Cervix chat - Guys might want to avoid this thread!

[Guest]

[s]KateBush wrote on 13:00, 13th Nov 2004:
I think it shows how narrowminded people are,.....Stupid people on this board too...


Err how exactly? She complained that you only got seen once every three years when in fact those are just the compulsary appointments and you can arrange to have it done more frequently at the time or you can phone up and make a specific appointment at any time to get checked over. The problem is that half the people don't turn up regularly for smears and breast exams so they've made it that you have certain appointments (every three years etc) but it's not like you aren't allowed to have one whenever you want (within reason obviously).

If you are on the pill especially you are encouraged to come in whenever.

The NHS might have it's problems but I don't see it being a problem that you can get checked over whenever you like with no fuss made, and I'm not sure that thinking that makes me particularly narrow minded or stupid, much like the other people on the board who have told it like it is.

[rae]

Well, I've been to two different practices in Edinburgh as well as the one in St Andrews. At all three I was actively discouraged from coming in unless I had specific concerns. The same applied to STD testing. Where I come from, if you mention a smear or testing or breast exams, the doctors pretty much fall over themselves to help you out. The certainly don't encourage you to only make an appointment if you have a specific concern. And I did, when i first registered in St Andrews, express my concern at the 3 year wait. It had been a year since my previous smear and so I said when i went for my checkup that I was due for another. When they said not for another 2 years, I said I wasn't comfortable with that and they said that that was what the system covered and unless I started showing specific symptoms it was unnecessary. Oh,and I was on the pill.

I still don't think my expectations are stupid or unreasonable. But if you'd like to give me some informed reasons why they are, I'd love to hear them.

[Gubbins]

The NHS is only as good as the people who make it up. One major problem is that many of the staff are over-worked and the paperwork that goes on in most hospitals is ineffectively handled because they've severely cut back on their administrative staff in an effort to save money (my dad held a senior position in a hospital admin department and has seen the changes since the cutbacks).

The system is underfunded and understaffed, hence the staff that are recruited are not necessarily the best of the bunch. The funding crisis is deepened by the wastefulness that comes of not having the administration to back it up. The government is throwing money at the system, but, let's face it, Britain is an unhealthy nation, and unless people can take care of themselves better (and I'm maybe speaking for myself here), the problem won't be resolved. Given all this, is it really surprising that the standards of healthcare people have been expressing have been happening?

Of course, people are more likely to go on about their bad experiences than their good ones...

[/rant]

[novium]

[s]KateBush wrote on 13:20, 15th Nov 2004:
, yeast, sugar and dairy products after a course of anti biotics had killed off certain enzymes in my gut



Can you eat them now, or are you permanently going to have to cut them out?

[Saki]

[s]rae wrote on 18:49, 15th Nov 2004:
Well, I've been to two different practices in Edinburgh as well as the one in St Andrews. At all three I was actively discouraged from coming in unless I had specific concerns. The same applied to STD testing. Where I come from, if you mention a smear or testing or breast exams, the doctors pretty much fall over themselves to help you out. The certainly don't encourage you to only make an appointment if you have a specific concern. And I did, when i first registered in St Andrews, express my concern at the 3 year wait. It had been a year since my previous smear and so I said when i went for my checkup that I was due for another. When they said not for another 2 years, I said I wasn't comfortable with that and they said that that was what the system covered and unless I started showing specific symptoms it was unnecessary. Oh,and I was on the pill.

I still don't think my expectations are stupid or unreasonable. But if you'd like to give me some informed reasons why they are, I'd love to hear them.


Of course they were going to tell you that it was unnecessary - because those are the current guidelines - but if you'd insisted, they'd have given you a smear. I don't think you're being unreasonable exactly, I think you're just used to a different sort of system. Here, things like STD testing and other "womens' stuff", is on demand and not proferred automatically. I don't think that that makes the system dreadful in comparision to Canada, just different. I've had GPs in Cambridge, Oxford, St. Andrews and Bristol and have had a few cervical issues I won't go into here and also like to get myself tested yearly (well, not since the steady boyfriend) for STDs. I've never had a problem getting treatment, but I have had to ask for it. I know that's different to what you're used to, but I honestly don't see anything wrong with it.

[anonymous]

I think all these criticism about the St A hospital are unfounded!

The St Andrews hospital does not purport to have an A & E department. So if you turn up wanting a X-ray yes they will expect you to have made an appointment, the idea is that you want emergency treatment you go to an A & E department. I think our nearest is dundee. I know it's 20 minutes away but i have always lived 30 minutes drive from my nearest hospital so it's just something that I am used to. If it's an emergency the idea is that you call an ambulance.

There isn't the need for an A&E department in a town this size. If you fall ill in the middle of the night you would be better off going to Dundee, or calling out a GP. There is a doctor on call at all times at the health centre, who will come out if you call them.

[Leon]

"If the smear is normal, the doctor will suggest you have a routine repeat after a length of time. Currently this is between three and five years in the UK. This seems reasonable, as the average length of time a typical cancer of the cervix takes to develop is 10 to 12 years."

from http://www.medinfo.co.uk/tests/smear.html

so no i dont think 3 years is too long

[LonelyPilgrim]

I guess I have to disagree. I come from a town this size in the states and we have a fully functioning hospital complete with life support systems, advanced trauma care, and the means to conduct the full range of cancer treatment options from chemo to radiation.

I don't think that my town is particularly blessed, as many smaller communities in the are at least have emergency rooms capable of dealing with all but the most severe cases. Our county is also serviced with two Medivac helicopters that can transfer patients very quickly to any of the more advanced hospitals in the larger region. And just so you know, I do not hail from a particularly wealthy part of the country. I would say that if you live in a community of say half the size of St Andrews in the States, you would probably have fairly immediate access to, at the very least, basic emergency medical facilities.

The difference between an Emergency center five minutes away and twenty minutes away *has* to be reflected in mortality rates. Likewise the prevelence of emergency treatment centers in the States means that if you have a problem of any significance you can and well be able to see a doctor *right now* unless you live in a major metropolitan center. Granted we pay for this privilege and our system of health insurance badly needs an overhaul, but I know for one that I sincerely hope that if I ever need emergency medical attention, that I'm at home at the time and not here.

Likewise if I have a need for an operation or any sort of procedure that can possibly be postponed, I will fly home to have it done rather than take my chances here.

[mossop]

[s]Unregisted User anonymous wrote on 14:43, 15th Nov 2004:
There isn't the need for an A&E department in a town this size.

Maybe a town this size, but what a lot of people seem to forget is that this hospital covers the whole of the north east of Fife. Not just St Andrews. Surely it is not too much to ask to have a hospital with A&E facilites in the whole of the north east of Fife? And this is also the problem with the GP practice in St Andrews, the 3 practices have to cover a lot of villages in the area too, not just St Andrews, and that is why you have to wait weeks before you can get a routine appointment with your doctor (unless it is an emergency of course).

I have absolutely nothing against the staff, as I usually find them to be perfectly nice, I just think the facilities we have in St Andrews are rotten.

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[Guest]

[s]KateBush wrote on 13:20, 15th Nov 2004:

Far worse than that is Ninewells, also affectionately known as NineHells.




I had to go to Ninewells for third degree burns, and the staff were great. Efficient and lovely.

[Guest]

Two years ago I fell down some concrete stairs, landing on my spine, and taking a layer of skin off it. I also banged my head on the wall and knocked myself out for about ten seconds. I went to bed in shock, and the next day, unable to walk without assistance, I visited the Memorial, where I was told by the duty nurse "If you can walk, you're fine". They refused to even give me a gentle examination - I was the only patient in the hospital. The doctor wouldn't give me an appointment for two weeks, and since I was going home in a week, I just visited my doctor at home. It turned out that "fine" was two cracked ribs, a lot of torn muscle and some badly bruised organs. The Memorial hospital is a waste of taxpayers money as it stands now - it needs some permanent doctors (who are always pretty pleasant and competent) to give it a reason to exist. What's the point in paying for a service that doesn't even pretend to function?

[Pender Native]

I come from the West Coast and at the moment Dunoon hospital looks after a sizable chunk of Cowal. They have an E& E, an X ray department and a chiropedist and that's about it. If you're having a baby or have something badly wrong with you you have to go to Inverclyde which is about 45 minutes away, including a 20 minute ferry ride. Now they're shutting inverclyde and possibly the Dunoon A&E so we'll have to go to Paisley which is the other side of Glasgow. When my wee brother ruptured his appendix they only got him to Inverclyde in time. If he'd had to go all the way to Paisley he'd be dead. They're also shutting down Lochgilphead, which also services a massive area and sending all of them to Paisley. It takes half a day to get from Dunoon to Lochgilphead, never mind all the way to Paisley! At this rate there'll be no hospitals left on the West coast!

[hr]
Yum! Pencils!

[Bonnie]

I just wanted to say that if I have to learn about how to put a condom on, then men shouldn't feel that they need to not learn about cervixes, uteri, breasts, or other "female" problems.
They all have mothers, some have sisters, wives, girlfriends, friends, daughters.
What affects either gender affects the entire population.

That's all, I just didn't agree with the sentiment of the first post.

[Setsuna]

They are SHUTTING Inverclyde Royal!?!?

But that hospital is HUGE, even bigger than the Alexandria in Paisley! If you live in Greenock you'll be screwed, never mind Dunoon and elsewhere. The IRH must serve several 100,000 people. I cant believe that.

The Alexandria in Paisley is one of the worst hospitals I have been to (altho Ive never had the pleasure of the Memorial). Ive had to wait two hours in an empty A&E midday to get a clients finger stitched up... the place was visibly grimy, lots of staff were just milling around... Visiting someone out of hours to help them eat was another matter... the staff seemed visibly irritated that i had to ask for a spoon, considering they gave me a knife and fork to serve soup and ice cream. They were loud, obnoxious and swore repeatedly in the corridors...

...yeah, i guess my qualms with the Alexandria is that it is essentially in paisley.

One thing i hate about the casualty is explaining the same problem to about 4 or 5 different people, each of which will just refer you to someone else.

ARGH! Fecking NHS! I know we should be grateful for a national health service, but in essence, it IS pretty shoddy.

Rant over.