How did the NHS get this messed up and is there any way back?

[nocluewhattodo1]

I am sitting here literally clueless about what to do right now but I have done nothing but chase and push and advocate to get help and I am at the point where I feel my only option is to take a loan to get private help because I have no chance of getting help on the NHS any time soon.

I have had an ovarian dermoid cyst since 2021, it was 3cm, which I then had an MRI in June 2024 and it was 4cm and an ultrasound scan in March 2025 and its 7cm. I am getting significant abdominal pain which is why these tests have been done, the only thing I have been given so far is the advice that I can take paracetamol every 4 hours (I cannot take NSAIDs) and that I have to wait. Ive had gastro investigations which I am still waiting for colonoscopy biopsy results but nothing alarming was seen. I have other things such as repeated leukocytes in my urine for 6 months but that isnt investigated further as there is no sign of infection. So I am in significant pain, my health in general is poor, im in peri menopause but I cannot take HRT until gynae signs off that this wont worsen my cyst so im stuck struggling.

I had a private menopause specialist speak with her team including gynae consulants who felt I needed to be seen on a 2ww due to the growth between June and March and wrote to my GP, who wrote to expedite my case with gynae.

I have wrote to gynaecology who have today confirmed that I have ONLY been on the list 15 weeks and the urgent list is currently a 49-50 week wait. Now this is just to see gynae, if they then decide I need surgery, thats a further wait that I can only imagine is at least the same again. Until I see gynae I cant get any help with HRT, my mental health is horrendous, ive been tried on 4 SSRIs but it seems im someone who is really sensitive to them so I cannot take them.

I just dont know what we are supposed to do when an urgent list is a year long, how many people on that list will get a year down the line only to find out they needed much faster treatment. For comparison when my cyst was first found in 2021 I was put on the urgent list and seen in 3 weeks. How in 4 years did we go from a 3 week wait to a 50+ week wait for urgent cases. I hate to think what the routine waitlist is at.

I just feel like the NHS is falling apart and I know there will be people in worse situations than me but im sitting here after a year and a half of my life being on pause because im so unwell (ive probably left my house less than 10 times in that time frame and most of those have been medical appointments, because I am so unwell) and seeing that I have no hope of help for at least 2 years. I feel so completely lost right now and I just dont know how much longer I can keep fighting and asking for help in a very broken system.

My.DD is on a 12 year waiting list for dermatology. 144 months. In NI

That is ridiculous, ive heard some shocking waitlists but thats awful, I just looked up and saw that NI have the worst waitlists and dermatology is apparently one of the worst. How awful for your Daughter. This really is an issue that people need to know about, how can they think a 12 year waitlist is at all ok.

I know this sounds a bit out there but would phoning around NHS trusts to find the shortest waiting time then renting a tiny place or getting an address in that area, registering at the doctors and getting on the much shorter list be the cheapest option. Bit more complicated but a shorter and cheaper time frame.
How much would the cost of the operation be and does the private consultant have a payment plan/loan you can sign up to (bit like dentists for certain procedures)

The entire NHS is an inefficient shitstorm. Before any more money is hurled at it, the whole thing needs reform.

But, it’ll never happen. 🙄

same. Only being dealt with quickly as I was admitted acutely on suspicion of something else and now ruling out cancer. Ask your GP to check tumour markers like CA125,CEA, AFP etc.

Im actually more worried that if the outcome isn’t cancer, i’m gonna be left for years on a procedure waiting list and suffering in the mean time. And I can’t believe i even wrote that! I don’t want cancer but equally that’s the only thing that makes them move quickly for gyn.

We live too long and when we are too unwell.

The NHS in its current form is not sustainable but it’s a sacred cow and everyone is an angel that works in it so it remains a shit show. Whilst only management is lambasted as the reason it’s a mess by most it’s not the only reason.

Can I just say you must follow this up and keep pushing. I have experienced the same issues with a cancer diagnosis and only managed to make things happen quicker by continually calling. Anyone you can call and put pressure on do as it could make a difference. Even with my pushing I’ve only had the treatment just in time and with delays it could be entirely different

I'm so sorry. The NHS is a shambles. We (touch wood) don't need the NHS often and the GP is usually fantastic. However, DC is on a waiting list at our local Trust and on checking when the appointment will be, it's over one and a half year's long. Ironically the letter said if you don't hear from us with an appointment within 6 weeks, contact us! Maybe they need to rephrase the letters.

Not just for Routine but for Urgent cases as well. They are the words the appointments clerk used. But I can't quite believe that, surely if it's a real urgent case it still wouldn't be a year and a half wait. For a child, or anyone really.

I don't know what the answer is. In the news I see waiting lists are coming down. Not in our experience they're not. There were so many promises made but I can't see any improvement, yet.

And then politicians have the temerity to wang on about too many people being on long term sick leave! Is it any bloody wonder?!

I think it’s an aging population thing lots of people needing lots of care.

Actually, international comparisons tend to show the NHS is actually very efficient in global terms — it’s often ranked at or near the top of comparable economies’ healthcare systems for efficiency. However we pay much less of a share of our GDP for it compared to most Western and advanced economies, who largely spend more than we do in terms of percentage of GDP, so one of the reasons it’s efficient is that it does a lot with a comparably underfunded system.

The reality is that it’s been both underfunded and partially privatised in an incompetent way by the last succession of Tory governments. It’s been badly impacted by Tory government policy, Brexit, Covid, and bad immigration and education policy under the Tories. But the answer isn’t to go American-style healthcare: their system inevitably comes way out in top of international GDP spend and inefficiency metrics.