The NHS has collapsed.

[brahmahda]

It's great that no Covid wards have been overwhelmed for lack of ventilators - Clap Clap. But ...

1. My regular preventative treatment for a chronic condition has stopped, with no sign of it restarting.
2. My 13yo son needs diagnostic tests for symptoms he's had for several months, but the diagnostic clinic is closed, again with no sign of it restarting.
3. A vital service that the GP would normally provide has been redirected to a "hub" with a convoluted appointment booking process and a very long waiting list.
4. My elderly, isolated/ing mum who urgently needs a face-to-face with her GP due to a sudden decline in her health has been messed around with a complicated process that changes depends on who she speaks to (she was phoned and told she'd need to get a Covid test 10 mins before setting off for the appointment, so had to cancel it).

Of course issues of delayed cancer treatments etc have been widely reported in the news, but it's clear that they are just the tip of the iceberg. The problems must be impacting almost every family in the country to some extent, and there's no sign of them being temporary. I just can't see the NHS getting back onto it's already-shaky track in the foreseeable future.

Anyone else find this terrifying?

This is the first time, ever, that I have posted without RTFT, so I apologise in advance, but how does the NHS "prepare for winter?"

@brahmahda

Am I picking up here that the NHS is no longer fit for purpose?

I know but we are currently more highly taxed than at any time since the end of WWII at the moment and never in British history has so small a section of the population paid so much of the tax. the system was set up so yo paid in and if you did you took out eg my doctor uncle in the 1940s got a council house and I got free university fees etc as we were all in it together and those who worked got much higher unemployment benefits than those who had no NI record. We seem to have lost almost the entirety of that sensible Beveridge designed system and now people do not fee they are getting grammar schools, free university accommodation, even free housing for doctors and instead some take out a lot and some pay loads in and get much less back than they used to do.

Bloody hell, they are long sentences are you a lawyer by any chance?

On the news they reported that there was a 2.5 million back log for breast and bowel cancer screening and 3000 people will die unnecessarily.

Have 2 friends with broken bones doing their own physio. Another paid to just go private as they are working as normal.

Some surgeries have stopped smear tests.

Cancer research is not in a good place at all.

i wonder if people realize that there is a definitive line of thought behind this from the top level... make sure the NHS can't function properly > officially praise them, but let people start saying bad thing > don't solve it (as it would be gov's job), and let it get to the point where ppl are actively disgruntled > offer up the alternative of "but if this was private it would be so much better" or "with private you get your money's worth" > benefit personally on a ginormous scale from selling off the NHS. Give it max 2 years....

Bingo.

OP here. This thread is 6 weeks old, and has just been revived today by a journo looking for a story.

But actually, my experience is that things have improved since July and clinics that had halted are starting to get in touch to re-book appointments. Fingers crossed that the looming second wave won't reverse that positive progress.

You should start a new thread @TheSunIsStillShining based on your last post. Now that would be something to explore.

My daughter is supposed to see a paediatrician every few months as v small for her age. This includes a proper weight & height & head circumference measurement (she's one, so height is hard to do correctly and the positioning of a proper HC measurement is quite specific). All the appointments are currently phone based so she doesnt get measured at all. It's a joke.

I work in the nhs but I'm also a patient and I am crippled because my usual treatment for my medical condition has been delayed for so long. I just dont know when I'm going to be able to have my treatment but every day at work now is getting tougher.

I totally agree. One family member has been referred to a gynaecologist and another to a gastroenterologist for an endoscopy, both in a lot of pain, but haven't been given appointments or even told the waiting time. They have already been waiting two months. There is discrimination against younger patients, in our experience.

My personal experience with my own MH condition has been fine. Regular zoom appointments and blood tests, response from GP surgery via GPonline.

On the other hand, I am pretty certain that my FIL's Parkinson's deteriorated more rapidly due to lack of continuity of care (no medication reviews), no face to face appts, cancelled hosp appts). It did coincide in his condition worsening anyway, we accept that, and with lockdown happening so quickly we didn't have a chance to put things in place. It was unfortunate timing.

@Manolin

You should start a new thread *@TheSunIsStillShining* based on your last post. Now that would be something to explore.

your wish is my command :)

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/4019813-The-future-of-NHS?watched=1

@SultanasofSwing unfortunately gynae waiting lists are often incredibly long even without covid. 10 months is not unheard of. Gastro can vary depending on trust.

I'd advise your relatives to keep an eye on symptoms and ring and inform the secretary of any change no matter how minor to ensure the my have the most up to date info on their conditions, if anything alarming happens symptom wise that might Bump them up the queue.

I'd also ring and ask for the wait times for both.

Best of luck to them x

I'm sorry about your troubles but it hasn't collapsed, far from it. I have had several relatives need emergency treatment since March - one life saving - and their care has been exemplary. They are all in different parts of the UK.
I have needed GP care, got it. DD has a chronic, managed condition and it has still been managed during lockdown safely.
You cannot say an entire health care system has broken down because of a few problems, the NHS covers the entire nation. It's not perfect, no health care system is, and yes it needs the Tories to stop starving it of funding, but it works well for most patients.

I’ve had two two week wait consultations in the past month, one of which is being followed up by surgery within two weeks.

Thanks gin - I love your user name!

@Xenia

So let us now rethink it - eg no NHS if you are over healthy weight

Charming as always.

Really what do you get out of saying such horrible things?

Dear Journo looking for a story - how about doing one on putting the person responsible for talk talks failure in charge first of track and trace and then public health? A track record of miserable failure. Or an article on how the German health service, funded at almost 50% more than the NHS, has managed the pandemic a bit better? If you are only prepared to pay for a mini you cannot expect to get a Rolls Royce.

I am all for carefully managed reform of the NHS and was before COVID. I'd even be open to some level of privatisation as is seen in Germany, fi.

That said, my experience over the past 6 months has been in no way as dire as yours OP. Ds1 needed referral to orthopedics and will be seen 5 weeks after I first spoke to the gp. My mum had a breast lump checked out very quickly in May and my FiL was diagnosed with bowel cancer mid August and goes for surgery next week. Another friend is also getting routine surgery, although MiLs hip replacement does seem to has disappeared from the event horizon.

I think it depends v much on the individual Trusts.

I had a cancer diagnosis in May and have had nothing but good treatment. My DH has also had excellent treatment.
What a rotten OP.

I wouldnt have agreed until recently.
I went abroad to have an operation. I've had bad mental health my entire adulthood, I have eaten for comfort until I reached a bmi of 55. I've tried diets but food has been my only real enjoyment in life.
I couldn't get help from the NHS and my health has declined quickly over the past year. So I went and had my operation in a eastern European country. During pre op tests they found a 6MM lump in my esophagus and I was told to have it checked ASAP when I get home. None of the local hospital gastroenterologists have appts available.
The referral was made and I had an invitation to make my appointment, there are just none.

I've sent emails to each hospital explaining the severity of the situation, but I havent heard back.

Covid has essentially fucked anyone who is unwell, or needing tests.

DD has a bad knee. It's something we started to have investigated in December, it's bad again, and Drs will not see her face to face.

MIL has a tooth that's crumbled to pieces, the dentist told her to call back when she can no longer stand the pain.

I think it's still a postcode lottery. My mums cataracts ( already operated on) are clouding over and see is going blind but no date to get it fixed. She had a CT and MRI months ago that no one will look at so I have had start a complaint. Her hospital is historically shit innately deprived area.

I live in a wealthy area and cant really fault my hospital ( children's services has got worse but they was on their knees before the pandemic anyway).

It's a mixed bag.

My DP almost chopped the end of his finger off with a chainsaw, he was seen, treated and had an appointment with a plastic surgeon within 2 weeks of the accident. I was diagnosed with kidney stones, seen, scanned and treated within 3 hours.

I can't complain.