Yessiree that UK socialized medicine is great!

[Seth]

British Man With Chainsaw Wound Was Refused Medical Attention TWICE
2:54 PM 06/14/2014


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A handyman in England who suffered a two-inch, bone-deep wound from a chainsaw ended up bandaging himself after he was turned away from two medical facilities.

Larry Smith, 62, was trimming trees as part of his job when he fell from a 12-foot high ladder. The chainsaw sliced into his arm, leaving a bloody gash, according to the Daily Mail.

Smith scrambled to the nearest medical facility – which are called GPs, or general practitioner surgeries, throughout the U.K. Though the GP surgery was only 400 yards away, he was turned away because he was not a registered patient there.

“I couldn’t believe I was turned away. I was actually bleeding on their floor,” he said, adding that he was perplexed.

“I was always told that if there was a major incident you could nip into any GP practice to get help but I just couldn’t get past the rottweiler receptionist,” he told the U.K. Mirror.

Still bleeding, Smith went to Hilary Cottage, the GP surgery where he was registered. But they could not fix his mangled arm either.

“When I got to my surgery I thought I’d have more luck but they turned around to me and said they were far too busy,” said Smith.

Smith said he knew he needed to go to a hospital but wanted to stem the bleeding first.

“Being a first responder I knew I’d done something serious to my arm. I also knew it was repairable but it needed immediate bandaging first,” he said, according to the Daily Mail.

He stopped at a nearby pharmacy and bandaged the wound before calling his wife to drive him the 10 miles to Cirencester Hospital. There, he was eventually given 10 stitches.

The U.K.’s governing medical body, the National Health Service, explains how the GP system works.

“You can register with a GP practice of your choice, as long as you live within its catchment area and it is accepting new patients. Visits to the surgery are free.”

As for why the GP surgery where Smith was registered could not see him is unclear. The facility said it could not issue comment, citing patient privacy.

[pErvinalia]

Communists!

[Pappa]

Nobody ever goes to a GP to get an injury like that dealt with. They go to the Accident and Emergency department at a hospital, by calling 999 and getting in an ambulance. GPs don't have the equipment to treat emergency injuries, and everyone knows it.

[PsychoSerenity]

GP surgeries are primarily by appointment and are for health advice, initial diagnoses of non-emergency problems, and routine check-ups, tests or prescriptions. Some places have walk-in centres to deal with minor injuries, but anything serious you go straight to A&E.

“Being a first responder I knew I’d done something serious to my arm. I also knew it was repairable but it needed immediate bandaging first,” he said, according to the Daily Mail.

He stopped at a nearby pharmacy and bandaged the wound before calling his wife to drive him the 10 miles to Cirencester Hospital. There, he was eventually given 10 stitches.

Being a first responder he didn't seem to have a clue what he was doing. If the bleeding is serious you get someone to fetch a clean towel or shirt to put pressure on the wound, keeping it raised above the heart if possible, and call for an ambulance or take you to the hospital. You don't go running about and SHOPPING for bandages. The fact he was able to do that suggests he wasn't in much risk of bleeding to death anyway, so his 'knowledge' about it needing "immediate bandaging first" seems nonsensical.

[MrJonno]

Daily Mail source = automatically lie /distortion of the truth to the point of meaningless.

Might as well quote Fox News

[Hermit]

Also, the article makes it sound like the bloke had his arm half chopped off. It also says it took only ten stitches to close, so I had a look at the one of the photos supplied. Serious? I think not. And why did it take at least several weeks for some hack journo to come up with this bit of "news"?

[pErvinalia]

GP surgeries are primarily by appointment and are for health advice, initial diagnoses of non-emergency problems, and routine check-ups, tests or prescriptions. Some places have walk-in centres to deal with minor injuries, but anything serious you go straight to A&E.

“Being a first responder I knew I’d done something serious to my arm. I also knew it was repairable but it needed immediate bandaging first,” he said, according to the Daily Mail.

He stopped at a nearby pharmacy and bandaged the wound before calling his wife to drive him the 10 miles to Cirencester Hospital. There, he was eventually given 10 stitches.

Being a first responder he didn't seem to have a clue what he was doing. If the bleeding is serious you get someone to fetch a clean towel or shirt to put pressure on the wound, keeping it raised above the heart if possible, and call for an ambulance or take you to the hospital. You don't go running about and SHOPPING for bandages. The fact he was able to do that suggests he wasn't in much risk of bleeding to death anyway, so his 'knowledge' about it needing "immediate bandaging first" seems nonsensical.

Yep. I suspect he had a minor gash on his arm and the local GP staff had more pressing things to deal with than his cut. If this story is based in a shred of truth and not a total beat up, I suppose they should have given him a bandage.

[Clinton Huxley]

Typical anti NHS story from the right wing press. Meanwhile, the NHS treats thousands and thousands a day successfully. Never see that story in the Daily Hate or the Hellograph.

[mistermack]

It's pretty obvious why he didn't go straight to accident and emergency.
Self-centered dick didn't want to wait in a queue. They also might have been tempted to report him to the health and safety executive. You need training and a licence to operate a business with chainsaws in this country, and I have my doubts about his skills.

Work from ladders
Avoid using a chainsaw from a ladder. Chainsaws require both hands to be
operated safely: work on a ladder requires one hand to hold the ladder to maintain
a steady working position. Work from a ladder should only be done by an arborist
trained in and equipped for tree climbing. When operating from a ladder, the
climber should establish an independent anchor to the tree using a rope and
harness and obtain a stable and secure work position.

I see the article doesn't mention any company he was working for, any qualification, or any health and safety inquiry.

Not surprising. It's just a scratch.

Also, typical Daily Mail quality reporting :

He later went to Cirencester Hospital in Gloucester and received 10 stitches

Most people with even half a brain would have known that Cirencester Hospital is in Cirencester.
Not Gloucester. That would be Gloucester Hospital.

[MrJonno]

Reckon we should arrest the guy with the chain saw for health and safety issues and in fact arrest the Daily Mail reader for aiding and abetting the crime (don't know if it would stick but we are talking the Daily Mail so I'm prepared to overlook evidence in this circumstance).

As absurd as what I just said as Japanese policeman was charged for the illegal discharge of a firearm which may sound reasonable until you realise he used it commit suicide. The Japanese dislike gun crime so much they actually put this guy on trial post death

[mistermack]

Reckon we should arrest the guy with the chain saw for health and safety issues and in fact arrest the Daily Mail reader for aiding and abetting the crime (don't know if it would stick but we are talking the Daily Mail so I'm prepared to overlook evidence in this circumstance).

As absurd as what I just said as Japanese policeman was charged for the illegal discharge of a firearm which may sound reasonable until you realise he used it commit suicide. The Japanese dislike gun crime so much they actually put this guy on trial post death

Yeh, the chainsaw guy should be charged compensation for contamination of the surgery floor.
And the cop's widow should have to pay for the bullet. It's only common sense.

I'm surprised, if they hate guns THAT much, that their cops carry them. Japanese logic.
He should have used the traditional sword. Samurai swords are very popular with loonies in this country.

[rachelbean]

As a u.s. citizen and a permanent resident of the UK, I just want to say I love the NHS

[MrJonno]

I'm surprised, if they hate guns THAT much, that their cops carry them. Japanese logic.
He should have used the traditional sword. Samurai swords are very popular with loonies in this country.

They have a weird relationship with firearms over there, Japanese gangsters may chop you to pieces with a sword but its considered dishonourable to use a firearm , through they have even tougher gun laws than in the UK

[Seth]

As a u.s. citizen and a permanent resident of the UK, I just want to say I love the NHS

Of course you do, because somebody else is paying for it.

However, when the OPM runs out, you won't like it a bit.

[Seth]

UK Grandmother Having Heart Attack Denied Help From Medical Staff
6:02 PM 06/15/2014


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A grandmother of three who was suffering a heart attack in front of a medical center in England was forced to call for an ambulance herself after receptionists at the facility refused to help.

That’s the claim made by 58 year-old Hannah Barnes and her family, according to the Shields Gazette, a British newspaper.

Barnes was out shopping when she recognized symptoms similar to those she had experienced in January, when she suffered her first heart attack.

Feeling ill, Barnes headed to Palmer Community Hospital, located in a town called Jarrow, where she asked receptionists there to call emergency services.

Barnes’ family says she was told that she would have to make the call herself, forcing Barnes to search for her cellphone to place the call while suffering a heart attack.

“The whole family is devastated,” said the ailing woman’s sister, Tina Barnes, who pointed out that her sister was lucky, since she often does not carry her cellphone with her.

The Palmer Community Hospital did not provide medical care for Barnes because the facility provides secondary-care hospital services, such as women’s services and cancer services, and is not equipped to handle emergency situations.

Nevertheless, Barnes’ family expressed frustration that staff failed to help in one simple way.

“I could have lost my sister. Would making a free phone call really have harmed them?” said Barnes, according to the Shields Gazette.

“She says she will never forget the face of the woman who said she couldn’t call her an ambulance,” said Tina Barnes. “I want those responsible to be named and shamed.”

Receptionists at medical centers in the United Kingdom have long had a bad image. One study from the 1980s labeled them “the dragons behind the desk.” They were characterized as abusing the power they have as the gatekeeper between patients and the GP, or general practitioner.

The perception that receptionists are surly is so strong that researchers tackled the issue in a 2013 paper titled “Slaying the dragon myth: an ethnographic study of receptionists in UK general practice,” which found that receptionists were often under-trained and overworked.

A spokesman for Northern Doctors Urgent Care Ltd told the Shields Gazette that organizational procedures dictate that receptionists are supposed to undertake a quick visual assessment of a patient’s condition. When patients request ambulance assistance, receptionists are supposed to seek immediate advice from a GP.

A similar case of British hospital negligence was recently reported. A 62 year-old British man fell from a tree and was cut to the bone by a chainsaw. He was denied medical care at a nearby GP because he was not registered there. His regular GP turned him away because they were too busy, even though he was bleeding heavily on the floor. The man eventually made his way to an emergency hospital where he was given 10 stitches.