brain exercises” to keep my cognitive functions sharp, because the medication can dull cognition.
Comment by Liz P | August 29, 2010 |
I do a lot of Sudoku for the brain and also keep blogging and writing letters.
Comment by AnonW | August 29, 2010 |
I do a lot of suduko, preferring the “killer” ones with no numbers in the initial grid, and Kakuro – both are more mathematical, and I like mathematical puzzles. I do crosswords as well. I write articles from time to time for a special interest magazine, and for the church magazine, which I used to edit, I used to write for TES before accident on a freelance basis, but stopped after my accident and havent picked up paid writing again, deadlines are a real problem for me now.
Comment by Liz P | August 29, 2010 |