What’s the point in the NHS?

I'm really sorry that you've suffered this injury but your post showcases a lack of perspective. You have a minor injury. You have been assessed by a medical professional. There now really isn't a great deal that someone else can do for you that you can't do for yourself. Fundamentally, you need time to heal.

Health services have to be cost and resource effective, particularly those which are free at the point of care and taxpayer funded. An expensive scan and multiple follow up appointments might make you feel that you've received a better service but they won't actually heal your minor injury any better than self care assuming you have an avenue to seek further review if necessary. Which you do, you can return to urgent care or your GP if you have concerns.

If you in fact have a more serious injury, it will become evident with time. In the meanwhile, someone who really needs a scan and/or physio appointments can access those limited resources sooner/at all because you're not in the queue ahead of them.

If you think private or insurance based healthcare models don't also ration resources from those who can't or won't pay a premium, you are misinformed. All healthcare services around the world are currently having to manage their resources carefully because of a huge increase in demand driven by demographic shift (older and sicker populations).

You're actually highlighting a case of the NHS doing a good job not wasting resources at everyone's expense.

you were x rayed as well I really don’t k law what else you want really

You are aware that you could go private right?

Imagine there's no NHS. You fall and hit your head. Someone asks you if you need an ambulance. What do you say? Do you know the cost? You might get billed most of a month's wages. Does this affect whether you seek paramedics?

similar story- NHS saved my sisters life at 29 when her brain exploded.., twice. The NHS is amazing

Well, they provide very expensive medication to me every month so I can work, hold a mug, do up my own laces and not die prematurely - like my father did before they had been developed.

They provide custom orthotics so I don't end up with permanent damage to joints and tendons.

They provide free monitoring and blood tests.

Free imaging, physiotherapy, hearing aid, vaccinations. Free Mirena, basically free HRT, smear tests, DEXA scans, other medications, steroid injections.

Considering the amount I get basically for free (not counting the tax I don't even see to feel its absence), I wouldn't be hugely concerned about getting a removable cast/boot - get one that inflates, they make a huge amount of difference to comfort and reduction of swelling, by the way, as you won't need a crutch or stick for more than a couple of days because it's fully supported.

Just make sure when you take it off at night that you make a point of wiggling your toes, flexing your foot slowly and trying (it can be painful at first, take OTC pain relief) to slowly rotate it both ways.

I live in one of these countries. It’s not free. You pay about 30€ on top of what you guys would call ni. Heavily subsidised yes. Free no.

I thank my lucky stars every single day.

You really don’t need to tell me how lucky we are.

My husband survived because of two highly skilled surgeons. Nothing to do with luck or god.

I also sat in ED for hours on end watching absolute time wasters completely swap the ‘emergency’ department. One example being a cracked acrylic nail?? Several off their box on drink and drugs being down right abusive.

I know the NHS is far from faultless, but only fools cannot see its value.

I've been treated in the USA with private medical insurance and the bills to go with it, and it was not very good. When they billed me they didn't even get right what I was in for so I got a bill for treatment I'd never had.

The idea that 'private' means 'no-one ever gets anything wrong and all illnesses are cured and the doctors are all like House instead of just demanding to know what prescription you've come in for' is utterly naive.

Why compare with the USA rather than France or Spain who have perfectly good Affordable healthcare systems?

It's entirely possible that 15 years ago that course of action was entirely unnecessary because it did not produce better outcomes than self-referring for physio and purchasing an athletic support, so what you are actually experiencing is a streamlining, an improvement in cost-efficiency, and all the things NHS detractors frequently moan and whinge about actively being shown to be baseless.

But that wouldn't produce a good moan thread. 😐

Similar scenario but x ray showed fractured metatarsal: boot given, crutches lent and follow-up appointment after 2 weeks. You’ve sprained your ankle. It would be irresponsible and wasteful to give you the stuff you seem to think you’re entitled to.

If the NHS hadn’t been wasting resources in this way 15 years ago, it might not be struggling so much now. It’s good that they’ve become more cost-conscious.

I have family in the USA and their medical bills are eye watering. Scans alone are thousands.

Unfortunately so many people don’t o deal with and they are concentrating on the real emergencies. I think if you or relatives where having a heart attack and they out someone before you with a broken or sprained ankle you wouldn’t be happy or if your child need attention you would want them to receive that before you.

it’s not ideal but we are lucky to have nhs

hope you heal well x

I injured my shoulder in a fall this week. I live in a semi rural location and was directed to Minor Injuries in our nearest small town.
All staff were lovely, from receptionist to nurses to radiographer.
No wait at all, seen immediately by nurse.
They told me to go home and come back an hour and a half later due to x-ray staff being on lunch. Greeted me by name when I got back.
I am very fortunate that I haven't needed to use NHS for many years and was amazed after all the bad press/horror stories I've read by my excellent treatment.
No complaint here about NHS.

My uncle broke his hip 18 months ago and was left unable to move and in pain for 11 days with no treatment or care plan, his wounds got infected and he died of sepsis. Just because your husband got care doesn’t mean that the nhs is fit for purpose. By the grace of god your husband survived but many more perish every day due to disgraceful care. Factually hundreds of people every day die because of inadequacies in A&E. Open your eyes and be very grateful because you are one of the lucky ones.

I agree with op. DH had a cracked femur, gps refused to X-ray and told him it muscle pain several times. He finally got them to refer him. Orthopaedic surgeon rang him first thing next day to tell him it had a crack on the side and it needed emergency surgery to insert a pin, told him not to put any weight on it as it may crack through meaning a bigger operation, and that they’d set it up for him to be admitted. A whopping 3 months later he finally got his emergency operation!

Go private then

It's just life or limb now (and often fails at that)

And the most expensive cancer treatments & surgeries if it fits with what the biggest ego consultant at the hospital is in to.

It's worth paying into private insurance even for modest cover for things like physio, GP appointments etc.

I'm on quite low pay (just above living wage) and get physio/musculoskeletal, mental health & up to 3 private GP appointments a year because employers recognize how poor the NHS has become & the cost it's having on the business through absence.

It just can't sustain the amount people are taking out compared with what they are putting in - either we are all going to have to seriously up the amount of tax we pay, spend on insurance or go without health care

Yah it would be… have you seen the costs in the USA?!

You obviously havent been to a physio privately. Usually £60 with a consultation (often more). The X ray would be somewhere between eighty and a hundred quid.
So we are at about £120 on a good day. Wait until there is no nhs, and these prices will go up so much more.

If you honestly can’t see the point in the NHS then you are one lucky person in life.

Sometimes things go well, and I don't like the idea of someone being ill because they can't afford private. But what happens, in many cases, is people who are struggling to pay end up going private, because teh care on the NHS is so bad. I know of several people who really struggled to pay, but did so because they worried they might be dead otherwise. One was in such pain she was thinking of ending things, so her family paid for her op, But not everyone has family who would.
You should be able to get more help than that with your foot-some people still get what your mum did all that time ago.
I got better than you did earlier this year, for something similar. Still had to wait ages for care, but did get crutches!

Your mum was very lucky. I tore ligaments in my ankle about that same time, went to A&E, told soft tissue injury and advised to buy an ankle support and find private physio as wait would be too long on NHS.
About 5 years later I went over on the same ankle and it broke, was told at that time this was possibly caused by weak ligaments due to poor physio treatment after previous injury
The NHS has not failed in the last few years