My "recent" experience, is having chronic on/off back pain for better part of ten years which just suddenly came on one day for no discernible reason, all while not even being 35 (23 at time of first pain), and being essentially told by a GP that; "a vast majority of people have back pain... that's that", no scans offered, no referrals, no investigation, just "take painkillers and anti-inflammatory and come back if it's the same".
I'm sorry, even in pain there's only so many days I can get off work for inconvenient GP appointments, that's even if you can give me an appointment in the first place; only to be told the same thing by a non-interested gate keeping GP grates on you after the 3rd or 4th time, ohh sorry, they did eventually offer me a course with a HCA who showed me and half a dozen other people a power point presentation on how to do stretching exercises while sat in a chair, I was the youngest person on that course and the next oldest person must have been at least 25-30 years older than me, does that not say anything, that something might be up when a fit and healthy young persons back goes haywire for no reason, and every so often they can't stand vertically without being in gut wrenching pain, no, seat stretches are the answer, OK?
I've never been one to cause a fuss, so whenever I did go back to the GP, the major pain had already gone away by the time I was graced with an appointment, so you look like a prize prick in the GP trying to lay it on thick on that you were in agony, but in reality; instinctively and naturally go; "I'm ok-ish now...", and he's just looking at you like you're an absolute timewaster, as if you're only there looking for a prescription for something more powerful than codeine phosphate so you can get a buzz.
It's bad that I regularly find myself actively thinking that getting knocked off my motorbike again in the future would be a positive action, just enough to cause a small injury nothing serious, but one that I could simply play up and exaggerate the severity, could just lie there in the road and wait for an ambulance instead of springing straight up and going "actually got a little pain in my back, but I'll be fine" which is what I'd probably do, it's bad that I think that would be a better and quicker way to try and get this resolved in the current climate.
I'm in the fortunate position where if the NHS was changed to part payment etc. whatever the changes they made; I'd probably been deemed "rich" enough to have to pay it, and if I could be guaranteed not to be fobbed off by GP's when I had legitimate concerns for my health, and not just be viewed like another local munchausen's patient has wandered into the GP's off the street for their afternoons amusement, I'd happily pay it. I'd go private now but I'm worried my back problems, and another NHS ignored problem will not even be treated due to them pre-existing to any private medical coverage I take out, so I'm worried I'd just be wasting my money, money which I can save to use when I'm off work for a week with back pain.
Envy of the world, my arse. The world has changed since the inception of the NHS, but the NHS hasn't, that's the problem, no-one will ever address, not even the sacred Labour party; they'll probably just lock a load of NHS trusts and hospitals into eye watering 50 year long PFI deals with little to show for it, except maybe a few new swanky looking entrance atrium's, a new place for a Costa coffee franchise and a £1,500 a pop private facilities management company charge to change one blown lightbulb.
I don't know the answer, I have no experience with any other countries health service, but again, it always denigrates down to it has to be either a "free for all" system or "poor people will be dying in the streets" system, there's never any in between, and when that erroneous narrative is stuck in the forefront of every healthcare reformation discussion, nothing will ever change.