Health 'Care'?

If you've been following the status updates, then you know I have spent a very long and frustrating day dealing with the English Health Care system (or NHS for those in the know).....Here is a synopsis of why: I have noticed that my bed has a coil that pokes through sometimes and have been meaning to deal with it, but I have been a busy monkeh. So, last night, I hit the coil in just the wrong way to make it poke through and gouge a path right under my left knee. It hurt but did not realize how bad it was until I saw the blood soaked sheets.

Got up, dealt with the cut and put a bandage on only to see it was still bleeding five hours later. Which meant going to see a doctor which meant walk in centre since my doctor is always busy. Went to the walk in centre, waited an hour and a half to see a nurse who tried to use steri-strips and finally figured that it would not work to close the wound. So then she said I needed to get stitches. Which meant trying to figure out where. Called NHS Direct, got sent to the nearest A&E, and then spent four hours waiting to be seen only to be told that it was too long since I had gotten the wound, could not get stitches, and now would take twice as long to heal :-(

Here is my rant: I am one of those lucky people who gets sick in a dramatic way. No half assed sniffles for me. If I get sick, I get really sick. Which means I have had my share of ER (or A&E) visits over the years. I have ended up there for breathing difficulties at least twice, holidays are a favourite time of mine for ending up with ear infection (which actually took a month to clear after I ruptured it by flying and required the last line antibiotics - see, sick in a BIG way!) and blood clots. I have ended up in the ER for my mom when I could hardly walk and now, today's little episode.

And perhaps reassuringly, health care is the same all over the world, whether it is public or private funding. I always seem to spend hours on end waiting for something to happen, and that something always takes less than ten minutes. So useful.... I especially love the fact that the tun changes as you hop from one health care worker to another. Is it any wonder that I have yet to take a 'normal' blood pressure reading? I am always in a state of stress when I am seeing doctors because of the waiting and the conflicting information and what not.

I really just need to vent because I feel like I have wasted my entire day running around, trying to sort this whole situation out, and not really getting anywhere. And now, I am sitting here, in a little pain, dreading limping to the kitchen or bathroom, and sleeping on my couch for obvious reasons....I am so not a happy bunneh and just wanted to share with those I love..