NHS waiting times

They have to ask every 12 weeks now apparently if you still need to be seen. I've been on a wait list since 2020 and still waiting.... 😲

If you can pay to have his tonsils taken out privately then just do it. It might mean no holiday this year but its a matter of priorities. we are going through the same thing with my DH he needs his hip replaced we have been told 3 - 5 years and he cant do this so we have used the money from the sale of a family car to pay for this rather than buying a new upgraded model. and yes, I know, I shouldnt have to and blah blah blah around paying for it in my taxes etc. but at the end of the day, we have the means to do it and so we are and this frees up a space on the list for someone that doesnt. This situation isnt going to change under Labour and wont change until someone has the balls to scrap what we have, get a blank sheet of paper and start again with real radical reforms rather than throwing money and hand wringing.

anyone used medrefund uk to have surgery abroad and get the fees paid by the nhs - apparently you can get surgery in italy on a s2 form - anyone done this.

Hi! I too have felt the pain of NHS waiting lists for a long time. A friend of mine recommended electiv.co.uk as they helped her find an NHS fertility appointment at a different hospital a lot sooner. Not sure if they can help with paediatrics but thought I would mention it just in case!

My daughter has numerous allergies, some more serious than others. We initially discovered CMPA in the early days but more emerged when we began weaning. We went to the GP immediately for a referral to a dietician which we were told was being sent as an "urgent" referral due to the severity of one of the allergies in particular. She was 7 months old when this was sent.

We received a letter this week for an appointment at the end of next month. She'll be almost 21 months by then, and needless to say, we don't need the appointment anymore because we've dealt with it ourselves.

@Tellytibby depends on your hospital I suppose. In my hospital it would be direct to ENT.

I was referred for gynae. They rang and asked if I really wanted my local hospital (this was in July)
I said not particularly... why? Local hospital next date was July 2024. I asked where else and they said Spire which I accepted. Being seen next week

My dad was the same and took Spire and from seeing the doctor, including referral and then operation it was 14 weeks (bicep op so not life threatening)

DS19 has a SLAP tear in his shoulder. When I was told he would have to wait 6 wks for a non-urgent GP appointment we went privately. He saw the surgeon in September and will have the op next month. I know not everyone can afford to go privately but for us it means no foreign holidays for a couple of years. It would probably take 2-3 yrs for him to be treated under the NHS and we would have to accept whatever surgeon he is allocated. Privately he is able to see a surgeon who specialises in shoulders, particularly professional sports injuries. If left for two years, even with gentle sporting activity the injury will deteriorate and be a much more complex repair. Potentially he could end up with arthritis and longterm may need shoulder replacement.

Have you considered going privately for the initial consultation? Most consultants charge around £200. It’s unlikely you will need any expensive tests or scans and the surgeon will be able to tell you what sort of treatment is available. You don’t need to carry on privately.
Has you son got hearing problems? Push for a hearing test, congestion and enlarged tonsils and adenoids commonly cause loss of hearing. There is often more urgency with hearing loss problems. It’s not always obvious, signs to look for are turning up the volume on the TV or radio and ignoring you when they can’t see your face. DS had glue ear around 5-6 and the ENT were quick to operate because of the potential affect on reading and at school.

For anyone waiting for non emergency care I'd suggest calling the consultants' secretaries and enquiring whether they all share the same waiting times

I did the same for DS's minor procedure and found that, while the one the clinic doctor wished to involve had a two year waiting list, others were available within weeks. Sadly the doctor I saw didn't mention this, though he was very keen to push the benefits of using his chosen consultant privately

Needless to say I drew my own conclusions as to what the motivation for his choice may have been

@zeibesaffron look up "right to choose" if you're in England and maybe wales, my wait time was only 6/7 months but the local service is closed to referrals because they're drowning

Its still paeds.

Always always always worth chasing up to make sure the referral has gone onto the system properly (and see if there's any scope for a cancellation or update them on the sheer level of need). Referrals get lost off the system far too bloody easily sometimes with the joys that are NHS IT systems!

Ds4 has just had an orthopaedic appointment after 8 months of waiting. He has waited 6 months for a hearing test, despite being known to audiology and wearing hearing aids. We managed to get a cancellation otherwise it would have been much longer. His teacher of the deaf won't help him without a recent hearing test so it's impacting on other things too.

Dc2 has been waiting for an asd assessment for 15 months. He's probably got another 8 months to go. And that's not counting the 11 years we spent trying to get him on the list in the first place.

Dc3 is waiting for the school to fill in the forms so that he can go on the list for an autism/adhd assessment. It will probably be 2 or 3 years before he's actually seen.

I feel your pain OP, it's awful.

Also make sure you have videos of him sleeping. Some ENT consultants will want a sleep study before listing. Done are happy with videos and a good history from parents.

We had a child with such bad sleep apnoea that mum evaded up brining her to A&E. she had hers done as an emergency it was so bad. Poor mum had been completely fobbed off for ages.

He needs an ENT appointment. Not a paediatrician.

I've been waiting three weeks just to get my MATB1 form 😒

If you can afford it pay privately. We have done this with our daughter. At the age of 14 she was having bouts of tonsillitis constantly and her tonsils were touching causing sleep problems. Her G.P at the time said the NHS no longer removed tonsils and they are part of the immune system.

The specialist she saw was disgusted and that the G.P was incorrect. Operations are done and at the age of 14 are not part of the immune system. We decided to pay for her tonsillectomy, which 12 years ago cost £2000. It was worth every penny. The consultant was concerned due to them being so bad, and informed us that some G.Ps needed re educating about it.

We’ve also paid for her to have a sinus operation as these too were problematic, another £2000, that was 5 years ago. The consultant at the NHS hospital was reluctant to do the operation and prescribed nasal sprays instead. I honestly don’t think they have the capacity for all the operations needed in E.N.T, and it’s gotten much worse since covid.

What bollocks. Of course they care, they want decent pay and adequate staffing levels. Not outrageous asks!

Contact your MP they have staff that deal with this type of issue all the time.

Are NHS doctors still on strike? They don’t seem to care if people die

@ORYX99 its horrible waiting isn’t it ? i had it with my daughter same thing turned out she needed her tonsils out.

If you feel she is in genuine danger of choking or something really serious go back to your GP and ask them to escalate it to an urgent referral.

one of my other ones has just been seen in orthopaedics in 3 weeks. I guess it just depends on the area and the department they need to be seen in.

I feel for you it’s so tiring x

Oh I'd love a 27 week wait. I was referred for something in February 2022 and was asked this week if I still wanted to be seen.

ADHD waiting time for my DD is 2 years - she will be 18 by the time she gets to be seen and will be technically too old for the service 😔

DD had to wait 90 weeks to see ENT. Issue was not as serious as yours though. I would go back to GP. they can expedite or conduct PALS. I wouldn't just sit around waiting.