To wonder if we should expect anything of the NHS?

[HickDead]

I don't mean this to be a goody post but I seriously am wondering if I ABU to expect anything but basic lifesaving treatment from the NHS and if I should maybe invest in better private cover.

I have been suffering from pain for at least the past year and I haven't even been called for any diagnostic scans yet. The pain is so bad now that I've been signed off work but still no urgency seems to be attached to my referral. I hear similar complaints from others and wonder if I'm genuinely being too demanding and should just pay myself for better private health cover.

Just wondering what others' thoughts and experiences were?

www.braintreeandwithamtimes.co.uk/news/15646023.Concerns_Church_Lane_surgery_being_run_as_a__standalone_profit_centre__after_father_s_death/

"The former head of a surgery’s patient participation group has questioned whether the operator is putting profit before patients after the death of his father from cancer.

Nicholas Challen, former head of Church Lane Surgery’s PPG, has blasted operators Virgin Care in an official complaint to NHS England.

Since Virgin took over the contract at the surgery in June 2016 Mr Challen says the service has gone from “crisis to crisis” and care is getting worse.

He said: “In my view Virgin are running the surgery as a standalone profit centre, and cutting corners to make the numbers work rather than a public service, fit for purpose.

"I do not blame the staff at Braintree level. They are under a lot of pressure, and not being supported adequately from their head office, which includes adequate training, staff retention and recruitment.”

Donald Challen was first visited by a doctor from the surgery on Saturday, October 14, when he was diagnosed with an infection and prescribed antibiotics.

Two days later after no signs of improvement, Mr Challen called the surgery and asked for a home visit as his 84-year-old mother Patricia was struggling to cope.

He says he told staff several times he thought my father was at the end of his life.

A doctor attended and an appointment with the district nurse was booked.

On Wednesday 18 the district nurse attended for what had been booked as a diabetes assessment.

In despair Mr Challen called the emergency services.

His father was diagnosed with terminal cancer at Broomfield Hospital on October 19 and passed away on October 28 with the family choosing palliative care.

Mr Challen said: “I was chair of the PPG for three years, stepping down in September.

"In that time I have seen the surgery lurch from crisis to crisis, and under Virgin’s stewardship, it is getting worse.

"The reputation of the surgery is extremely low and Virgin must be held accountable and resolve the crisis they have created.”

Virgin Care has defended its record at Braintree’s largest doctor’s surgery.

Asked by The Times whether the standard of care at Church Lane Surgery was good enough, a spokesman for Virgin Care said: “As an experienced provider of GP services for more than ten years, we have very strong policies and procedures in place in line with national best practice.

“Since taking on the surgery a year ago we’ve been implementing a transformation plan which has significantly improved the practice, moved to new purpose-built premises and added additional clinics and appointments as well as increasing staffing - 81 per cent of patients rating the service this year say they would recommend it.

“Recruitment of GPs is challenging across the country but our recruitment campaigns have allowed us to recruit a number of GPs for our Essex services since we took them on last year and we continue to work hard to appoint permanent GPs for the surgery as soon as possible.”

NHS England confirmed they are investigating Mr Challen’s complaint"

I want the NHS to prioritise urgent treatment above non urgent treatment

Private care gets me seen faster for non urgent, non life threatening stuff

My ERPC for a miscarriage was covered by private insurance, I was in theatre same day

My private insurance covered two hysteroscopies for gynaecological investigations that the NHS wouldn't have done

After having an epileptic seizure and being taken into A&E my ambulance, the letter for the seizure clinic came through 8 weeks later. My private insurance paid for me to have an MRI, EEG and see a consultant neurologist within several days of the seizure

Pain medicine is woefully under funded, funding for most interventional pain procedures has been slashed. Waiting lists for pain clinics are massive. The investigations and procedures I've had either wouldn't have been funded at all, or waiting lists would have been astronomical

For anything serious, I'd never go private - my mum's cancer treatment on the NHS was first class. But for anything non urgent, you'll get investigations done faster in the private sector. Care isn't necessarily better, but it's usually faster

I also can't get physio on the NHS but have a healthy annual physiotherapy allowance on my insurance policy

And that's fine. The NHS has to prioritise! I'm very fortunate to be able to access faster care. I've never been near an NHS neurologist because my private consultant will see me in clinic within a couple of days. He told me if I had any more seizures that it didn't matter if the clinic was full, he'd still see me after hours to make sure I was seen. I don't expect the NHS to see me that quickly - it's a luxury I don't expect the NHS to offer

However OP you should check your coverage for pre existing conditions. If you have had the policy for a while and the pain isn't related to anything that may have been present before the policy was taken out, you might be OK. If not, you'll likely have to pay out of pocket - just worth looking into very carefully. Good luck.

Bloom Just wait for the assessments to come in for diagnosis of a second life limiting disease. My father has prostate cancer. They tried to tell him he has Parkinson's and then it was age induced memory failure. Either of these diagnosed would result in my father not being treated for the prostate cancer as they had let it progress to stage 4.

I live in New Jersey and the medical care here is a million times better than anything I received in the U.K. under the NHS. The cost is very reasonable when you consider how much lower income taxes are here. The issue in our state are households with an income between $80-150k a year. They earn too much for help but the cost is too high for them to afford the care they need.

I actually think it depends where you live / your GP. I’ve had an excellent service and treatment from the NHS via my GP and two local (London) hospitals.

The NHS needs a complete rethink. It was never meant to provide all these extras that it does now. How do other countries manage. You don't see folk in Spain waiting three weeks for a doctors appointment. Why do people in the UK have to. It's lost the plot IMHO.

I had an fairly positive experience last year.

I had issues which led to a colonoscopy under the ‘two week wait’ stipulation and the results of that were a diagnosis of Crohn’s disease. I was giving immediate treatment but what let this particular dept down, at my local NHS, was lack of consultants. I had quite a long wait to see one from been given my results.

When you apply for private medical insurance you will be asked questions such as whether you have seen a GP in the past year; what for; have you been referred to a specialist, etc. As in your case the answer is 'yes' you will undoubtedly find that the medical insurers will exclude coverage for anything relating to this 'existing condition' or any further problems arising from it.