Is it wrong to ask for an NHS procedure during these times?

[SuperPixie247]

Due to endmetriosis, I have shocking periods. I am so ill, fainting, lose weight, take time off work etc. I have looked into a procedure called "endometrial ablation" which is likely to improve my periods significantly.

I mentioned it to a friend and said "around this time next year due to pressure on NHS already". She was shocked and thinks I should approach my GP now but I would feel really cheeky.

YABU - ask your GP now

YANBU - it is better to give it a year or so

Thanks for your input!

Definitely mention it now! You'll likely be put on a waiting list. The same thing would happen next year, the waiting list might be a tiny bit shorter but that's not guaranteed

Covid isn’t the only thing that matters.

Sorry but your friend is an idiot.

You need medical care. Speak to your GP.

You will probably be on a waiting list for a year anyway! Go and see them now

You'll need a gynacolegy referral first, might as well get the ball rolling.

I was worrying about speaking with the GP about a non-urgent thing to do with my daughter. I sent an email request a couple of days ago, someone phoned me today (they were really lovely, and agreed she should be seen), and they will make an appointment, when one becomes available. Obviously, that might take some time, but at least the ball is rolling. They can then allocate appointments on a needs basis, so no-one is missing out. I think the system (at my GP's anyway) works really well. I kind of hope that they keep some aspects of it, omce things return to normal(ish).

Get on the waiting list now! I've been on since January 2020, nine month wait apparently.

Still waiting but they are looking into carrying it out at other smaller hospitals to get down the list.

If you leave it, you're just going to be waiting longer.

As someone who suffered endo, fibroids and horrendous periods YANBU to want something done to reduce your suffering and improve your life but, waiting lists are horrendous, so it would be as well to speak to your GP for a gynae referral now.

Don't pin your hopes on it though, Endometrial ablation wasn't suitable for me

I think it’s worth asking for the referral now. My gynae referral took about 4 months from referral to initial appointment then about 8 weeks til I got an op date. Only real impact would be you’d probably have to have a Covid swab then self-isolate before your op.

The NHS will triage you, you don’t need to do that for them. All you’re doing is delaying your own care.

Read back what you wrote: I am so ill, fainting, lose weight, take time off work

Get an appointment booked and get in the system to get sorted.

See your GP. I have had a procedure for chronic pain and going again next week.

No harm mentioning it, as people have said you will be triaged so no need to triage yourself.

Get on the waiting list. It us likely to be longer due to COVID, so no point waiting to start. The health service wants to keep doing as much non COVID work as possible, because they are aware of an ever growing backlog in many areas.

Get the ball rolling. Covid is not the only thing that matters.

If nothing else, if you are regularly having to take time off work or are having work impacted, if you start the process now you would at least be able to say to your employer that you have had investigations and are waiting on treatment options to be available.

Good grief, go to your GP!

yes, you are likely going on a waiting list, but as you have a genuine reason, you would be completely unreasonable to keep quiet.

Put it another way: the longer you wait, the worst it is. So you would be putting MORE pressure on the NHS. Go to your GP now, and good luck with the wait.

I would get on with progressing this asap, your first appointment is likely to just be a telephone appointment anyway.

I had mine 3 years ago after a 5 month wait. Go now, please, and get the ball rolling. You’ll need a gynae referral and an appointment at the clinic to talk about the options open to you (mine started with a Mirena coil which up I had taken out because I couldn’t tolerate it, then an ablation - if it hadn’t worked my consultant was willing to consider a hysterectomy because of my age). They will need you to be sure that your family is complete before they’ll do the procedure because you can’t sustain a pregnancy afterwards, which is why I had to wait well into my childless 40s before they’d do it for me. But it’s a life changing experience when it works. My periods were so heavy that I was suffering like you, and I now have the sort of normal periods I had as a teen and in my early 20s, and I have my life back.

I started on a waiting list for a procedure in June. Still waiting.

I would get on the list now because it may very well be a long one.

The NHS is still running and so yes definitely speak to the GP about a referral. Don't suffer when you don't have to and don't feel guilty. Hope you're sorted soon.

I've been on a waiting list for a non urgent procedure for a year now. The sooner you ask about a referral the sooner you get on the waiting list, which may be ages until you get to the top.

You have a health problem you’d like addressing. That’s an entirely appropriate use of the NHS.

Procedures are still going Ahead - ask
It may take a while to get done but at least you’re on the list/in the system.

I’ve had a colonoscopy/abdo ultrasound and awaiting an MRI
I’ve had bloods, clinic appointments, face to face gp appointments. I know I’ve been very lucky. My gp is amazing & I’ve really not been well but covid has only slowed things down a bit, I’ve still been treated. I was in an outpatient clinic on Monday and it was full people had to wait outside of the seating area all socially distanced, nurses and drs were lovely.
Go and ask, I hope you can get this procedure as I’ve known people have if and it’s change their lives.

Absolutely ask for a referral it now. It could be a long wait and you want to be on the list. It's the Covid pandemic that is putting pressure on the NHS, not people who need medical procedures.

I work for the NHS. Absolutely the right thing to ask now. Yes, there may be a waiting list, but the sooner you are on it, the sooner it will be sorted. Please get a GP appt and ask for a referral.