NHS now saying stuff is free.

“Just be grateful…”

Exactly the reason why the NHS is the way it is.

https://www.bmj.com/content/384/bmj.q524

Yes. First of all look up the cost of all the medical nelegence cases against them.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/may/14/nhs-medical-negligence-liabilities-hit-582bn-amid-calls-to-improve-patient-safety

Then you can look at some of the other ways they waste money: https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/insight-and-analysis/blogs/holding-the-nhs-to-account-wasteful-resources

If youre ignorant of facts, maybe you shouldn't take jabs at other people just because they're better informed. And FYI, I actually love the NHS and want to keep it, i would have told you that if you had asked, rather than making nasty assumptions.

Javier Milei has tried to prevent civil servants in Argentina from referring to public services as free.

why do you say "shit tonne of money a lot of which they waste" - such as?? do you actually have examples or are you parroting the Daily Mail & the right wing parties that want to close the NHS so their friends can step in & make an even bigger fortune?

You get decent healthcare but are too entitled to recognise it & as someone said before, you aren't paying £50 for a steak & got served tripe. You've paid £5 & got access to the best experts in the world. For now.

What a nightmare! I'd understand if we lived in the middle of the countryside but otherwise it's such a pain isn't it?

this

Im talking about 'we' as a country, not individuals

You have been "invited" one in a different place to usual. That might make you think it's something additional to usual care and therefore there's a charge for it. It's to reassure you there won't be.

It might also be by a private company who are supporting the NHS short term in order to get waiting lists down. It's to reassure you that there's no charge.

What exactly are you moaning about? Just the word free?

I’m preety sure the bowel screening letters say the same!

I do agree re appointments. An online booking system would be better. I was sent an appointment for a Tuesday morning at 0845 at a hospital 25 miles away. No train station in my town. Would be three buses there, although no bus is actually available early enough. I’m sure fewer appointments would be missed if people could book themselves an appointment at a convenient time to them. Weekends or early evenings would be good as well. My husband recently had an MRI scan at 0830 on a Sunday morning which was excellent.

I’m too old to be automatically called for mammography now but I was assured if I requested a mammogram I’d get it.

Dead easy to change it to your local site, you just call them up. I had to do that as they’d allocated me Charing Cross hospital, there’s about 5 hospitals closer for me than that one. Basically it’s just them allocating you the earliest and closest appointment.

'That's nice for you.'
'Lucky'.
I suppose that is one way to look at it.
I am genuinely sorry you have experienced poor care. Unfortunately, there are instances where care is not of the standard it should be. That is not unique to the NHS.
However, I think it is very important to highlight positive experiences of the NHS. Like I say - without the care I received I'd be dead. In the grand scheme of things, I dont think using the word 'free' is an issue.

There are many things that need to be done to improve the NHS. Really important things like improving maternity care and access for MH services. Little niggles like this (which I find ridiculous to even notice beyond a couple of seconds to think “well we pay tax”) distract from the bigger things.

NHS management can address this sort of thing or groups that are pro or anti LGBT lanyards to get good headlines for listening. Meanwhile not addressing the call from the LGBT community for improvement in MH services and some women who notice the word “free” in a letter but more importantly are ignored when they say try to get help with painful periods.

That's nice for you. Some of us aren't so lucky and can't access care. I have a serious illness and can't access care. I'm autistic and people like me don't get treated.

'They' are the staff who treat me like an idiot, don't listen to me, patronise me and send me on my way. They're remarkably smug considering they deliver such a poor service (for some people), so I take that to mean I'm supposed to be grateful for the very cursory medical help I have received.

Forgive me for being somewhat irascible, but I'm in constant pain and am living on baby food.

Nobody has ever asked me to be grateful. I didnt consider surgery, chemo & radiotherapy to be 'crumbs'. It saved my life.

Who are 'they' in this context?
For a bit of balance, Id just like to say that I have received excellent person-centred cancer treatment from caring and well educated staff. They were there to support me when I was ill and terrified. I have had years of treatment that is free at the point of delivery. The NHS was there when i needed them.

Oh & my treatment was 40 minutes drive from my house. I still do that drive regularly a couple of years after diagnosis. I am just happy to have excellent free treatment that saved my life. Having to travel a bit for screening. It is a bit inconvenient, but you know there are worse things in life.

The NHS is well funded, but a lot of the money is wasted. They like to remind us that it's free so we can be grateful for any crumbs they throw in our direction.

My local hospitals breast units (yes, plural) are currently being investigated for causing harm to patients.

I have had breast cancer. Someone inviting you to a breast screening appointment and using the word 'free' when it is free at the point of delivery isnt a problem. It really isnt.

I'd like it if they could be more locally located but money is short and people dont want to pay more taxes. Id like the nhs to be better funded, but i dont get to decide these things.

GPs are currently voting on whether or not to make their services subject to means tested subscription. That'll be fun.

And if they detect something you will get possibly hundreds of housands ££ worth of nhs cancer treatment free at point of use . Probably well above your personal contribution. Just appreciate the service