NHS now saying stuff is free.

Prevention is better than cure. Early diagnosis can lead to cheaper overall treatment, i.e. if drugs can cure/control something rather than an operation etc. The NHS needs to transform to being proactive rather than reactive. Hopefully they'll be evaluating outcomes from this initiative to see if the use of the word "free" increases take up of scans etc and whether that saves the NHS money in the long term due to earlier diagnosis. Unless we all want the NHS to save money by letting people die earlier than necessary by not giving them scans and treatment so not diagnosing conditions that can be treated/cured at all?

We don’t need a higher uptake of the NHS, it’s struggling to cope with its current uptake.

Anyone whose used FB marketplace knows that charging a small fee results in higher uptake than giving things away free of charge.

Heading aids are not charged for unless you want private ones. I get my aids free from Specsavers, as does my DH.

I think it's to encourage people to have them, like we are offering this free service why are you not using it.

The breast screening unit in my area is a small purpose unit on a business park and perhaps is perceived as being private and incurring a charge therefore the “free”?
Many previously free services are now charged for (earwax removal and hearing aids to name a couple, with NHS dental services diminished).
Agree with the allocation of appointments though but presumably breast screening is contracted out/social enterprise?
Would be far more efficient!

It's to encourage people to take part in the screening. In a lot of countries you would pay for breast screening.

YANBU it is not free, nothing is free. someone, not everyone, is paying for it somehow.

Maybe a third of women who don't attend have been given appointments at a time that doesn't suit because they are just allocated a random time. The process of rebooking appointments to a suitable time and location is so difficult across the NHS maybe they just don't bother. Not forgetting there are so women who may make a decision that they don't want to take part in screening for whatever reason.

It annoys me that there is an assumption around screening that somehow everyone MUST attend and they MUST comply with NHS process.

In this context I think 67% attendance is actually very high. The framing of it as a third 'failing to attend' is something that doesn't sit well with me. It's saying that women who haven't attended have somehow failed in those linguist terms. This doesn't address inequality and access issues never mind female autonomy.

If a woman doesn't want to attend a screening, then she hasn't failed. She has done what she wanted in line with her rights over consent. If a woman hasn't attended because she can't get to the appointment for whatever reason (and this includes barriers to rebooking for all manner of reasons) she hasn't failed. The system potentially has failed her if it doesn't recognise these barriers.

And yes this does actually matter in terms of how we frame and judge the success or failure of the screening system itself rather than the individual actions of women who may or may not take part in it.

It's not free for many who pay for it with ever increasing taxes.

I just had my routine mammogram today, and nowhere on the letter does it say it is free, other than (at the bottom of p1)
"NHS treatment is not free to everyone - you may have to pay if you do not live in the UK on a lawful and settled basis"
(At the bottom of p2) "The NHS offers breast screening to save lives from breast cancer to women who are permanent residents in the UK. If you are not a permanent resident you may be charged for this service." (Punctuation, or lack of, is as typed, not mine)

There were posters saying the same in both the main waiting room and the just-before-test waiting room. (Our health authority excels at Disneyesque queue systems)

So not every health authority is working from the fluffy, "free" playbook.

Exactly this

Yep. Agree. And yet joining up all the data and sharing it seamlessly across all NHS services wouldn’t involve holding any more information than they do now on separate systems. I’m nearly seventy and have no problem with using NHS online and the various other apps. I appreciate that some people may very well struggle but as long as there is an easy alternative provided for them, I think this is the way forward.

But every time joining the IT systems up is suggested, people are bleating about how they're worried about data security, despite the fact that they willingly pass their data on to social media companies. Try using on-line booking systems and it's all my 90 year old granny won't be able to do it, which may be the case, but there's no reason why most people under 75 can't, other than they don't want to.

I agree. I think this is where things need to change. There are different systems within the NHS that don’t speak to each other. It needs streamlining so the standard is the same everywhere.

This is the future. This is what we need to make happen so that there is less waste. We need really good fit for purpose IT systems and information sharing.

I was also non plussed about that. Imagine having nothing better to do with your time than that?

I want everyone to be able to access the NHS regardless of their income. That is the point. Peoples' contribution to society is not just via their tax contribution. We all deserve treatment and care.
I think low waged people and people who cant work (maybe because they are disabled or have lost their job) should be able to access the same care as those on higher incomes. I have always believed this.
I dont want a system where due to cost barriers people cant access or are reluctant to access screening, diagnosis or treatment.

Of course im grateful that medical science has come so far that cancer and other life threatening illnesses can he detected. The point im making is that the NHS itself has deteriorated so much over the years but we are expected to be grateful for a sub standard service. I've been in the unfortunate position of having family members having to use the nhs over the last couple of years, the majority of whom have faced a lot of incompetence.

The amount of tax payers money wasted on researching and replying to stupid enquiries like this, FOI's fishing for the latest click bait scandal Daily Mail style and complaints that are national policy or legislation outwith NHS control is staggering.

It’s a complete non issue. I’m still having trouble believing a poster upthread actually wrote back to the service provider to dispute the use of the word ‘free’. And was surprised not to hear anything back. The arrrogance is mind blowing.

Yep, this too.

Deary me.... Did you get up this morning looking for something to get annoyed about? 🙄

Don't be a numpty, many people in UK are originally from places where Health Care is not publicly funded. Stating the obvious that NHS Mammograms are free removes any doubt and avoids any misunderstanding as not all NHS services are 100% free e.g dentistry.

I kind of guessed that, and I’m sorry that’s your experience. But it doesn’t condemn the rest of the health service as not fit for purpose. I think the problem here is that services at the routine end of the service tend to attract longer waiting times because more people used them and the conditions covered are not serious so are prioritised differently. Consequently, and understandably patients feel hard done by because they have to wait. That’s not the case in my experience of being diagnosed with several serious conditions as a result of congenital disability, and a cancer diagnosis. These are prioritised differently and generally addressed much more quickly. Not everything can be prioritised.