What’s the point in the NHS?

Objectively the nhs is a mid ranking healthcare system. Outcomes are not great compared to other European countries.

it delivers great care for some people, ok care for others and genuinely shit care for a minority.

i live in an area with many Eastern Europeans and lots go home for healthcare because they feel it is better than in the U.K.

The NHS isn't without its issues as well. The NHS model sucks anyway. We need the social insurance model.

All the data shows on outcomes and results France is better

But it's "freeeeeee"

Abad sprain is you strap it up and carry on- there is no treatment for torn ligaments to speak of- so how would a scan help you? Bring the swelling down with ice, strap it up ,use crutches if you have to, and if it doesn't improve in a week or so go back.

The private hospitals where I live (SW England) transfer patients to the NHS if things go wrong and they need more intensive care.
One other thing- I recently witnessed a RTA- a biker was seriously injured. The paramedics called an air ambulance, and the patient was air lifted to a spinal unit. In my view, the care is pretty good. Not perfect, but good.

Thirty years ago I sprained my ankle, eventually it was x-rayed when it happened again. It didn't happen automatically. I was given crutches and sent on my way. My point is that the NHS has never been perfect.

What you have now is more choice. You can self refer for physio or go private if you want which many do.. As for an orthopaedic surgeon, do you think they have the time to deal with "what if's". Was your sprain even that serious, maybe that's why it wasn't suggested.

The NHS is coping with increased demand (aging and sick population) with fewer resources (decades of cost cutting plus covid).
Whenever demand outstrips supply there is a need to both prioritise resources where they're most needed and seek out alternatives to fill the gaps. This is why people with life threatening conditions will recieve more attention than those with minor/moderate conditions and why when there are other available means of accessing equipment or information you might find yourself signposted to them, where once they'd have been provided.
While the NHS continues to save thousands of lives, there is obviously a point to it. If its to resume a high level of care for other conditions it needs more resources.

I was going to suggest that.

Alternatively, the OP could buy an ankle brace, or even strap it up with a crepe bandage. Probably too late now, but ice and elevating the foot would have helped, too. And arnica cream really helps sprains imo.

i agree with this. My friend would go back to Poland for hers.

My DH came off his bike in the US 15 years ago. Went to A&E (ER!), had an x-ray - nothing broken so sent off with a sling and a bill for $1000. So, you already had £1000 worth of treatment (give or take, with inflation) and therefore, yes, add on a scan (much more expensive than an x-ray), crutches and physio it’s going to be in the £1000s.

Yes I’ve heard this too. People have surgery in a private hospital, something goes wrong so they end up with the NHS. I don’t see the point at all. My DS had a pulled elbow and once it happens, they’re more susceptible till about 5/6 so it happened a few more times. We had to wait so long in A&E I taught myself to pop it back into place after the third time. I would have taken him to a private clinic if that was an option. A&E is the pits. We had to walk over a pisshead who was lying in a pile of his own vomit to get to the children’s A&E once.

if you go private, this is what you can expect:

A consultation appointment - £150
A scan - £650 (on the low side)
Crutches - £50
Physio - £65 per 30 minute session

We luckily have Bupa through work which we use for a lot of things, but those are the costs I’ve seen on treatment lists.

Speak to the GP and ask for a referral for physio, they should do it for you. Might take a few weeks but they shouldn’t have an issue, A&E won’t really do that sort of thing. Our GP is quite good and when we’ve needed physio we can usually get in within a couple of weeks.

YABU.

You have a sprained ankle. Get a support dressing and crutches. Keep your weight of it until the swelling goes down then start to use it gently. It should be better by xmas. Take some responsibility. The doctor can't wave a magic wand.

What use is the NHS? Well, they found I had cancer during routiine screening. Had me in for a biopsy the next day.

They provided surgery, chemo, radiotherapy, regular followup screening and superb support, which enabled me to recover, carry on parenting my child, earning a living, contributing to GDP. They are fab. Thank you North Hampshire NHS.

I agree OP. It’s completely pointless for anything other than a very serious, very obvious medical emergency. I live in fear, as many people do, of getting sick and having to go to hospital, because of stories of people waiting 16 hours in agony. People have even died after being left in corridors in severe pain, untreated for hours, after being misdiagnosed. I tend to use chatGPT for medical advice as it usually knows better. We live in one of the richest countries in the world, it’s shocking that people are scared to get sick because of the state of the healthcare system. It baffles me that anyone still defends it when it so obviously doesn’t work. Free healthcare for all is a nice idea in theory but it just does not work in practice. Even people who can afford to go private and don’t even want or need to use the NHS at all are still forced to use it for many things, clogging up the system because there’s no private a&es or gp surgeries (apart from crazy expensive private GPs that only the super rich can afford on a regular basis)
We need a system like Scandinavia, where we pay through our taxes dependant on our income and it would still be free for the poorest people

Go private then

Go private if you like. I don’t know why people want to take such little responsibility for their own health.

also without the NHS people would be dying from injury and disease left, right and centre as private healthcare is unaffordable for most.

Why waste use of an expensive scanner and a doctor's time on a simple sprain? And a sprain is torn ligament(s).

The "proper treatment" is rest, ice, compression and elevation, all of which can be managed at home. You can buy a compression bandage at any chemist, although I favour the old school strapping it with a crepe bandage as you can apply more compression at the point that needs it.

I know this because both my parents had trained as nurses and because I've a lot of experience because I'm a total klutz, but anyone can google it. The only time I've been to A&E for a joint injury was when I partially dislocated my kneecap.

I really think first aid should be taught in schools. It might ease some of the pressure on the NHS if people were more competent at treating minor injuries at home.

It’s sprained ankle , I don’t really no what you was expecting. Most don’t even go to the doctors for that . it’s a sprain it’s common knowledge it will heel in time

Just to note that air ambulances are provided by charities.

Kind of meaningless if you’re one of the 8 million people living in under-served rural and suburban regions where access to general practitioners and specialists is severely limited or if you’re part of the quarter of surveyed patients forgoing necessary specialist visits
due to high co-payments and the requirement to advance payments upfront.

Statistically, the UK lags behind many other industrialised nations in healthcare spending per capita. We can’t keep comparing ourselves to other countries and saying how much better their healthcare is, without talking about how much those countries spend compared to us.

They did the same for my friend when an aneurysm blew up.

Kudos to the GP who listened when friend's wife explained that his mother and sister had both died from brain bleeds arising from aneurysms, and told them to get a taxi not to to the nearest A&E but the one that's on the same campus as a neuro hospital. He was having surgery within an hour of arriving.

Bloody amazing treatment imo. I wonder how much that would have cost privately?

The population of France is 69 million

So 61 million are fine?

Look all the data shows the french system higher. It just how it is. Vastly superior to our crappy NHS.

You receive perfectly adequate treatment for your ailment. What do you want? Injuries happens and for sprains and torn ligaments, the best treatment is just time.

I had the exact same injury than yours 2 years ago. I didn't even bother to go to hospital, I knew what it was. It took almost one year for the swelling to go completely down. I was able to walk after 7 days, pain was ok after 6 weeks, totally gone after 3 months. I'm absolutely fine now.

The problem with A&E are patients like you. People who take it for granted and expect 1st class treatment. The NHS is like flying economy. You get to your destination safely. You don't get the 'making you feel special' and champagne treatment.

Getting emergency live saving care is expected of any healthcare system. It's nothing magical about the NHS.