Addressing the elephant in the room; people abusing NHS, health and social care.

Most people are not net contributors when it comes to tax. The vast majority of the population pays nowhere near enough tax to cover the health care they could need over their lifetime. This is where the entitlement starts, an erroneous belief that paying some tax means that you must have contributed enough to entitle you to super expensive healthcare. Most people absolutely haven't done this or even come close to doing this.

The some other countries around the world do not have a system when you pay for health care via your taxes, then get nothing.

The system isn't 'abusing' anyone. You seriously need to get a grip.

Many people pay 'taxes' and yet take more from the system than they ever contribute. The majority of the population in fact are not net contributors. Yet, they expect that they should be entitled to fantastic healthcare that meets all their expensive wants and needs. It is isn't realistic!

I think your post just drips with entitlement. The idea of free universal healthcare is relatively recent and was developed in a very different era when we had far fewer sick and old people and there were fewer expensive procedures and treatments to fund. We need to get real now and accept that the system simply can't cope with the level of expectation that people place upon it. Healthcare is a privilege and not an unalienable human rights. If you don't believe me then go to lots of other countries around the world and see what happens there. Healthcare is extortionately expensive and we are nowhere near rich enough as a country to be providing a gold standard of health care to 70 million people in the way you seem to assume we can.

I’m signed off work at the moment and spend most of my time watching tv and chatting to who ever comes to see me

my washing machine delivery man got his ear chewed off about a few topics as I’d not seen anyone in days

I do rehab exercises for a few minutes each day and thank god I am not being looked after by you

She actually had some kind of traumatic experience in the town where she was offered care and was desperate not to go back there as she felt it would be bad for her mental health - I don’t think that’s being entitled tbh, we’d all want to avoid places that have bad memories. She maybe didn’t have the capacity to fully engage with/understand the reasons why ultimately she had to go there, but it’s not fair to call her entitled.

We are all aware of the issues in the NHS.

I would prefer someone to look after me who does not hold me in contempt during a time I require care and are vulnerable. Are you suggesting patients have to accept that contempt or get no care?

The OP is directing their contempt and their issues with working in the NHS on vulnerable patients. That is wrong.

You think this post is in any way appropriate? Get another job

your contempt for the service users is disgusting

Tbh, that was only part of the story. The woman was offered several options re accommodation, but turned them down. She is definitely one of the self entitled people that the OP is referencing. A&E is also hugely mis-used, a combination of decreasing GP services where you can’t get same day appointments, and that’s if you can even mange to get through to them on the phone, together with lack of education around the use of A&E. I think some people are so stupid, they really think A&E is an extension of a GP surgery.

OP, are you also aware of the abuse the system is exercising on quite a few of your patients?
Are you aware that they do work hard and pay their taxes to find that it is really difficult to get an appointment with a GP, that diagnosing takes ages, that then the local pharmacist may not have the medication you were prescribed, that specialists appointments and sugeries have mahoosive waiting lists, so by the time they make it, the conditions have got 10 times worst. Many patients lose movility, social connections, work, they miss on life events with their families, are in constant pain, nobody can tell them when this will end.
So, it is not surprising they are a bit broken by the time they make it to your department.

Not a helpful post. Got to ask yourself why the NHS is finding it difficult to recruit. Who's going to look after you?

Try as I might, I can't find this costing anywhere. I also wonder if this is correct it must include the costs of monitoring the drug, ie blood tests and appointments.

Missing an appointment gives the clinician a break. It’s not wasting resources , no resource is wasted.

I worked as a GP receptionist before I retired.
We used to have a sign saying how many appointments were missed.
At one point it was over 100 for a 4 week period.

Many were repeat patients who didn't turn up.
You couldn't refuse to give them an appointment as they maybe really
poorly. All you could do is tell them about missing appointments.

Sign got removed as there were too many complaints that we were trying
to embarrass everyone. There were no names or clues if it was an adult
or child or even male or female.

People need to be accountable for themselves and not waste resources.

People should have to pay an excess for using NHS services.

The NHS is definitely run extremely inefficiently. The amount of paper forms, letters etc that they use is unbelievable in 2025. They really need to move into the modern day.

I have seen a number of threads (here and on Facebook) bemoaning and worrying about the state of the NHS and social care in the UK. But what about how the general public treats it? Over the years, so many people used these services incorrectly, or even abused it in wanton fashion. There has been recent discussion about people who go to A&E mob handed. As well as a lady forcibly being evicted for overstaying at hospital

www.mumsnet.com/talk/_chat/5270258-woman-evicted-from-nhs-hospital-ward-after-being-stuck-for-18-months

I have been working at a council run rehabilitation unit. The majority of patients stay here after being discharged from hospital. They usually stay for around 3 weeks before they're well enough to go home (or sadly sometimes residential or nursing care). However, there is a noticeable minority of patients who seem to treat the place like a hotel. Eg,, staying in bed all morning, watching TV all day in their rooms, Refusing to join in group exercise classes, chatting on their mobiles. Socialising with their visitors for hours on end. I mean, they have plenty of free time in the afternoon and evening to chill out.
Indeed, some of the conversations I've heard make them seem entitled. For example , "I should like some tea and cakes brought to my room for when my guests arrive". Another lady kept ringing her bell as a carer made her tea in a mug, she wanted it put in a China cup. Another male patient turned away a physiotherapist who came in to see him. His reason for turning her away was "I haven't finished reading my morning paper". The best one was this woman complaining that she expects room service and that she's worked and paid her taxes. They're meant to be there for rehabilitation, not the Downton Abbey experience!
Also there are other patients who are ready to go home but are very reluctant to leave. Most likely as they get 3 free meals and company and attention. Which is understandable if they're lonely at home. But that's not what the service is for.
I believe this also contributes to the problem of bed blocking in hospital as patients can't leave hospital due to a lack of space at rehab.

I used to have to put up with endless written complaints about the wrong type of sandwich filling; we used to have ham cheese tuna egg, all made off the premises and completely out of my control, the view out of the window; onto another NHS building, how comfortable or not the arm chairs are, being offered a dessert spoon instead of a soup spoon to drink their soup, being offered breakfast too early: about 8 am, no croissant (I kid you not) only white brown toast, no fruit in the individual jam pots, the fact that they couldn’t swap peas for sweetcorn off the lunch time menu (again all prepared off site and outside of my control), insufficient variety of fruit at meal times apples, bananas and oranges were standard, the quality of the tea and coffee offered even more about the hot chocolate so I removed it, don’t get me started on those small cartons of orange for breakfast people wanted apple so were constantly complaining, or the variety of the biscuits available cheap digestive and bourbons. I could go on. In the end I resigned taking 30 + years experience in my field (still in the NHS but in a less demanding role) as I spent so much of my time replying to crappy complaints like this.

@Crispynoodle my mother was admitted from home following s stroke. She was disturbed and delusional. Drs misread the notes and thought arthritis said Alzheimer's. She deteriorated whilst in hospital to an alarming degree, physically and mentally. She received no treatment for the stroke and her rheumatoid arthritis medication was stopped. The ward had no knowledge despite being a patient in the same hospital for the last 15 years.

The hospital wanted a care home. She did not. We had POA and she was discharged home with no care package. The NHS finally agreed continuing care but she died before it was put in place. We paid for private carers but it was not enough. When the community nurse arrived to deliver end of life support she hugged me and cried. And railed about lack of care and leaving families with inadequate support.

We took mum home because she was dying in full view due to lack of support but no one cared. We couldn't stop her dying but at least we cared, shared memories and photos of when she was young, she spent time with her children and grandchildren. Not to avoid care home costs and protect inheritance. So insensitive.