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  • My Covid 19 Story

    Ok. I thought I’d wait to at least see how things were going before I posted my status.
    On Monday after work I fell really ill. I know I’m a drama queen sometimes with man flu but something was definitely wrong. Monday night was horrific.

    Tuesday I booked a drive through covid test. Probably shouldn’t have driven myself and mounted the kerb 4 times. Was so tired when I got home I went straight to bed again. Marie checking my breathing and temperature which by this time had gone up to 39.8. Luckily for me while I was asleep she rang 111. Went through the call and 4 hours later a doctor rang.

    Went through more questions and advised me to go to A and E.
    I’ve been on a drip and oxygen since. And had chest X-ray , ct scan and bloods taken. Which confirmed I had infections in both lungs and the consultant confirmed I had covid 19.
    Which was a good job because my drive through test came back negative ! (They’re only 70 percent accurate you know).

    I’m so grateful to Marie for ringing 111 and sorting it. If left to me I wasn’t really sure what was happening and totally out of it. And who knows if it had been left another couple of days.
    The treatment I’ve had since I’ve been here has been truly amazing. They really are angels. Even the man nurses.


    From seeing my neice Melissa-Marie when she saw at the end of her night shift I had been sent to resuscitation and came to talk to me and reassure me for a little while, through giving consent to being put to sleep for an indefinite time to be put on a ventilator if required and I took a turn for the worse to my mate Shane ringing me and telling me his wife Sam is on the next ward and will drop me some things off tomorrow as I’m not allowed visitors. You lot are amazing.


    “The nhs is on its knees”????
    From what I’ve seen in a very short space of time it’s staffed by the most amazing caring people. And we should be proud of every one of them. I certainly couldn’t be prouder of the friends and family I have in the nhs.
    I clapped again at 8 pm out of my window once more. But this time from the inside of a hospital looking out. The night doctor said to me “you really don’t need to clap, the fact you’re getting better is all we doctors need.”
    So just a heads up guys, anyone on my Facebook still thinking this a load of made up shit to put phone Masts up …
    You’re wrong
    Anyone saying Boris was on oxygen for a week so it wasn’t too bad and probably didn’t have it?…….
    I’ve sort of been there and You’re wrong……
    And anyone not clapping or showing appreciation for our amazing nhs ? Not social distancing cause you don’t think it’s serious? Dying to hear the word “unlock “ so you can resume the stupidity it took you weeks to get out of ???……
    Don’t care if I’ve known you from birth.
    Save me the bother will you ???
    I’m a 52 year old bloke who will openly admit to crying several times in the last few days and has been humbled once again by people’s kindness.
    I’m sharing a ward with a 73 year old fantastic guy called ken who went in queens 6 months ago for his toe off because of diabetes and is sat across from me with one leg now and after all that tested same as me for covid. Listening to him crying on the phone to his lovely wife because she can’t visit him and he misses her.
    There’s always someone worse off isn’t there.
    Stay safe . Protect the NHS. They’re amazing. Thanks for your messages of goodwill those who knew……..
    And sorry to disappoint some of you but…

    …….I’m getting better by the way.

    Credit https://www.facebook.com/andy.parker.9235

  • Please Stay Home And Protect The NHS

    PLEASE SHARE!! so going back 6 weeks the week before lock down Freddie became not himself. He had a high fever and a rash all over him so I took him to the doctors and it was suspected scarlet fever.

    He was given some meds which I found extremely hard to give him. He wasn’t eating, wasn’t drinking, drowsy and just completely not with it at all. Anyone that knows freddie knows how extremely hyper and loud he is. I took him to the doctors the Thursday and he went to his dads that night.

    The next day Friday we took him to the sick kids as he really just wasn’t himself and they told us it’s just a bad case of scarlet fever he would be on the mend in a few days. Then Sunday came and it sounds so horrible to say but he just looked like a zombie.

    His nose was bleeding out of no where and he was completely out of it. The whites of his eyes were bright red, it just seemed like there was no life to him. So I took him back to sick kids and the lady I seen told me again it was a bad case of scarlet fever. She couldn’t see a problem with him as he was responding to her when she asked him questions (when you’re a mum you know your child and know when there’s something not right at all). At this point though

    Freddie was point blank refusing to take the medication at all so they changed the dose down to a smaller dose. I tried everything possible to give him these meds but he just wouldn’t take them. Monday came and he still just looked horrendous. The rash that he had started to spread all over his face. So again took him back to the sick where we actually got kept in this time as he was refusing the meds completely.

    We got put into a room for isolation as we were still under the assumption it was scarlet fever. Freddie was kept in hospital Monday to Friday. On the Wednesday we got moved to a ward as they no longer thought it was scarlet fever and they thought he actually had Kawasaki disease. Kawasaki disease is a disease that only affects 8 in 100000 children in the uk. He wasn’t actually tested for it but he did have a heart scan which confirmed the the valves to his heart had swollen.

    They also found a heart murmur that had never been picked up before but this could’ve just been because of how unwell he was. Freddie is fully on the mend now. The week after Freddie was in hospital I was really unwell had lost all sense of taste and smell and had a bad cough with sweats. I didn’t think much of it because it wasn’t much worse than the general cold.

    I’m writing this post to raise awareness over this severity of this illness and to urge you to stay home. This was the worst week of my life. Freddie has had his fair share of hospital visits but this was nothing like this week we had. Please stay home, save lives and protect the NHS.

    EDIT – although Freddie is completely back to him self hes been on Asprin since being home. He’s not been able to hold his pee, Freddie was potty trained well over a year ago and never had a problem never had accidents never wet the bed. Since having Kawasaki he struggles to hold his pee at any time and we are dealing with a lot of accidents, he also has a continuous rash that looks like eczema on his stomach and back which he didn’t have before Kawasaki either.

    Credit https://www.facebook.com/chloe.knight.75

  • The NHS Is NOT A Charity

    Is no one else absolutely furious that they’re being gaslit into believing the NHS is a charity that is funded by donations from working class people?

    That a 99 year old man dragging himself up and down a patch of grass is being celebrated? It is nothing to celebrate. It is not a great example of The Great British Blitz Spirit. That’s what the government and the press who prop them up want you to think so you don’t notice their catastrophic failings. It is a stain on this government and the way this country is being run. It is utterly shameful.

    Why are we not furious that a pregnant nurse died when she shouldn’t have been at work in the first place while Sicknote Johnson lords it up at his country manor? That care workers are being rewarded for their work with the honour of paying for a fucking badge?

    We are being asked to do our bit and dig into our pockets to pay for a service that we already pay for. It is not a charity. You are being asked to pay for the shortcomings of this government. It’s not fucking Comic Relief. Maybe the nasty party should ask their billionaire mates to dig deep or even perhaps pay the taxes that they owe in the first place? The left always knew the last election was literally a matter of life or death and we are seeing it every day and it’s the worst thing to be proven right about. Those of you who voted this utterly disgraceful government into power should be absolutely ashamed of yourselves.

    ETA: Those of you arguing on MY post that I shouldn’t be making it political, EVERYTHING IS POLITICAL. Existing is a political act when you’re not a white, middle class, heterosexual, cisgendered man.

    I wasn’t expecting so many people to se this post so I’ll add this for clarity:

    VOTE THE TORIES OUT.
    FUND THE NHS.
    GIVE A DAMN

    Credit https://www.facebook.com/lauren.mittell

  • NHS Staff Being Fined For Parking When Working

    Sat in tears in my car after a long, hard 12.5 hour shift in A&E….

    and all for the wrong reasons 😰😢

    UHCW please somebody help !!!

    I’m absolutely losing my rag and don’t know what to do.

    For the past 8 years I have worked within the hospital and for those entire 8 years I have never EVER been given a parking pass despite multiple phone calls, emails, appeals, basically begging!!

    I have had countless struggles over the 8 years trying to get myself to work and back.

    These days I have to dump my car out side of the hospital and walk a good 20 min at least in all weathers & pitch black in winter.

    I’ve encountered trouble with youths, horrible weather leaving me soaked for 12.5 hr shifts and even had to waddle after my days at work throughout both of my pregnancies within the trust.

    More and more of the estates around the trust become covered in red/yellow lines making it next to impossible to find somewhere ‘acceptable’ to park, pushing people to park further and further away.

    Now for the past 2 shifts I have got back to my car, exhausted, and today soaked, to find 2 parking tickets AGAIN.

    Paying £10 a day in the visitor car park is not happening, I have 4 children to provide for!

    Please ffs someone help me resolve this utter nightmare I’m in ?!?!?!?!

    All to get myself to work and back…. does the hospital have that little respect for me that they think these daily struggles are acceptable for loyal dedicated members of staff?

    Honestly, please, someone offer some help or a solution because to be left in tears after a 12.5 hr day at work in A&E because of this is not acceptable.

    I love my job but this alone makes me want to look elsewhere 😰 The daily struggle is unreal.

    ?UHCW- Coventry council- Government – whoever is responsible for this should be ashamed of this poor treatment to staff 😭😭😭😭😭

    *******UPDATE*******

    Thank you so so much to anyone showing their support for me on this post. This was originally a private post to air my frustration to my friends. I was asked by a few people to make it public so they can share how bad the situation is and I never expected so many people to be concerned enough to share and comment!

    Just a few things to point out now though –

    – Please read the post properly and see that on this occasion I was not parked on hospital grounds so this is NOT a ticket from any of UHCW’s security staff.

    Although I have gotten many tickets on site before, this is not a dig at our security staff so please do not make this about them.

    – I was parking with a friends permit on these 2 occasions, on an estate near the hospital, which should have been valid – therefore I am in the process of doing an appeal for both tickets as I believe I should not have got them anyway! Thought I had a temporary solution to my parking issues… apparently I can’t even take my friends kind gesture of help now!

    – To the best of my knowledge, I believe the main problem is that the current car park is privately owned, NOT by the hospital. So it is the private company at fault for the ludicrous daily parking charges and fines on site. They have also introduced a new 10 minute rule where I believe you will be sent a fine even if you are not parked, and spend more than 10 minutes on site 🤷🏼‍♀️

    – And finally, again to the best of my knowledge, I believe the main thing UHCW needs is to build a whole new big car park for NHS staff, as right now the demand for passes much outweighs the current capacity. However I believe this isn’t supported by the council —— therefore it seems that these are the main ones needed to resolve the issue!

    Although really, this isn’t something a humble band 5 A&E nurse should have to think about. I certainly don’t get paid enough for that !!

    This should have been resolved years ago by all these high up, well paid decision making people 🤣

    I want nothing more than to drive to my place of work, do my 12.5 hour shift, and drive back home 😊

    Thank you everyone for showing some support 🙏💓😀 xxx

    Credit https://www.facebook.com/samantha.martin.7923

     

  • Mums Should Be Tested For Strep B At The End Of Their Pregnancy

    I believe all mum’s should  be tested for Group B Strep during the last stages of pregnancy to prevent any more babies catching this during the mothers labour, in which sadly many of these babies can end up with severe disabilities including damage to their brain, cerebral palsy and worse sadly some don’t even make it.

    It is something that the NHS do not really  tell you about and even when you ask to be tested the refuse to do so on many occasions.

    Unfortunately this was the case for my family as when we advised our midwives etc that I had tested positive for strep b in my previous pregnancy (showed up during a routine blood test) they refused to test me in my last pregnancy, in which has resulted in 20 months and a lot of fighting for my son to be checked over properly after being dismissed, for his mri scan to show that he has damage to the left hand side of his brain and cerebral palsy in which he has no function in the right hand side of his body.

    This should have been prevented and should never have happened if all mothers to be were given this very cheap test and could also save the NHS millions at the same time.

    Please take anute out of your day and sign the below petition

    https://www.change.org/p/nhs-all-mum-s-to-be-should-be-test-for-group-b-step?recruiter=56089019&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=psf_combo_share_initial.pacific_email_copy_en_gb_4.v1.pacific_email_copy_en_us_3.control.pacific_post_sap_share_gmail_abi.gmail_abi.pacific_email_copy_en_us_5.v1.lightning_2primary_share_options_more.control&utm_term=petition_management_at_publish_v3&utm_content=fht-14103178-en-gb%3Av5

  • Nurses Shouldn’t Be Scared To Call In Sick

    My friend had a sky-rocket temperature, I did not have a temperature gauge at the time to take her temperature however she was burning up, to touch she was very hot, it was like touching a radiator. She was talking gibberish and was feeling somewhat rotten.

    I had assisted my friend in having a bath and using the toilet, I had given her paracetamol to cool her down and helped her to eat and drink, you see me, and this friend are very close and have known each other for years so I look after her when she needs me, and vice versa. However, this whole situation could have been avoided.

    You see this friend works for the NHS, the place where you go to get better.

    This friend however feels victimized and bullied by the people whom employ her. I have also heard that other members of staff where she works feel the same.

    My friend began to feel poorly on the Friday, she was due in work on the Saturday and Sunday, on the Saturday when she awoke she was very poorly, she had a temperature and she hardly had the strength to walk. When I told her that she needed to get some rest and cancel work she told me that she was already on a stage 1 disciplinary for sickness and that she was fearful of the manager.

    The reason she was on a stage one disciplinary, she had been off 3 times (Each time for 1 day or less) in the space of 1 year, 365 days.

    The reasons being?

    Work related injuries, a bad shoulder and sickness bugs contracted from cleaning up shit and vomit all day every day.

    On the first day my friend went to work and came home 1 hour early due to nearly collapsing whilst doing her job.

    On the Sunday my friend went into work again, she had stayed in bed until 12 noon, which is not like her at all, she then got up and dragged herself to work for her late shift, again I had helped her have a bath and dress. I advised her not to go into work, however she still feared losing her job or getting a bad reference when she leaves, which she intends on doing this year.

    I HAVE a massive question to ask, why in the fuck as human beings do we allow someone to have authority over us to the point that we will go into work when we are dead on our feet in fear of punishment from management?

    Why do we have to watch what we (nurses, care staff, doctors.) post on social media in fear of being taken into the office?

    It is time to change, it is time new rules were bought in, yes there are people out there that take the piss, they should be dealt with. The ones that say they are ill and then go out and have a beer with the lads and plaster it all over social media. They are the people who should be facing disciplinary action.

    However, when you have a nurse whom has done the job for over a decade and is rarely ill, when you have a nurse whom is as a 30-year-old woman fearful of her manager. Then we must start to question, when does enough become enough?

    When does the welfare of he nurses, doctors and ambulance crew come into the picture?

    When does the welfare of the families of these staff come into the picture?

    When does the world wake up and say thank-you, how many people say thank-you to their nurse or doctor?

    If there are any managers reading this, how many times do you thank your staff for their work? Or are you concentrating on the things that they have not done, are you concentrating on the fact that they are 2 minutes late as they struggle to get their kids into school on time and then into work. How many times have you asked your workers if they are ok? if there is anything you can do to support them at work?

    I today have taken time off work to support my friend. My friend means more to me than any job ever will.

    Maybe if we all took a stand when it was necessary to do so, then the care sector managers and higher staff would realise that they are not feared, and that fear is not a way to gain respect and control. To gain respect you must earn it. Respect is earned not given.

    Bullies, they get nowhere, as there is always someone around the corner willing to stand up to them.

    Remember people, the only person whom can allow someone to have authority over you, is you.

    Full credit to a gentleman named Joe.

  • Waiting For Cancer Treatment Because I Do Not Help Government Stats

    Charlotte Armstrong has taken to Facebook to warn others about an Nhs and government tick list.

    Armstrong said “Actually disgusted at the Nhs!!! So basically I was diagnosed with endometrial cancer stage 2 over 4 weeks ago…..basically it started in my womb and it has moved to my cervix too!

    I Was told because I’m not on the governments tick list for getting their stats up with cervical and ovarian cancer I do not need to be seen as urgently as others do!

    I Just phoned them only to be told there is other urgent cases and I’m still on the waiting list!!! Sounds selfish or not I have cancer too!!!! I’m so disgusted at this…….to top it off I was left to rot for 10+ years with pcos (Polycystic ovary syndrome) no treatment or anything  because I was overweight so I do not count!

    I have never cost the nhs a penny in my entire life and the one time i need them to help I’m not on the make the government look good scale so fuck me!!!!!! 😠😠😠😠 rant over FEEL FREE TO SHARE THIS AS MANY PEOPLE AREN’T AWARE OF THESE RULES REGARDING STATISTICS BY THE GOVERNMENT!!!! ALSO THERE IS ONLY ONE HOSPITAL IN THE WEST OF SCOTLAND THAT DEALS WITH THIS TYPE OF SURGERY……THE FULL WEST OF SCOTLANDS FEMALE POPULATION WHO NEED HYSTERECTOMY DUE TO CANCER….ONE WARD!!!!!!

    Have you had a similar problem with the Nhs? We have never heard of this before and would be interested to hear your thoughts and views on it, please kindly comment and share with us your views.

    If you would like to raise awareness on any topic, it doesn’t have to be parenting related, share your personal story or would like to advertise on Mums advice Facebook page or website please send us an email to mumsadviceltd@outlook.com

  • No Excuses! Have Your Smear Test!

    This week I had my smear test.

    Not a big issue really, women have them everyday.

    The only difference this time was that I had to be a mother at the same time!

    My husband was at work so I had both my adorable little monsters, Poppy aged 9 and Dexter aged 5, with me for the smear test.

    This turned out to be less of an issue than I’d ever expected!

    The nurse was so nice to the kids, complimenting them on how well-behaved they were being whilst Mummy had her ‘M.O.T’.

    It was over in minutes and I honestly don’t know why I worried at all.  It was very slightly uncomfortable but not at all undignified, the kids sat on chairs the other side of me, Poppy playing on my phone and Dexter looking at a leaflet he picked up from the waiting room.

    I can’t stress enough how important it is for all women to attend their smear test appointments.

    Don’t let having no babysitters be an excuse.

    I read that over 1 million women failed to attend their smear test appointment last year making it the lowest turnout in nearly 20 years!

    Make that appointment and keep it, it might just save your life.

  • Mum Wakes From C-Section To Find Both Her Legs Amputated 

    Mum Wakes From C-Section To Find Both Her Legs Amputated


    Not even in your wildest dreams would you want anyone to go through this terrible trauma what Ella Clarke, 31 of Torquay, Devon has experienced. Clarke was pregnant with her eighth baby but she had a condition called placenta previa, also known as a low-lying placenta. Midway through her pregnancy, Clarke was told she would have to deliver via C-section.
    Mum Wakes From C-Section To Find Both Her Legs Amputated
    No big deal for this mum who has delivered six of her babies the same way. But what happened after labour has changed her life forever.
    Clarke was put to sleep for scheduled C-section. The procedure didn’t last long but she woke after six days to see both her legs amputated below the knees.


    How could this happen?


    Well, a medical negligence cost her legs.
    About 30 minutes into her C-section, Clarke’s placenta embedded itself deeply into her uterine wall. 

    A complication called placenta accreta caused massive hemorrhaging which lead to an emergency hysterectomy. After five blood transfusions and an induced coma, she delivered a beautiful and healthy baby girl – Winter Rose.


    Due to the negligence of the hospital, as supposed to be monitored every hour for blood clots, she was not under observation. Six hours allegedly passed without being monitored. This deadly mistake cost her legs – clots formed in her legs and deprived her lower limbs of blood supply. It was too late to save her legs. Ultimately, her legs were amputated below the knees to save her life.

    Clarke was clueless about her induced coma. She woke up and waited for the nurse to pass the baby but she was in for a shock.
    She said, “I remember the moment I woke up. I thought I was waking up from my C-section. I expected my beautiful little baby girl to be passed to me. I had no idea I’d been in a coma.”
    The hospital has apologized for the mistake and is held for thorough investigation. 

    Ella has taken legal action against the NHS hospital in Torquay; her family and friends strongly support her battle against the hospital. 

    The Life of Ella Clarke would never be the same again. 

    A Once active mum is now in a wheelchair and has prosthetic legs.
    All for what? A medical oversight that should have been easily prevented.
    “I knew the risks of blood loss, but I never expected to wake up three days later without my legs,” Clarke said.
    “Going into the hospital to have a baby should have been the best moment of my life. Instead, my world has been shattered. A thoughtless oversight has cost me so much. I will never stand on my own two feet again, and that makes me shudder,” she said.


     

  • Baby Left To Die In NHS Hospital

    There is no denying that the NHS is under pressure. Who can forget the red alert meltdown in January? Almost half of NHS trusts across England declared major hospital alerts in one week. But it appears things have been going awry for a long time. As the NHS is forced to keep cancelling non-emergency operations to try and recover control, vulnerable people are being ignored and neglected. And only now are we understanding the full effects of all of this.
    Kayden Bancroft

    Kayden Bancroft was 20 months old when he died at Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital (RMCH) in April 2016. He’d been waiting three days for life-saving surgery. After falling and hurting his mouth, Bancroft was taken to Stepping Hill Hospital where it was discovered he had a hole in his diaphragm, and part of his bowel had burst through the hole. Staff asked for him to be transferred to RMCH, but were denied as there was no intensive care bed available.

    He was transferred the following day to an ordinary ward and his surgery was repeatedly delayed. He then suffered a cardiac arrest, with nurses struggling for 30 minutes to resuscitate him.
    Speaking of the trauma, Bancroft’s grandmother Julie Rowlands said:
    “His care was appalling. He was basically put in a room, and left. And all we got, nearly every day, was, ‘He’s not having the operation today, he’s not having the operation today.’ They were coming up with excuses, ‘There’s no bed, or a car crash victim’s come in.’ That’s all we got, all the time we were there, was excuses”.

    Speaking of the hospital’s failure, she added:

    “After his cardiac arrest the doctors tried to bring him round, but he was without oxygen for almost half an hour. They took him to theatre, but I knew it was too late. It was four-and-a-half hours before they brought him back and they apologised there and then and said as a hospital they had failed him”.
    A preventable death

    As the family’s lawyer Stephen Clarkson highlighted after the inquest into the hospital’s failure: “The real tragedy here is that Kayden’s death was entirely preventable”.
    During the incident, it was revealed that senior surgeons repeatedly tried to warn trust management about the shortage of emergency operating theatres. Hospital consultant Mr Khalil also told the BBC: “On Thursday [two days after being admitted to RMCH], one of the surgeons had offered to cancel one of his elective lists, so that he could do Kayden as an emergency, but did not receive the support that he needed. That should not have happened.”
    The trust told the BBC that it had no record of this request. It said:
    “We believe that there are sufficient theatres in our children’s hospital to cope with the demand for emergency cases; however, on occasions some children do have to wait for urgent surgery while emergency surgery takes place”.

    The trust added:
    “The trust would like to make it clear that at no time has it directed clinical staff to prioritise elective over non-elective care. As is the case at most similar hospitals, elective cases are regularly cancelled to accommodate emergency patients”.

    Continued cancellations

    The consequences of cancelling operations and appointments are blatantly clear. But thanks to government underfunding, the NHS has been left without any other options. In 2016, 20,000 eye appointments were cancelled at Shropshire’s hospitals alone. Chief Executive of the NHS Simon Stevens has also revealed this is only likely to continue, as patients must wait longer for non-urgent operations as a ‘trade off’ for improvements in other areas.

    It’s only so long before an urgent case like Bancroft’s gets overlooked in the chaos.