The NHS. We need to fight to keep it.

[Differentforgirls]

My Mil is 87. Last year (around September) she was bleeding from her vagina and went to her GP.

The GP referred her to hospital for tests, which she got quickly.

It was cancerous polyps in her womb so she got further tests to ensure they hadn’t spread and was referred for surgery.

Tonight she has been discharged from hospital after numerous tests over the intervening months and a surgery yesterday (keyhole).

She’ll get follow up treatment too.

All NHS, where she has been treated with dignity, respect and kindness.

It might not be what it was due to cuts but it’s still something we should be proud of.

She’ll celebrate her 88th birthday next month, as an OAP in social housing with nothing but her pension, because of the NHS.

AIBU for thinking the NHS is something to be proud of and fight to keep?

Did you or your MIL want to pay more taxes OP, or is this something you expect someone else to do.

That’s an incredibly narrow view though.

I have several friends working in the NHS and one issue they highlight is poor staff attitude and the NHS structure not being fit for new medical advances and the fact that it keeps catering for more complex health needs. It was designed for post-war time, not today’s society. Yes budget is a part of it but not the only cause.

I pay tax, plus I live in Scotland where we pay higher tax than those in other nations of the UK.

I pay it on my personal pension btw, as does my husband.

I didn’t say it was the only cause. It’s the main one though and all other faults stem from the underinvestment.

Not all of them. One issue is failing to adapt culturally to changes and medical advances.

Lots of midwives are completing the degree then quitting because of lack of support from experienced staff.

I’m not going to go back and forth with you. We both have different opinions. The one you just gave is anecdotal as you can’t possibly know every midwife’s circumstances.

I think it is a mixed bag.
A relative of mine has been waiting 2 years to get treatment for a debilitating condition.
I think it needs a serious shake up. It should not be a free for all.
I agree that no politician wants to deal with the fallout.

It’s awful and not fit for purpose at times. It can be great at other times. But, it needs total reform - and no party seems brave enough to take the “sacred cow” on. 🙄

Do you have any understanding or experience of public healthcare in France, Germany, Denmark, Norway @Differentforgirls ? There are better models than the NHS.

How much more does it need? We spend a lot on it plus welfare.

We don’t have great behaviours in terms of health and it shows, so maybe a system needs to drive that more.

Plus the created for a different time mentioned by pp.

No but I have read other peoples comments in the thread. Still prefer the NHS.

The levels of money before austerity!

I am almost a year post gynae referral. All I have had is a text from the hospital asking if I still want an appointment. Of course I want my appointment. I am in pain and my quality of life is affected. I have no idea if or when this appointment will materialise or who to contact to find out.

I don't agree we should be putting more money into it. It's huge and horribly inefficient, the money would be wasted. Before we gave up and went private, DS had a hospital blood test (due to his age). 1 letter with the original time and link to a website to change it. I got another 3 letters all posted separately about the change I'd made, 2 of them posted on and arriving on the same.
In Germany, prices are set nationally that providers are allowed to charge for anything (which are paid for by insurance) and what the country pays for medications is negotiated at a national level, just like the NHS. However, hospitals etc are usually separate not for profits /private. They are so so much more efficient, e.g. consultants can send you for X-rays and blood tests immediately rather than it needing separate bookings (and letters) and a separate visit.

A lot of what you think is NHS, is actually private health care.

Not if you don’t pay for it personally.

Then it need reform which requires investment.

What levels of money before austerity? The NHS has received more every year. Notwithstanding the fact that post the 2008 financial crisis, the NHS was becoming critical due to the encouraged growth of PFI which stored up future debt despite making everything bright and shiny and the introduction of an additional layer of bureaucracy due to the introudction of PCTs.

NHS birth 1994, I had a botched birth and prolapsed bladder - once my family was complete in 1998 - the NHS refused to deal with the prolapse. Labour government.

1995 DS needed grommets - not available

1998 DD needed grommets - not available

2015 DD was very unwell: eating, cutting, o'ding, anxiety, depression. CAMHS declined to help her and proved themselves to be the mo
st toxic, dysfunctional, dishonest, badly run and managed entity I have ever come across, filled with the rudest and most lazy NHS staff I have ever encounterered. DD rexovered because with a combination of BUPA and personal funds she got the care she needes. It was about £20k, £8k from my pocket. Without money, I'd have had to give up work to keep her safe whoch would have led to less tax going into the coffers. What the fuck do poor people do?

I could go on and on. The care is poor, the communication is poor, it's badly organised, there is no dignity, staff are rude too often.

Past performance is the best indicator of future performance. It needs reform certainly - to be reformed into a co-pay scheme. I'm not prepared to invest a penny more into the present system.

Hard agree. I’m finding some GPs are obstructive. I only managed to get referred to gynaecology because I presented myself to A&E and basically refused to be fobbed off the way GPs have done regarding my periods for years.

So many people here commenting on how we need a co-pay system. What if you can’t afford the co-pay?

If people are on benefits, etc, they will be exempt.

The NHS is not fit for purpose and needs a complete overhaul. God help anyone who is not able to advocate for themselves and has no-one to support them.

The NHS is like trying to fill a bucket with gaping holes in the bottom. As PP have said, it is no longer fit for purpose and needs a root and branch review.

It also does NOT mean the US system is inevitable either which is what people keep wanging on about in dramatic style.

there are a variety of other models much closer to home that are fair, proportionate and provide excellent care. France as an example is one.

I can see you’ve really researched this and thought it through. And you’ve decided that you aren’t interested in:
far more hospital beds per capita.
waiting times of days/weeks rather than months/years.
direct access to specialists rather than having to go through a GP.
scheduling X-rays, mri, echographs, scans etc at a time of your choosing rather than waiting for a letter to tell you when to turn up.

My dad (in Scotland) waited three years in severe pain to get a knee replacement date, and have it for ‘free’ on the NHS. His only alternative would be to go private. The latter would cost him around £15,000 and there would be no reimbursements.

Here in France, he’d see his dr for the initial assessment and x-rays (all booked online at his convenience). Assuming the dr agrees a replacement is needed, he would then choose his own surgeon and make a rdv with them. The surgeon might request more tests - again the patient would organise these himself, popping into the local laboratories for blood tests (no appointment needed) etc. To agree the date of the operation, they just get their diaries out and agree a date. During the op, he’d likely have his own room, and when he returns home, nurses will visit up to three times a day to change dressings, administer pain relief, give anticoagulant injections. He’d be referred for physio too: free to choose his own and make rdv as convenient for him.
The whole thing would take maybe 4-5 months and would be almost fully reimbursed. He might pay a few hundred if he’s chosen a proper private clinic, or a particularly high ranked surgeon, but for routine surgery like this, it’s pretty much all reimbursed. That’s the joy of the French public / private system