NHS waiting times

[ORYX99]

Just want to preface that this is not a thread to moan about the NHS. I know why wait times are so long and do not blame the hospital for this.

My child (5) was referred to paediatrics for sleep apnoea 27 weeks ago. His sleep is awful and so is mine. He has tonsils so large they nearly touch. He gasps for air at night and is tired all the time. No idea if his adenoids are enlarged also. GP said she could tell me it was sleep apnoea based just on the videos I had taken.

Has anyone waited this long or longer to be seen in paediatrics? Could it really be much more waiting? I had a letter the other day asking if we still needed treatment and saying that there may be a significant wait for an appointment.

I'm so tired 😭 posting this after he's woken up again gasping for air and choking on nothing.

I was referred for gynae. They rang and asked if I really wanted my local hospital (this was in July)
I said not particularly... why? Local hospital next date was July 2024. I asked where else and they said Spire which I accepted. Being seen next week

My dad was the same and took Spire and from seeing the doctor, including referral and then operation it was 14 weeks (bicep op so not life threatening)

@Tellytibby depends on your hospital I suppose. In my hospital it would be direct to ENT.

My daughter has numerous allergies, some more serious than others. We initially discovered CMPA in the early days but more emerged when we began weaning. We went to the GP immediately for a referral to a dietician which we were told was being sent as an "urgent" referral due to the severity of one of the allergies in particular. She was 7 months old when this was sent.

We received a letter this week for an appointment at the end of next month. She'll be almost 21 months by then, and needless to say, we don't need the appointment anymore because we've dealt with it ourselves.

Hi! I too have felt the pain of NHS waiting lists for a long time. A friend of mine recommended electiv.co.uk as they helped her find an NHS fertility appointment at a different hospital a lot sooner. Not sure if they can help with paediatrics but thought I would mention it just in case!

anyone used medrefund uk to have surgery abroad and get the fees paid by the nhs - apparently you can get surgery in italy on a s2 form - anyone done this.

If you can pay to have his tonsils taken out privately then just do it. It might mean no holiday this year but its a matter of priorities. we are going through the same thing with my DH he needs his hip replaced we have been told 3 - 5 years and he cant do this so we have used the money from the sale of a family car to pay for this rather than buying a new upgraded model. and yes, I know, I shouldnt have to and blah blah blah around paying for it in my taxes etc. but at the end of the day, we have the means to do it and so we are and this frees up a space on the list for someone that doesnt. This situation isnt going to change under Labour and wont change until someone has the balls to scrap what we have, get a blank sheet of paper and start again with real radical reforms rather than throwing money and hand wringing.

They have to ask every 12 weeks now apparently if you still need to be seen. I've been on a wait list since 2020 and still waiting.... 😲