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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

@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.

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

My uncle got sepsis and my ex nurse aunt found the nurses faking his obs when he was deteriorating. Had to go all the way up the chain and raise hell in order for him to receive proper care. Had she not been there he 100% would have been killed. So there is absolutely a problem with lack of and substandard care.

I want the French health care system where you pay a little bit to see a GP. It sounds amazing and far better than here as does their pension scheme. In France we would have had an amazing time in retirement. I think that my husband is short changed. I don’t understand how they afford to do things so much better and we are a mess here.

As a nhs worker we know it’s not amazing but for the amount of funding it’s actually pretty bloody good. Years of underfunding, no investment in infrastructure, expensive gimmicks in tech and fiascos like the consultants taper and annual allowance (there are hundreds of consultants who are cutting hours/can’t offer extra as it would cost them thousands in salary and pension loss so would effectively be paying to work).

Now the cracks are being papered with poorly trained ‘associate’ type staff it’ll only get worse. The people that say they’d rather pay their contribution directly into private health seem to forget that private health is relatively cheap in this country because the NHS does the rest. Take that away and you can times your nhs contribution by 10 at least.

i will say there is a lot of work needing to be done to better identify and diagnose women who are often misdirected away as hysterical/anxious etc.

Lastly, OP in your case with symptoms (anyone, not just previous cancer) a smear would be inappropriate as it’s a screening tool not a diagnostic test. You should have had an urgent referral to gynae (but in some regions even urgent referrals are at 1-2 years).

It can be rubbish. I’m waiting on test results and medics in the family have quietly suggested they’d give me cash to go private as genuinely concerned. The costs of private care are phenomenal though. Just the tests and the treatment I’ve had so far would be 5-10k.

I think overall it’s a good system. My dc needed surgery on a broken bone a few years ago. Six months later I needed surgery on a broken bone. I think if I’d of had to pay for the care For us both I’d of lost the house/ been made bankrupt.

I really don’t want a system where people are losing their homes due to medical bills.

Your response makes no sense in reply to my post. I said 'most of us' are doing our best. I didn't say everyone. You're speaking to someone who works within the system. I'm fully away of the competence issues. We have a lot of incompetent staff, worsened by recruitment and retention issues.

And todays Tory party propaganda thread is..........

You're angry at the wrong people. Very rude about a service which is actually free. You are paying taxes like everyone else not peoples wages don't sound so entitled. Campaign for improved funding and restoration of staffing levels etc.
if you had a totally private service remember it's the same staff and services only you pay.

Sorry for what you’re going through and I completely agree that with your symptoms and medical history and your genuine concern you should be offered further testing for peace of mind.

At risk of missing the point entirely though, someone who earns £30K pays less than £3.5K of income tax each year and less than £2K of NICs (which theoretically goes towards your state pension not the NHS). This is a very low tax burden compared to historical statistics.

I’d recommend looking at health insurance or finding a job with good benefits including health insurance.

Rude and entitled for expecting to be seen with possible cancer? Wow your standards must be pretty bloody low

If you earn £30K you will be paying about £300 per month in tax. The NHS receives around 20% of tax revenue and so you are contributing £60 per month, £720 per year.
I agree that no-one should put up with incompetent care but NHS care has to be rationed in some way - there is simply rising need, rising morbidity, ageing population, underfunding, inability to retain good staff because of intolerable pressures. The idea is a difficult one that some care needs to be rationed in order to ensure that priority needs are met - someone has to make difficult decisions about access to screening or what diagnostic tests are needed. None of that is any excuse for rudeness or incompetence but please see the bigger picture.

My reply absolutely makes sense. You took issue with OP mentioning lack of care, and said she should blame other things. I have pointed out that lack of care is absolutely an issue that can and should be pointed out.

Completely agreed.
We have a two tier 'private by stealth' system now because nobody has the ducking balls to do anything about it! It makes me so angry.
Free treatment on paper but it's so shit that you'll end up dying or severely disabled/injured unless you can pay.

Agreed on the USA also but that aside we don't need to look far... The Nordic utopia, even France, Germany etc so many have some form of paid healthcare. And they have much better access than us.

As a high earner I'd much rather pay into state health insurance than do pay twice, as I do now. Once for tax/NI and also private insurance.

Yes the NHS is not the best at the moment and I'm really hoping it will get better until then I've took out private health for my family very fortunate that we can I know.
But I think your math is way off.

Care rationing is OK when it's things that really don't matter. You know, like drunk people in A&E or visiting the doctor for a cold.

But that's not what we're talking about here. People are actually dying or being left severely injured/disabled due to the lack of care.

Early treatment is the single most important determinant of survival and return to long-term health in many debilitating conditions. If people can't even get that, they've failed.

Also it would save a lot of money compared to the more aggressive and complex treatment needed when eventually caught... Penny wise, pounds foolish.

Why are you so resistant to accepting that more needs, less funds = payment needed? What is your problem with the model of so many of our European neighbours?

I'm all for reasoned arguments, debate etc but most people don't seem to do any thinking beyond 'it should be free' and 'omg USA bankruptcy'.

The problem the OP described isn't just a lack of funding though is it? Its a top down system with a one size fits all approach that is causing the problem here. No one seems able to take into account that past history, symptoms and abnormal cells means that there could be cancer even though there isn't an active HPV infection.

I agree the NHS is a bit broken. But I think you've come up against the problem I was actually really worried would happen when they introduced the HPV vaccine in the first place.

They have scaled back testing in order to save money because MOST cancers are HPV. Let's just forget about those that aren't because there are a small minority.

I'm sorry your going through this 💐
The NHS is indeed a gigantic money pit that has been incompetently run by well paid inepts for far too long. Pals giving pals contracts with their snouts in the nhs gravy train.
It really does need an honest, outside and comprehensive audit by a foreign company.
Good luck with your health issues 🫂 x

Yep. And most skin lesions on young people are fungal so keep sending them home with cream. Except for those that happen to be melanoma. Those guys are fucked, sadly.
It's a disgrace.