To wish I could stop paying into the utterly broken NHS black hole

The NHS is not fit for purpose when it comes to women's healthcare - the policy seems to be 'fob them off, fob them off some more, tell them they are just being hysterical about normal bodily function, fob them off, gaslight, gaslight, gaslight, tell them they need mental health support, fob them off'.

At least that was my experience over the course of a decade and a half. Eventually I went private and my consultant apologised that they'd left me to get in such a bad state for so long. He didn't have to do that as he hadn't been involved, but I appreciated it as I lost 15 years of my life to crippling vomit inducing pain and heavy bleeding, while looking like was in late stages of pregnancy

@Shesshinysheila she said WOULD owe. OP was suggesting she could stop paying tax to fund the NHS. PP was highlighting that if it wasn't for the tax-based national system, she'd owe a fortune in healthcare that has so far been funded. So. Calm down, I think you misunderstood.

Sure but here there's a good chance of just dying before you actually find out you have any of those illnesses since it's impossible to get seen and if you actually do get seen you'll likely just get dismissed,so I'd take my chances

Is this a joke??? She doesn't OWE them for her childbirths - that's the whole point of a national health system funded by taxation.
OP has delivered children, the cost of birthing those children was shared amongst tax payers. Those children will grow and become tax payers themselves. That's how it's meant to work.
A system that won't see a high risk patient with obvious potential red flags is a system that is absolutely not fit for purpose and should be bloody scrapped. And people like you are part of the problem, expecting people to be GRATEFUL for being left without the potentially lifesaving care they need because they've used their allocation up??
OP I'm really sorry to hear you've had such a shit experience, and I'm sorry there are so many un-empathetic people spewing their bile onto you here as well
FWIW I agree with you. I've had so many experiences of absolutely shit care or none.
Including a friend who was repeatedly turned away and accused of time-wasting who was eventually diagnosed too late with cancer and died at age 32.
More than 1 occasion where my children also almost died because of absolute negligent treatment.
I can't believe people.are still bleating on that at least we don't have a US system or we could end up bankrupt. I mean I'd rather be bankrupt than fucking dead. And it's not the NHS or the US system anyway. I have family in Europe. Their care is in a completely different league to the state of the system here.

So as a nurse who carries out smear tests daily, I just want to clarify that every woman who has a smear test has her sample tested for HPV. If HPV is found, the cells are then looked at under the microscope. Depending on what is seen in that instance, the patient is either referred to colposcopy or back to the GP Nurse for a repeat smear in 12 months to see if the body has naturally cleared the HPV.

In the Practice I work in, you would be referred to Gynae on the 2 week pathway because you're ri1ght, the lab won't entertain smears that are not due and I think it's the same with colposcopy. I am surprised that you have dismissed in this way and I would suggest going back to your GP and getting a little pushy.

I also totally empathise because I also had cervical cancer 11 years ago and it frightened the life out of me which is one of the reasons I am so passionate about smear testing. I also wish that they would start them younger than 25 but that's another story.

The NHS is a sack of shit, I have zero faith in the entire system, myself and so many members of my family have been badly let down time and time again. I go private every time I can.

While there are many issues with healthcare in the US, that's actually not true, thanks to the Obama/Biden-era reforms. A lot of the insurance available isn't perfect, but that part isn't accurate.

(Not read whole thread).
Why won't they just do a hysterectomy? I had one 15yrs ago after two bouts of severe CIN and having two dc's. I'm glad it's been ticked off my to do list.

Sorry you’re going through such a stressful time.

I don’t understand why your GP isn’t referring you for the symptoms you are having? My relative had spotting and had all manner of scans and examinations (with a biopsy) at our local hospital. Surely it’s not about a smear test battle - it’s a referral on a potential cancer pathway?

Some of your comments are unreasonable particularly around the finances of it all but on the whole you’re not. I’ve had similar issues with GPs and smear tests. I’ve recently gone private for a birth injury (that the NHS missed) and was told by the gyno that due to my history of grade 3 abnormal cells I should be having a smear test every year for 10 years. I specifically asked about this at my post natal check up having read it online and was told by my GP I was wrong - but I’m not. That was after having to go private for my smear test that highlighted the cells in the first place due to an inability to get an appointment. The grade of my cells meant I should have been seen on the 2 week pathway and AGAIN the GP told me I was wrong (when I was right). When I finally heard from the hospital about an appointment for a colposcopy they told me that it was delayed because my GP didn’t make the referral at all until they chased it up as I’d gone to PALS there directly.
My child was also recently very ill and whilst most of the professionals on the ground were incredible at their jobs, I saw complete incompetence in management and communication that put her life at risk. I can now see why people die who shouldn’t, including young children, and I felt very fearful for anyone who is not able to push back, ask questions or does not speak English very well.
My birth and the births of almost all my friends have been a total shit show but I won’t go into that.

I’m sure there are lots of different ways that healthcare could be delivered in the U.K. and changes will be made over time. It may be that the NHS can’t deliver what we expect from it under the current funding model.

Decisions should be made based on facts not feelings or ideology. There seems to be a gap between public perception of NHS funding and our own contributions to it and actual funding.

If you earn less than £30k you aren't really a net contributor so an average will be getting more benefit from government services that you pay for. Private Healthcare is all well and good until there is an emergency when you are shipped straight back to the NHS in ambulance.

I understand the need to rant but I think you have misunderstood how taxes work. There is no way that you are being charged a weeks worth of wages every month for the NHS.

For starters, health tourists need to be turned away if they don't have the relevant insurance to cover them.

How do you work out that one quarter of your wages goes to the NHS? You are a net beneficiary by miles.

Yes, this is part of the frustration of these conversations: countries with different models are largely just paying for a similar thing (massive monopoly) but perhaps separate it from government, for example - which is a good thing, as it can enable long-term planning. But you've still essentially got a state-wide system.

Healthcare spending per capita, OECD countries:

https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/healthcaresystem/articles/howdoesukhealthcarespendingcomparewithothercountries/2019-08-29#how-much-does-the-uk-spend-on-healthcare-compared-with-its-international-peers-

I've always found secondary care in the NHS excellent it's primary care that is difficult to access in our area.

Agreed.

If you're earning 30k you aren't paying much at all, and it is worth it in case you have an accident. I broke my arm last year and I must say the care was better than I expected and my arm is fixed with pins etc.

I understand how frustrating it can be though.

The NHS is evidence based invasive surgery when 50% self rectify sounds like a bad idea. What have they proposed as a plan? Watch and wait I'm guessing. You can ask for a second opinion.

I've always found secondary care in the NHS excellent it's primary care that is difficult to access in our area.

Why do you think that paying for it in a different way would automatically make it better?

Would you not wind up paying the same or more for care in an insurance system as a taxation funded system?

The NHS monopoly purchase power reduces drug prices which is in itself a huge good.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/236541/per-capita-health-expenditure-by-country/

You have to expand the chart to see the U.K.

That’s just not true.

My mother had cancer treatment in 2008 and it was dealt with so quickly from concern to referral to surgery to chemo. It was actually very tricky to pick up and the GP was 50:50 about the referral. The consultant found it straight away and confirmed it with tests.Waiting times were short. Then in 2010 we had Cameron, Osborne and austerity. By 2011 when she saw her consultant for her regular check up, she told my mother that the trust was cutting back her NHS clinical hours. After going to a couple more check ups and being examined by more junior doctors because the consultant was so jammed for time, my mother ended up switching to seeing her privately for check ups through health insurance.

If you cut funding, over time, this is what happens. Missed diagnoses and policies that take referrals out of the hands of experts and put them in the hands of accountants.

National Insurance contributions don't only fund the NHS.

Yes, the NHS needs better funding (and better management). But nobody wants to pay more - do they? Hence the very long threads about rumoured tax increases.