Seriously thinking about leaving the UK

Yes allowing freeloaders to come and abuse the. NHS is one area where they are failing. I don't begrudge anyone emergency treatment but coming and using vaccinations and health checks is a cheeky.

I wonder if the NHS doctor sister has facilitated this

Yes I thought this as well. Thought you had to be “normally resident” to use the NHS. For a 4 month stay should have paid privately and/or had insurance for non emergency treatment. We do need more checks and controls on access to the NHS.

OP - do you speak French? Be careful where in Canada you move to if you don’t.

I know a lot of UK citizens who no longer live in the UK or who moved for a few years then
moved back.

The successful moves have been those who have moved to somewhere, not just focussed on moving from somewhere. Those who have integrated, spoken the language and not limited themselves to the expat community for their community. This is particularly important as you age, many countries have an assumption that family will do care. You won’t have that.

From which EU country?

Were you and your child actually entitled to NHS care when you don't live here? I suppose the NHS would have more money if people didn't arrive here and expect treatment that isn't available in the country where they live.

Just looked it up and no you weren't entitled as you aren't settled here after living abroad for 17 years. How nice for you that you took advantage of our broken system.

Nope, not negative. Realistic.
I briefly returned to the U.K. for work for 4 months in 2020. The NHS treated my then nearly 2yo fabulously (meningitis jabs for variants that aren’t routinely available in EU countries, and they did his 2-year check) and it still doesn’t outweigh the fact that QOL is better elsewhere in Europe.
People do generally pay higher taxes in the EU, yes. However, they don’t mind on the whole because they actually see where it goes.

Oh, I do. I visit regularly, still have many family and friends in the U.K., and my sister is an NHS doctor (and even she says the system is broken).

I'm glad it's not just me. I see so much negativity about the NHS that I sometimes feel confused about my own experience.

@TheignT I absolutely agree. I’ve had excellent experience of the NHS and I’ve had a LOT of experience of it. I’ve also been a carer for DS and then for DH and had lots of support. The same applies to various relatives in different areas. It’s not completely perfect, my recent ENT experience was hard work but, at the same time, I had two other appointments and was out before the actual start time!

I think we will probably leave when the DC finish school/start university. Thinking Singapore for a few years. Clean, safe, low tax, good weather (I love the heat/humidity weirdly!), could transfer with my company.
Then retire to southern Europe, likely Mallorca/Ibiza (have EU passports).

It’s a few years away yet but that’s my current thinking. YOLO etc. But not naive enough to think every other country is a panacea either.

Intervene how? If they aren’t overruling U.K. law, don’t have any legal power, why would/could the police intervene? You can’t police how any community council operates if they are within the law. If you don’t think there are similar white community groups / councils who work in ways that dictate what people can do, you’re kidding yourself.

There's plenty of places in the UK that you can have this, I'd consider myself one of them.

If we need a Gp appointment I fill in an online form and get a phone call within 48 hours for adults or on the day for the kids. They then see us within the day if we need to be seen. Wait times are long but for example I paid for a private consultation which the NHS then acted on, that consult cost far less than a years private insurance and considerably less than friends pay for healthcare abroad.

I think like many places it depends where you live and your income.
We have a nice house in a lovely area. Kids go to a brilliant state school, we have loads of free events and cultural things to go to. Within an hour can be in the hill, by the sea or in the countryside so we can go camping and enjoy the seasons. It’s not perfect but I’d say my kids quality of life is very high!

Exactly

@TheignT yep I agree

@TheignT yep I agree

@TheignT yep I agree

I think it might also be about following the way the system works. I could have tried getting an appointment and moaned about waiting on the phone, no appointments available, but I know that filling in the online form, giving all the relevant information results in an appropriate and prompt reply.

If people don't have the internet or can't use the form they can go into the surgery and either fill in the form themself or a member of admin staff will help them.

@TheignT I’ve had similar service recently here in Bath as has my father in law in Frome - I honestly think it’s pot luck these days .

Just wanted to do a quick update on NHS service.

At 8.15 I sent a message to my GP surgery about a med issue I'm having.

At 9.21 I missed a call from them to say doctor had reviewed my message and at 9.24 got a text.giving me advice and also letting me know GP wanted me to have a blood test which they'd booked for tomorrow and telling me to update them in 2 weeks about how I was but to seek immediate medical help if things got any worse.

I honestly can't complain can I?

If you've lived outside the UK for 17 years, I'm slightly baffled that you claim to know about its alleged faults and how the NHS operates.

Maybe people have different experiences. I've had great care from the NHS both at my local surgery and in hospital. The NHS saved my baby's life when I needed an emergency c section on Christmas Day, when I contacted my GP about some chest pains I was sent straight to hospital and within 3 hrs I was on a specialised cardiac ward, I get health checks due to age and am given advice, I've had regular smears and mammograms for decades. I have had one issue with a GP who dismissed my symptoms as due to age but the nurse practitioner sorted that out. As my DHs carer I am offered help and support.

I find people are generally kind and helpful, as an old lady on public transport I am offered seats, offered help with bags etc.

Have my local roads got pot holes? Yes but other things outweigh that. Maybe you have some blind spots and should balance the negativity and moaning with people who are actually finding life here pretty good.

This was the article in The Times, wasn't it? Yeah, load of baloney. No way they paid those prices for those properties in that area.

I have lived in France (9 years) and the Netherlands (8 years so far). OP, YANBU to consider leaving the U.K. We will never be going back there to live. Every time we visit, we do enjoy seeing friends and family, but we don’t enjoy seeing a country where everything is broken (from the NHS to the roads) and where our children would not benefit from living there.
There are valid concerns on this thread that you obviously need to consider (e.g. visas, language learning) but none of these are insurmountable. You can subsequently acquire nationality of your chosen country via residency or marriage after moving (I became French in 2017 for instance) and learn languages over time. I have C1 French (at least that’s the highest level I’ve been tested to - only C2 is higher) and strong B1 Dutch; you have to put the effort in but it can be done.
Of course all countries have problems and in the end it’s not a holiday; you still have to go to the supermarket, pay your taxes etc, and do all those other boring things. Ultimately, though, in our experience, the benefits of living in our chosen countries have so far outweighed the downsides. Obvious highlights include the healthcare system, respect for intellectualism and private life, and proper lunch breaks in France, and high-quality infrastructure, directness, healthcare system, and high QOL (especially for kids) in the Netherlands. I would say it’s ALWAYS worth trying. People tend to automatically compare the U.K. to other English-speaking countries before deciding that Britain is better than everywhere (especially health and welfare-wise) but this is hasty and incorrect. People have really got their blinkers on when it comes to the U.K. and I am always amazed how blind Brits are to the country’s faults. Sometimes it feels like a cult (particularly when it comes to the NHS).