nobbyathome Posted October 9, 2019 Report Share Posted October 9, 2019 well where do i start i have had a brilliant holiday to costa rica it is well worth going if any of you are wondering been twice loved it twice and would go again anyway i digress well it was my last afternoon lounging around the pool a racoon walks up goes under my sunbed pops his head up at the bottom and decided to bite me, his tooth going through my toe and out the other side. funnily enough it didnt hurt it just stung so i shooed him off with a quick kick and up to the room to wash it and put a plaster on i informed the hotel and they told me to go strait to the doctor and have a rabies jab as most of the racoons in the area suffer it badly i didnt want to do that as i knew they would pull my pants down and hit my barclaycard hard or rip off the insurance and decided to go to the doctor in the morning when i got home this is where the fun starts with the nhs i could not get an appointment to see my doctor and they said they would call me during the day the did call in the afternoon saying the medical nurse and the doctor have both told me to go to a&e now not in an hour now so of course i started to worry and up to bromley hospital i went about an hour later i was seen and told to go to a travel clinic and have innoculations for rabies i told them once again the story and a travel clinic only does preventative jabs and as i have been bit its a bit to late for that i need a strong after bite one they then got this poor young nurse to sit next to me on a computor going through all the local travel clinics needless to say i started to have a bit of a rant 45 mins later she agreed i needed more than a clinic could give me so i said what about the uch in central london for those of you that do not know london the uch is one of the biggest major trauma hospital in central london she googled it and said yes your right go there i asked her to phone them to make sure they had one she spoke to 5 different people telling them my story and two of then spoke to me to confirm what my doctor had said eventually just cutting the phone off !!! so i walked out and as it was raining thought i would call the uch again i spoke to about 4 people again going through what hapened and she told me to phone 111 and put the phone down *** i called 111 and was told by the operator why are you phoning me go to your local hospital grrrrr you couldnt make it up she eventually said go to woolwich if bromley do not have one i phoned the charlotte at woolwich and guess what they did not have one so i phoned darenth valley and they said our pharmacy is closed call again tomorrow at nine i said what if i walked into your reception foaming at the mouth with rabies and she said we would assess you keep you in overnight and administer drugs in the morning by now i was fuming and went up to london i got to the uch and was seen and told there is no central london hospital that has a rabies jab only the public health at colindale nw9 and they are 24 hours if i go up there i can get a viral and take it to any nhs hospital and they would inject it i phoned colindale to make sure and all i got was hello security!! i explained it all again and was told its 24 hours for doctors but public come in at 0900 tomorrow as i was walking out ranting on how bad the nhs had got a passing doctor said try 29 fleet street its private but they keep some so fleet street i go they saw me strait away bearing in mind this was now 1900 and gave me a jab they charged me £85 to see the doctor and £65 for the jab the following morning they phoned me and said i need a lot more and have been in touch with the public health lab in nw9 they needed to give me an rabies immuno jab in the wound and it will be ready at 11 in nw9 but could only fit me in at 1300 so i had to send my own courier to get it i have it done when he was talking to me the doctor said that the public health will cover all the injections i would only have to pay for there time and i said thats a resuld at £65 a time and i need 5 plus the immuno one he laughed and sai this innuno one is £1200 !!!!!!!!! i had it done and thet one stung!!! i have had another couple since and have one left i would like to thank the doctors at fleet street but am miffed why a private doctor has stock and the nhs hospitals dont rant over Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TIGHTCHOKE Posted October 9, 2019 Report Share Posted October 9, 2019 So then, perhaps you should have had the jab that the Hotel Staff told you to! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nobbyathome Posted October 9, 2019 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2019 funnily enough i was regretting that but speaking to the doctor in the clinic he said its a good job that i didnt as they would have given me the jab in the arm and not the innuno one and thats the one that saves lives he said he was a rabies doctor that had worked in napal for 5 years and most third world countries do not give the immuno one due to the expense of it still look at the bright side i am covered now for the future Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DUNKS Posted October 9, 2019 Report Share Posted October 9, 2019 Think I would have left scorch marks on my way to the hotel doctor. Whatever the cost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MirokuMK70 Posted October 9, 2019 Report Share Posted October 9, 2019 So youre annoyed that the nhs dont keep a jab on hand for an infection that isnt an issue in this country? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benthejockey Posted October 9, 2019 Report Share Posted October 9, 2019 To be fair rabies isnt exactly some far away unheard of exotic disease and its not like Nobbyathome was looking fir help in some remote backwater village on a mountain, so although they may not have had it on the shelf youd have thought theres a little stockpile somewhere like the UCH hospital especially in London. I bet theres a handy stock pile of anthrax, small pox and ebola vaccine in London! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nobbyathome Posted October 9, 2019 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2019 25 minutes ago, miroku mk70 said: So youre annoyed that the nhs dont keep a jab on hand for an infection that isnt an issue in this country? I am surprised that none of the central London hospitals do not have any stock of rabies jabs London is a melting pot of hundreds of thousands of people that are there from all over the world they should have some in my opinion same as most viruses that are around the globe I have got to say I love our nhs and all my family have had good treatment over the years when they have been ill I just don’t understand why it is up to a private clinic to keep one in stock Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billytheghillie Posted October 9, 2019 Report Share Posted October 9, 2019 so the moral of story is, don't go to costa rica. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strimmer_13 Posted October 9, 2019 Report Share Posted October 9, 2019 If a racoon decided to bite my toe whilst lying there, id drop kick the ****** into the pool Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nobbyathome Posted October 9, 2019 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2019 10 minutes ago, billytheghillie said: so the moral of story is, don't go to costa rica. No the moral of the story is get a rabies jab before you go 1 hard lesson learned although saying that I had jabs before I went but the doctor or didn’t suggest rabies Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
figgy Posted October 9, 2019 Report Share Posted October 9, 2019 Even if it was ten k for the jabs, if it saved your life it's worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nobbyathome Posted October 9, 2019 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2019 Any price is worth it to save your life everyone knows how bad rabies can be but have you googled how many people have survived full blown rabies ? It’s frightning Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wishy735 Posted October 9, 2019 Report Share Posted October 9, 2019 Think I might have filled my mouth full of toothpaste, squirted lemon juice in my eyes, then found a dark corner to squeeze into in A & E. Bet they would have found the required medicine pretty dam quick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pycoed Posted October 9, 2019 Report Share Posted October 9, 2019 4 hours ago, miroku mk70 said: So youre annoyed that the nhs dont keep a jab on hand for an infection that isnt an issue in this country? It most certainly IS an issue in this country! Anyone getting bitten by a bat here will have exactly the same concerns, officially. FWIW a mate of mine had exactly the same experience as the OP a few years back after being bitten by a bat - he was telling the tale in the pub & his GP happened to hear it & told him to go to A&E immediately. He was subsequently ****** about so much by the NHS ( & another agency whose title I can't recall) that in the end he trusted to his own immune system (he is a knackerman!!) & told them all to stuff it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackbird Posted October 9, 2019 Report Share Posted October 9, 2019 (edited) 5 hours ago, nobbyathome said: well where do i start i have had a brilliant holiday to costa rica it is well worth going if any of you are wondering been twice loved it twice and would go again anyway i digress well it was my last afternoon lounging around the pool a racoon walks up goes under my sunbed pops his head up at the bottom and decided to bite me, his tooth going through my toe and out the other side. funnily enough it didnt hurt it just stung so i shooed him off with a quick kick and up to the room to wash it and put a plaster on i informed the hotel and they told me to go strait to the doctor and have a rabies jab as most of the racoons in the area suffer it badly i didnt want to do that as i knew they would pull my pants down and hit my barclaycard hard or rip off the insurance and decided to go to the doctor in the morning when i got home this is where the fun starts with the nhs i could not get an appointment to see my doctor and they said they would call me during the day the did call in the afternoon saying the medical nurse and the doctor have both told me to go to a&e now not in an hour now so of course i started to worry and up to bromley hospital i went about an hour later i was seen and told to go to a travel clinic and have innoculations for rabies i told them once again the story and a travel clinic only does preventative jabs and as i have been bit its a bit to late for that i need a strong after bite one they then got this poor young nurse to sit next to me on a computor going through all the local travel clinics needless to say i started to have a bit of a rant 45 mins later she agreed i needed more than a clinic could give me so i said what about the uch in central london for those of you that do not know london the uch is one of the biggest major trauma hospital in central london she googled it and said yes your right go there i asked her to phone them to make sure they had one she spoke to 5 different people telling them my story and two of then spoke to me to confirm what my doctor had said eventually just cutting the phone off !!! so i walked out and as it was raining thought i would call the uch again i spoke to about 4 people again going through what hapened and she told me to phone 111 and put the phone down *** i called 111 and was told by the operator why are you phoning me go to your local hospital grrrrr you couldnt make it up she eventually said go to woolwich if bromley do not have one i phoned the charlotte at woolwich and guess what they did not have one so i phoned darenth valley and they said our pharmacy is closed call again tomorrow at nine i said what if i walked into your reception foaming at the mouth with rabies and she said we would assess you keep you in overnight and administer drugs in the morning by now i was fuming and went up to london i got to the uch and was seen and told there is no central london hospital that has a rabies jab only the public health at colindale nw9 and they are 24 hours if i go up there i can get a viral and take it to any nhs hospital and they would inject it i phoned colindale to make sure and all i got was hello security!! i explained it all again and was told its 24 hours for doctors but public come in at 0900 tomorrow as i was walking out ranting on how bad the nhs had got a passing doctor said try 29 fleet street its private but they keep some so fleet street i go they saw me strait away bearing in mind this was now 1900 and gave me a jab they charged me £85 to see the doctor and £65 for the jab the following morning they phoned me and said i need a lot more and have been in touch with the public health lab in nw9 they needed to give me an rabies immuno jab in the wound and it will be ready at 11 in nw9 but could only fit me in at 1300 so i had to send my own courier to get it i have it done when he was talking to me the doctor said that the public health will cover all the injections i would only have to pay for there time and i said thats a resuld at £65 a time and i need 5 plus the immuno one he laughed and sai this innuno one is £1200 !!!!!!!!! i had it done and thet one stung!!! i have had another couple since and have one left i would like to thank the doctors at fleet street but am miffed why a private doctor has stock and the nhs hospitals dont rant over Any news on the racoon is he ok ? Edited October 10, 2019 by blackbird Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m3vert Posted October 10, 2019 Report Share Posted October 10, 2019 Quote most of the racoons in the area suffer it badly i didnt want to do that as i knew they would pull my pants down and hit my barclaycard hard or rip off the insurance and decided to go to the doctor in the morning when i got home Sorry but whilst I think you should have had a better experience with the NHS I am struggling to feel sorry for you. You were more concerned about your Barclaycard than your life and then get upset with the NHS for not trying to save you quickly. If you were that concerned about getting rabies you would have taken the local advice and got treated right away. You didn't know at the time that their injection might have been substandard you only knew it would hit your pocket and waited until you flew home for someone else to sort it out for you. Hope you don't get Rabies though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilR Posted October 10, 2019 Report Share Posted October 10, 2019 There used to be a special hospital for tropical diseases in Camden NW1. I think it is now closed but I found this link after Googling it. https://www.uclh.nhs.uk/OurServices/OurHospitals/UCH/htd/Pages/Tropicaldiseaseswalkinclinic.aspx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nobbyathome Posted October 10, 2019 Author Report Share Posted October 10, 2019 9 hours ago, blackbird said: Any news on the racoon is he ok ? he might be suffering from an allergic reaction from cheesy feet on the serious side if he did have rabies he would be dead by now apparently they only live for about 3 days after showing it . 2 hours ago, PhilR said: There used to be a special hospital for tropical diseases in Camden NW1. I think it is now closed but I found this link after Googling it. https://www.uclh.nhs.uk/OurServices/OurHospitals/UCH/htd/Pages/Tropicaldiseaseswalkinclinic.aspx the st pancras way hospital is now closed the only hospital that would have had one is the hospital for tropical medicine in capper street wc1 but they close at 1600 !!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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