So angry!!!

[fred]

My step father was here 4 months ago..Whilst here he said he would cut the grass with a lawnmower he sent me 2 years previous.. Within 5 mins he was puffed out and asked me to get his Asthma puffer..
He was diagnosed as being as asthmatic in the UK 6 years ago and has been on medication ever since..
Anyway..3 weeks ago (in UK) ,he got serious chest pains whilst chucking stuff in a skip.. Family called an ambulance and after being checked again he was told that 2 of his arteries were 92% blocked and a third 98%.
They said that he was misdiagnosed 6 years previous and not asthmatic!!
He has just had a triple heart bypass and is now recovering..
The whole family are ****** fuming as he very nearly died needlessly.
When the dust settles,questions will be asked.

People often ask me how we deal with medical expenses here in the R.P..
I tell them,exactly the same as I would in the U.K.. Privately!!
My Father also died because of poor health care in the UK..Aged 55.

[SimonH]

Really sorry to read Fred, but REALLY glad he has been diagnosed properly now is is hopefully well on the way to a full recovery

[imagine]

yes i guess there must be issues on both sides,
in uk i mainly put it down to the gp who misdiagnosed , after all you dont get to see the specialist unless the gp forwards you to an appointment, i was 2 to 3 months on antibiotics before i was correctly diagnosed with cancer, those months wasted treatment time, perhaps my treatment would have been easier on me if sent to specialist sooner,

my mother had previously had a ceberial hemerage,she recovered without surgery, leaving her on meds ,the remainder of her life, the gp knew well her condition, my sister found my mother collapsed and called an ambulance, in order for my mother to get imediate attention once she got to hospital, she needed the gp,s signiture, the ambulance men stopped at the gp surgery on the way, the docter refused to step out the surgery just for the 2 minutes it would have taken, my mother died within a few days in hospital

[Slip]

Nothing as serious as any off the previous posts, but I had a broken foot some 15 or so years ago, I knew it was broken, but the hospital took ax rays and told me it wasn't. A week later they phoned me up to say they had taken another look at the xrays (They check every xray after a week apparently) and I had broken my metatarsal. Nothing they could do, just try and stay off it!

2 months later I thought I could play football and stepped on the ball and snap! I knew it was broke again so I went straight to the hospital. Took the x rays and told me it wasn't broken..... So I asked for a second opinion and explained why. I got my second opinion and that was also to say it wasn't broken, just tender after the last break seeing it was only 2 months previous.....

No need to tell you what the phonecall was about a week later!!!! I swore a lot and called them useless a lot....

[fred]

Really sorry to read Fred, but REALLY glad he has been diagnosed properly now is is hopefully well on the way to a full recovery

Thanks Simon!
Yes,he does seem to be recovering well although his ribs are still sore due to being broken due to OP..He is in his late 60`s and is now talking about getting a bike!!..He has never smoked in his life but reckons it might be due to the smokers in his cabin in the Royal navy back then.
I was talking to a couple of Yanks here and they say that breaking ribs to gain access to the heart is like something out of the stone age!! I have no idea if they are correct about that or not?
Apparently they took arteries out of his left leg which now bypass the bad ones to his heart!
I often wondered what they bypassed them with!
Now we know.
Cheers,
Fred.

[fred]

Thanks Simon!
Yes,he does seem to be recovering well although his ribs are still sore due to being broken due to OP..He is in his late 60`s and is now talking about getting a bike!!..He has never smoked in his life but reckons it might be due to the smokers in his cabin in the Royal navy back then.
I was talking to a couple of Yanks here and they say that breaking ribs to gain access to the heart is like something out of the stone age!! I have no idea if they are correct about that or not?
Apparently they took arteries out of his left leg which now bypass the bad ones to his heart!
I often wondered what they bypassed them with!
Now we know.
Cheers,
Fred.

Xray? Didnt they give you a CT scan or even MRI?
This is in the UK?

[Michael Parnham]

Wow Fred, that was close! At least he was diagnosed correctly, and hopefully a full recovery will be sooner rather than later.

I wish him well!

[Doc Alan]

I can understand your anger, Fred, and wish a good recovery for your step father .


Perhaps you may feel able to give us follow up in due course.


It’s impossible and inappropriate for me to fully explain the issues raised in your thread, not only by you but also Imagine / Stewart, and Slip.


I hope this may be of some help :-


• ANY blockage of the 3 main coronary arteries is serious if it’s over 80% or complete. Unless there's a thrombus ( clot ), narrowing takes time - allowing " collateral " vessels to open up.


• Chest tightness and shortage of breath occurs in asthma and heart disease but the two are not usually confused. Heart disease can however be " silent " , without typical symptoms like chest pain.



• Ribs may be broken during CPR ( cardiopulmonary resuscitation ) – worth it if a life is saved. Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting / CABG involves taking VEINS from the legs and / or ARTERIES from arm or chest. It may either require splitting of the breastbone / sternum and rib fractures ; or " minimally invasive " ( keyhole ) techniques like totally endoscopic robotically assisted CABG ( incising between ribs involves stretching of the space and possible fracture ).


• Not everyone can afford adequate private health care in the Philippines. Most UK citizens are unable or unwilling to pay twice over in taxation and fees, for treatment which may still be provided by the same healthcare workers.



• ANY death under the age of 65 is premature, and – while you don’t give details – I’m very sorry to learn of your own father’s death at 55 due to " poor health care " in the UK.


• Criticism of GPs for not recognising possible symptoms of cancer and referring patients to hospital specialists is a concern in the UK. Cancer diagnosis levels would ideally be the same everywhere. Unnecessary referrals could saturate specialist services and delay – not speed up - accurate diagnoses.



• Clinical examination, x ray, and careful " history taking " from the patient is often needed with foot injuries. They may need to return to the clinic if symptoms persist and swelling has obscured the diagnosis. The crisis in UK Accident and Emergency services is another cause for concern.

[fred]

Thanks Doc!

Actually, I kind of asked your opinion by posting the thread in the Health Section, which I knew you helped create..

I`m not really one to ask anyone directly about anything, as I know that many of us live busy lives and cannot always be around to assist with answers all the time..

Thanks for taking the time to educate me more about his condition.. Its very much appreciated..

I knew you would get around to it at some stage once you had the time to do so..Cheers!

I`m not able to say more about my Father just yet as it's still a very hard pill for me to swallow.