| Our NHS 21:16 - Dec 16 with 1197 views | TresBonne |
Isn't it just bloody brilliant, despite what they want you to believe. You never truly appreciate it until you need it.
Rung hoping for a GP appt at 11:00am today. By 12, they phoned back and I had one at 4:10pm the very same day. Went in and saw one of the most friendly, welcoming doctors I've ever had. Booked in for bloods at 11:50 tomorrow, results back by Friday.
All of that on top of the superflu + Christmas period. For free. We are so lucky to have them. |  | | |  |
| Our NHS on 21:20 - Dec 16 with 1099 views | solemio |
That's good to hear, but sadly rather untypical of the experiences of my friends, and indeed myself. |  | | |
| Our NHS on 21:26 - Dec 16 with 1070 views | Zx1988 |
Couldn't agree more.
Had nasty upper abdominal pains about two weeks ago; called the GP at 8am, appointment at 9:30am. Diagnosed with gastritis and given meds, also referred for a scan.
Assumed it'd be a few months' wait - no, it's tomorrow.
It's a bloody efficient system when it wants to be. | |
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| Our NHS on 21:49 - Dec 16 with 1000 views | Swansea_Blue |
I was having a bit of a mimi huff about our doctors a couple of months back as I could never get an appointment on the online system and it seemed to fill up as soon as it became available. It turned out the only issue was my phone. I phoned the surgery at 8.30 and got a 9.15 appointment. Not bad at all,
Lesson learnt: just phone and speak to a person, they’re better than machines. |  |
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| Our NHS on 22:00 - Dec 16 with 972 views | TresBonne |
| Our NHS on 21:20 - Dec 16 by solemio |
That's good to hear, but sadly rather untypical of the experiences of my friends, and indeed myself. |
Sorry to hear that, it is interesting how different surgeries seem to struggle while some are so efficient. As a pretty fit 21 year old living in a more 'elderly' area, I did think I'd have to be waiting. | | | |
| Our NHS on 22:31 - Dec 16 with 890 views | GlasgowBlue |
| Our NHS on 22:00 - Dec 16 by TresBonne |
Sorry to hear that, it is interesting how different surgeries seem to struggle while some are so efficient. As a pretty fit 21 year old living in a more 'elderly' area, I did think I'd have to be waiting. |
They differ because rather being employed by the NHS, surgeries are independent business that are contracted to the NHS. They are responsible fr their own finances. Some are owned and run by GP partners but more and more are being bought out by larger corporations.
My local surgery has been a partnership for as long as I was using it. Never had an issue getting an appointment but started struggling post covid and you had to phone a week in advance to be seen. They were recently taken over by a corporation and we can now get appointments much as it was before Covid. |  |
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| Our NHS on 23:08 - Dec 16 with 799 views | Freddies_Ears |
| Our NHS on 21:20 - Dec 16 by solemio |
That's good to hear, but sadly rather untypical of the experiences of my friends, and indeed myself. |
I gave up on my surgery after an unqualified doc prescribed lifetime meds for a condition I didn't have (it turned out), and shouldn't have taken at all given my symptoms. Luckily, I am able to use Google, and checked out my doubts. Some hours after leaving the surgery, I received a panicked call, telling me not to take what they had prescribed.
I gave up on Ipswich hospital a few years ago after a litany of linked errors left me with a huge infection after what should have been a minor, routine cancer op turned into a big procedure due to delays. The aftercare was even worse. I took my recovery private. The long version of this story is not one I'd tell on here, as it is quite an unpleasant tale; I owe my life to being able to afford a few £k. | | | |
| Our NHS on 23:15 - Dec 16 with 788 views | Hugoagogo_Reborn |
Yes, and no, for me. GP appointments, blood tests, etc and A&E - fantastic. However, it has taken 3.5 years to get officially diagnosed with ADHD, since my first GP visit. I've suffered years of life affecting consequences since childhood, and the the current 'fad' of thinking you have ADHD doesn't help. It has put a lot of strain on the healthcare services.
Many, many services are understaffed and underfunded. It is rarely the NHS staffs' fault, but the system itself. The vast majority of NHS workers who have cared for me have been awesome, hard working dedicated people.
Offering prompt, free health care for all? Amazing.
Delivering prompt, free health care for all? Hit and miss. [Post edited 16 Dec 23:17]
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| Our NHS on 23:29 - Dec 16 with 742 views | Vaughan8 |
| Our NHS on 21:20 - Dec 16 by solemio |
That's good to hear, but sadly rather untypical of the experiences of my friends, and indeed myself. |
I was just going to say. My GP surgery, there is no way you'd ring up at 11 and get an appointment. | | | |
| Our NHS on 06:06 - Dec 17 with 605 views | Benters |
After I had Sepsis in May I had to spend four days in Hospital on antibiotics they sorted me out and were brilliant,sadly that pushed my bp up,so when I got home I had to do two weeks worth of readings.
I saw my Doctor who prescribed me some bp tabs,now bearing in mind the pharmacist is a minute walk from the Docs,she was tapping away like a good un on her laptop the tablets were there when I walked in.
Marvellous stuff. |  |
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| Our NHS on 06:41 - Dec 17 with 571 views | SuperKieranMcKenna |
Disagree my local services are even worse than under the Tories now. GP appointments for ‘emergency’ only since last month and waiting lists going in the opposite direction.
The people are brilliant but totally disagree, it’s still falling apart. Cancer deaths etc all far behind European peers and millions off work on long term sickness. We aren’t lucky to have it in its current form. Improving it would be a major win for this dreadful government but it barely gets a mention. | | | |
| Our NHS on 07:38 - Dec 17 with 492 views | homer_123 |
"For free"
A really important thing to understand. The NHS is not free. It's free at the point of service but it's need huge funding.
Which leads to the greater question of how it's funded. If it's such a valuable resource, it's need two things. Proper funding and proper management and oversight.
Fundamentally the NHS is now privatised for all intense and purposes, with further changes likely in the near future. So, is that funding coming from the public purse or the private sector? If we continue down the route we are on, the NHS will, for all intense and purposes, be privatised and I have no doubt that 'insurance' will start to come into play or we'll more movement about what is/isn't covered. [Post edited 17 Dec 7:39]
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| Our NHS on 07:42 - Dec 17 with 475 views | noggin |
| Our NHS on 06:41 - Dec 17 by SuperKieranMcKenna |
Disagree my local services are even worse than under the Tories now. GP appointments for ‘emergency’ only since last month and waiting lists going in the opposite direction.
The people are brilliant but totally disagree, it’s still falling apart. Cancer deaths etc all far behind European peers and millions off work on long term sickness. We aren’t lucky to have it in its current form. Improving it would be a major win for this dreadful government but it barely gets a mention. |
"Cancer deaths etc all far behind European peers and millions off work on long term sickness."
But is that a symptom of lifestyles, rather than the state of the NHS? |  |
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| Our NHS on 07:47 - Dec 17 with 453 views | Herbivore |
My experience of it over the last few years has been horrific. Hard to get a GP appointment (usually 3 weeks wait unless it's an emergency) and waiting lists of 12 months plus for further investigations and treatment. When you get to see people they are usually good but the system as a whole feels uncaring and isn't working remotely well enough. |  |
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| Our NHS on 07:52 - Dec 17 with 440 views | SuperKieranMcKenna |
| Our NHS on 07:42 - Dec 17 by noggin |
"Cancer deaths etc all far behind European peers and millions off work on long term sickness."
But is that a symptom of lifestyles, rather than the state of the NHS? |
Waiting times for treatment are widely documented to be worse than in many European countries.
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/feb/27/uk-bottom-list-waiting-times-rad
Again, not a slight on the people working there (I have family so see/hear the issues in the NHS) but at least where I am it’s pretty much broken unless you need emergency care. Record taxes yet I’m almost totally reliant on private GP’s. The waiting list for operations has deteriorated year on year, I was told a 12 month wait for a consultant, unless you are fortunate to have private healthcare that’s simply not acceptable. It’s no wonder so many people aren’t working due to health issues. | | | |
| Our NHS on 07:59 - Dec 17 with 420 views | noggin |
| Our NHS on 07:52 - Dec 17 by SuperKieranMcKenna |
Waiting times for treatment are widely documented to be worse than in many European countries.
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/feb/27/uk-bottom-list-waiting-times-rad
Again, not a slight on the people working there (I have family so see/hear the issues in the NHS) but at least where I am it’s pretty much broken unless you need emergency care. Record taxes yet I’m almost totally reliant on private GP’s. The waiting list for operations has deteriorated year on year, I was told a 12 month wait for a consultant, unless you are fortunate to have private healthcare that’s simply not acceptable. It’s no wonder so many people aren’t working due to health issues. |
When my mother was alive, she had a small stroke. Because of the symptoms my sister rang 999 and was informed that the waiting time for an ambulance would be 20 hours. Obviously they didn't wait but how can that be acceptable in one the world's biggest economies. | |
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| Our NHS on 08:00 - Dec 17 with 414 views | GlasgowBlue |
| Our NHS on 06:41 - Dec 17 by SuperKieranMcKenna |
Disagree my local services are even worse than under the Tories now. GP appointments for ‘emergency’ only since last month and waiting lists going in the opposite direction.
The people are brilliant but totally disagree, it’s still falling apart. Cancer deaths etc all far behind European peers and millions off work on long term sickness. We aren’t lucky to have it in its current form. Improving it would be a major win for this dreadful government but it barely gets a mention. |
I must admit that when I see posts like “Isn’t our NHS wonderful” or “We should be grateful for wonderful NHS”, I can’t help but think of Roy Keane saying “well that’s their job”. We pay for it. I doubt that there are multi posts on the Ajax or Feyenoord forums saying “isn’t our ziektekostenverzekering wonderful” despite the Dutch health system being recognised constantly as one of the best in Europe.
We seem to be brainwashed from birth to worship the NHS as a cult like religion. It’s not. It’s a system of healthcare which although staffed by the most fantastic and dedicated people, has a model that belongs very much in the last century.
Unfortunately there isn’t a politician in this country who would be brave enough to start a consultation or conversation which would involve the sort of reforms which could see things like UK cancer survival rate in line with those of comparable European countries, A&E delays brought down, less operations being cancelled and more doctors per head of population also brought into line UK cancer survival rates lag behind those of comparable countries, A&E delays are increasing, the number of operations being cancelled.
If there was a politician brave enough to start this conversation they would immediately be branded as wanting to “Privatise our beloved NHS”, with a binary choice between the NHS and the appalling system of healthcare in the United States, which is loaded in favour of those who can afford it to the detriment of those who cannot. Or it would be seen as some sort of slight on the dedicated staff who work in the NHS.
Meanwhile, we will stumble from one winter crisis to another. A & E waiting times will get longer and longer, people will die of cancer in this country who may have lived if they were lucky enough to reside in one of our neighbouring European countries and the people who keep the NHS going, the dedicated staff, will continue to be underpaid for the fantastic work they do. | |
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| Our NHS on 08:14 - Dec 17 with 374 views | GlasgowBlue |
| Our NHS on 07:42 - Dec 17 by noggin |
"Cancer deaths etc all far behind European peers and millions off work on long term sickness."
But is that a symptom of lifestyles, rather than the state of the NHS? |
No. These are the main reasons.
1 Delayed Diagnosis:
Higher proportions of cancers are diagnosed via emergency hospital admissions rather than early GP referrals. Fewer specialist diagnostic scanners (CT, MRI, PET) and lower scan rates limit early detection.
2 Access & Treatment Gaps:
Slower access to surgery and radiotherapy for many patients.Lower use of effective treatments like radiotherapy and chemotherapy compared to other nations.Inconsistent cancer policies across UK nations create variation.
3 Underinvestment & System Strain:
The NHS is less resourced than many peers, with fewer staff (nurses, radiographers) and beds, leading to long waits. Lack of investment in equipment and training hinders rapid improvements.
4 Socioeconomic Inequalities:
Poorer communities and certain demographics experience worse outcomes and are less likely to receive curative treatment, a systemic issue.
5 Specific Cancer Challenges:
Poor outcomes persist for "less survivable cancers" (pancreas, oesophagus, stomach) where diagnosis is often late and treatment difficult.
Although 4 and 5 are not exclusive to the UK. [Post edited 17 Dec 8:16]
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| Our NHS on 08:16 - Dec 17 with 369 views | Swansea_Blue |
| Our NHS on 07:47 - Dec 17 by Herbivore |
My experience of it over the last few years has been horrific. Hard to get a GP appointment (usually 3 weeks wait unless it's an emergency) and waiting lists of 12 months plus for further investigations and treatment. When you get to see people they are usually good but the system as a whole feels uncaring and isn't working remotely well enough. |
That’s nuts. We seem to fare better this side of the border for GP appointments; every one I’ve had for either myself or my kids has been the same day for as long as I can remember. Wales tends to do poorly is many other areas though; I suppose it comes down to priorities for where most money goes. Dentistry is horrendous over here - no chance of finding an NHS one. | |
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| Our NHS on 08:32 - Dec 17 with 321 views | BanksterDebtSlave |
According to Junior, nurses earn more per hour working for an agency, and obviously the agency take their cut too, rather than being directly employed by the NHS. For the first time in forever the NHS authority where she studies are not guaranteeing employment for graduate mental health nurses either despite surging demand.
Edit....this notion that the way to fix the NHS is to allow private companies to syphon off even more of the money would suggest we have learnt nothing from the fate of our crumbling utilities. [Post edited 17 Dec 8:36]
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| Our NHS on 08:46 - Dec 17 with 249 views | homer_123 |
| Our NHS on 07:59 - Dec 17 by noggin |
When my mother was alive, she had a small stroke. Because of the symptoms my sister rang 999 and was informed that the waiting time for an ambulance would be 20 hours. Obviously they didn't wait but how can that be acceptable in one the world's biggest economies. |
Because it is chronically underfunded, under resourced and poorly managed.
No political party will grasp this. There is no grown up conversation.
We either pay more to contribute to fund it better (along with improving management) or we privatise it.
Given most of it is privatised already, we have our answer. | |
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| Our NHS on 08:49 - Dec 17 with 237 views | homer_123 |
| Our NHS on 08:00 - Dec 17 by GlasgowBlue |
I must admit that when I see posts like “Isn’t our NHS wonderful” or “We should be grateful for wonderful NHS”, I can’t help but think of Roy Keane saying “well that’s their job”. We pay for it. I doubt that there are multi posts on the Ajax or Feyenoord forums saying “isn’t our ziektekostenverzekering wonderful” despite the Dutch health system being recognised constantly as one of the best in Europe.
We seem to be brainwashed from birth to worship the NHS as a cult like religion. It’s not. It’s a system of healthcare which although staffed by the most fantastic and dedicated people, has a model that belongs very much in the last century.
Unfortunately there isn’t a politician in this country who would be brave enough to start a consultation or conversation which would involve the sort of reforms which could see things like UK cancer survival rate in line with those of comparable European countries, A&E delays brought down, less operations being cancelled and more doctors per head of population also brought into line UK cancer survival rates lag behind those of comparable countries, A&E delays are increasing, the number of operations being cancelled.
If there was a politician brave enough to start this conversation they would immediately be branded as wanting to “Privatise our beloved NHS”, with a binary choice between the NHS and the appalling system of healthcare in the United States, which is loaded in favour of those who can afford it to the detriment of those who cannot. Or it would be seen as some sort of slight on the dedicated staff who work in the NHS.
Meanwhile, we will stumble from one winter crisis to another. A & E waiting times will get longer and longer, people will die of cancer in this country who may have lived if they were lucky enough to reside in one of our neighbouring European countries and the people who keep the NHS going, the dedicated staff, will continue to be underpaid for the fantastic work they do. |
It's already privatised GB, for all intense and purposes. | |
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| Our NHS on 08:58 - Dec 17 with 206 views | Pinewoodblue |
| Our NHS on 06:41 - Dec 17 by SuperKieranMcKenna |
Disagree my local services are even worse than under the Tories now. GP appointments for ‘emergency’ only since last month and waiting lists going in the opposite direction.
The people are brilliant but totally disagree, it’s still falling apart. Cancer deaths etc all far behind European peers and millions off work on long term sickness. We aren’t lucky to have it in its current form. Improving it would be a major win for this dreadful government but it barely gets a mention. |
The only part politics should have in NHS is funding it. It really is silly to suggest it is any different under Labour that it was under Ther other lot.
We all have good and bad experiences but tend to remember the latter.
My wife broke her neck and damaged her spinal cord almost 9 years ago. My most vivid memory is the idiot doctor in A&E telling my wife he had seen the X-rays no bones broken you can go home. He was bundled out of the cubicle by two male nurses. It ought to be seeing her take a few tentative steps , eight months later, using a zimmer frame after intensive physiotherapy.
When the stakes are high the NHS delivers it is the more routine events, like Doctors appointments that let it down as I found out recently.
My GP Surgery have introduced a triage stage. You use an app to request an appointment, they respond by text. They diagnosed a strained muscle without speaking or seeing me. At my third attempt to get a proper diagnosis, via NHS 111 who got an out of hours GP to ring me, I began a journey that lead to discovery of Prostate Cancer.
As someone has already said GP Surgeries are in effect privatised and run as a business, presumably with a profit in mind.
I am on a course of injections , they make out a prescription and send it to Pharmacy. It is down to me to collect it , take it to Surgery and they , by appointment, give me the injection. Crazy. [Post edited 17 Dec 9:01]
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| Our NHS on 09:01 - Dec 17 with 192 views | GlasgowBlue |
| Our NHS on 08:58 - Dec 17 by Pinewoodblue |
The only part politics should have in NHS is funding it. It really is silly to suggest it is any different under Labour that it was under Ther other lot.
We all have good and bad experiences but tend to remember the latter.
My wife broke her neck and damaged her spinal cord almost 9 years ago. My most vivid memory is the idiot doctor in A&E telling my wife he had seen the X-rays no bones broken you can go home. He was bundled out of the cubicle by two male nurses. It ought to be seeing her take a few tentative steps , eight months later, using a zimmer frame after intensive physiotherapy.
When the stakes are high the NHS delivers it is the more routine events, like Doctors appointments that let it down as I found out recently.
My GP Surgery have introduced a triage stage. You use an app to request an appointment, they respond by text. They diagnosed a strained muscle without speaking or seeing me. At my third attempt to get a proper diagnosis, via NHS 111 who got an out of hours GP to ring me, I began a journey that lead to discovery of Prostate Cancer.
As someone has already said GP Surgeries are in effect privatised and run as a business, presumably with a profit in mind.
I am on a course of injections , they make out a prescription and send it to Pharmacy. It is down to me to collect it , take it to Surgery and they , by appointment, give me the injection. Crazy. [Post edited 17 Dec 9:01]
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Hoping you have a successful outcome Pinewood. All the best mate. | |
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| Our NHS on 09:10 - Dec 17 with 155 views | DJR |
I went to the optician last week. I had noticed the sight in my right eye had changed recently.
It transpired that my visual acuity had deteriorated from 6/6 (or 20/20) when corrected to 6/15 which means someone with 20/20 vision can see at 15 metres what I can now see at 6 metres.
The optician suspected a serious condition and contacted the emergency department of the local hospital department but it turns out that I supposedly have something less serious.
I am now on a waiting list but the time is at least 3 months. I would also have preferred a much shorter referral just to confirm the telephone diagnosis is correct.
This experience mirrors in some way that of my mother's who was told that her sight could be seriously damaged by her condition within weeks but told that she would not be seen for six months. As it is, she had the money for a private consultation with the hospital consultant and doing that brought forward her NHS treatment with that same consultant.
In this connection, it is also worth setting out what I posted a few months ago about the French and German systems.
"I have a British friend who lives in France. When we met a year or so ago he said he wouldn't return to the UK because of its health system.
I met him again today and he showed me why.
There is a French app similar to the NHS app. You can put into it whatever health requirement you need and your address. It then gives you a list of places you can go to which also indicates their availability.
On the assumption that he had got from his doctor a note saying he need an MRI scan for an issue with his abdomen, he put into the app that requirement and it offered him an appointment next day at a location not far from him.
Apparently, in France most of these services are provided privately but things like scans and blood tests don't take place in hospitals. Instead there are private clinics which perform this function.
The system is different in the sense that people are expected to make a contribution to their treatment but from what he said the cost is is much cheaper than the equivalent in private hospitals in the UK. And those with limited income don't pay the full contribution or anything at all.
My wife's sister lives in Germany and the system is much the same with problems sorted out in a fraction of time compared to the UK." [Post edited 17 Dec 9:15]
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