Shocked at how terrible the NHS is nowadays

[ConfusedBoobs]

I had a mammogram a month ago that showed I have calcifications that they don't think are cancer but they won't know for sure until after I've had a biopsy. Today I found out that the biopsy can't be prioritised as urgent and so will still be another month away. AIBU to think it's terrible to leave people in limbo like this?

Sorry you are going through this

I don't know much about the private route is that possible for your situation ?

This sounds really difficult OP. The wait must be so frustrating.

But that said it does make sense that if they think it’s unlike to be cancer that other people are prioritised first, people who could be very likely to have cancer.

The NHS is far from perfect but I’d rather have it than pay £££££s like they do in the US

I would go private if that’s possible. I work for the NHS and some waits are horrendous.

I feel angry about it. The NHS has been thrown under the bus.

I'm sorry you're going through this, it must be a terrible worry. The fact that they do prioritise people based on clinical urgency I guess shows that if they think you are an urgent case then you are seen straight away. Otherwise you are priority and still get the required procedure quickly, within a month. In this case, it sounds like a system that works, although I do get that nonetheless, it is an anxiety provoking time for you.

Wishing you all the best.

It's really not appropriate to suggest going private to the OP when no one knows anyone's circumstances.

I have a family member who's been told that her 7 year old very likely has cancer and that's it will be one of two types but they won't know which until it is biopsied. This person had been trying to see a GP about the lump for 5 weeks before finally getting an appointment at an opticians who made the referal and after waiting over 3 weeks to hear anything back she finally has an appointment - next month. All we can do until then is wait, not knowing how bad things are, not knowing what happens next and not knowing how much worse it's getting in the mean time and all the while trying to act normal for the 7 year old who shouldn't be facing this at all. It is not the individual staffs fault, and it's due to serious underfunding and I would far, far prefer the NHS over privatisation but the NHS is dire right now. Private health care is out of the question for my family member.

All part of the Tory plan...steadily underfund the system and when enough people write posts like this about how 'terrible' the NHS is, they're going to start encouraging you to use the recommended 'alternatives'.

End result a few years down the line, no more NHS and an American style healthcare system that makes lots of billionaires even richer and regular people struggling to afford food and healthcare. Sick people will die for want of insurance/treatment they can't afford.

I do hope those that voted for the Tories are all getting what they voted for.

I truly didn’t realize how dire the NHS was until we moved abroad to Europe.
Yes we pay more for Heath insurance here but we actually get seen and treated. Short waiting times, referrals also are quick.
Imo people don’t see the money they pay for the NHS so they don’t value it and we don’t pay enough. It’s fine for dire emergencies usually, but for the rest it’s dreadful. I don’t know what the solution is but the NHS as it is is broken.

It’s broken because the Tories are systematically breaking it, underfunding it and letting it disintegrate so they can happily sell it off.

The problem is it's hit and miss.
My toddler had an accident and the hospital have been amazing. We have had next day and weekly appointments since, really well looked after.
If only it was the same for everyone.

It’s a shambles.

I don’t know why people are so put off by an insurance based system. I pay appprox. £4K a year to the NHS in tax, for something that literally doesn’t work. I’d rather pay into a system that has an actual service.

My dog gets better health care through an insurance system than most people are getting through the NHS.

My DM is going through a cancer scare at the moment. Has been 10 days from initial GP appointment to scans, and biopsy has been booked in for next week.
But, I guess it is still a postcode lottery out there, like it has always been.

@ChocolateDeficitDisorder

All part of the Tory plan...steadily underfund the system and when enough people write posts like this about how 'terrible' the NHS is, they're going to start encouraging you to use the recommended 'alternatives'.

End result a few years down the line, no more NHS and an American style healthcare system that makes lots of billionaires even richer and regular people struggling to afford food and healthcare. Sick people will die for want of insurance/treatment they can't afford.

I do hope those that voted for the Tories are all getting what they voted for.

This with bells on

It really is dreadful.
I have spent most of week in tears. I have an ongoing problem ( surgery has been held off) things are getting worse. I cannot hear on phone so drs speak to dh which makes me feel a non person and not worthy of any help. He has rang and spoke several times lately to be told I am waiting 18 months now to see a specialist. The latest advice was anti depressants. Said they wouldn't help physically but would help me live it.
Words fail, I wish I could see a dr even it was private.

The NHS has been so underfunded for years and this is the result.
But OP if they cant put it as urgent, it sounds like they don't think it is cancer and this is just an extra safety check.

We all need to be prepared to pay more for the NHS.

But it does vary. I have been referred for an operation that is not urgent and have an appointment with a consultant two months after referral. For something that can wait that is fine.

I've been waiting for an 'urgent' angiogram since August. I think urgent has a different meaning for the NHS. I'm only on someone's radar now because I pursued it via 2 hospitals myself but they've no idea when I'll be seen.
The system is broken.

I wonder how private healthcare would be better if the U.K. moved to an insurance/private healthcare?

Doesn’t private healthcare currently work due to higher resources/fewer patients?

If most of the country go private surely that system would be inefficient as well?

Unless of course we suddenly have a mass of medical staff immigrating to the U.K.?

I am sorry to hear that champion.

Just to say officially in the NHS urgent means:

What does urgent mean in NHS?
Urgent: An illness or injury that requires urgent attention but is not a life-threatening situation. Urgent care services include a phone consultation through the NHS111 Clinical Assessment Service, pharmacy advice, out-of-hours GP appointments, and/or referral to an urgent treatment centre (UTC).

My father has had heart problems and several heart operations. Some things happened very quickly, some things more slowly. The latter was always when it wasn't so risky. So urgent can mean not at any immediate risk, but needs investigating at some point.

Communication can sometimes be poor where how quick something needs to be is not always clearly communicated.

I'm sorry you're going through this, but this is not about the NHS being terrible. This is about the current government deliberately putting pressure on the NHS by going ahead with its plan to make Covid endemic in the population and to hell with the consequences for our health service, which they grossly under fund. So make sure you blame the right people, eh?

DH's care has been abysmal, he has terminal cancer and his treatment has been really poor.

@BananaBlue it makes no difference. What would happen though is insurance firms would cherry-pick easy patients. So middle-class healthy people probably would get quicker appointments and minor surgery and tests. Poorer people and those with complex health problems would wait longer than now.

@ChocolateDeficitDisorder

All part of the Tory plan...steadily underfund the system and when enough people write posts like this about how 'terrible' the NHS is, they're going to start encouraging you to use the recommended 'alternatives'.

End result a few years down the line, no more NHS and an American style healthcare system that makes lots of billionaires even richer and regular people struggling to afford food and healthcare. Sick people will die for want of insurance/treatment they can't afford.

I do hope those that voted for the Tories are all getting what they voted for.

I second this. It's been their strategy for years, let's not fall for it.

@bloodywhitecat I am sorry to hear that. Do you have a Maggies Centre in your area?

No our nearest one is about 70 miles away, Macmillan have been shocking too.