To think it's easier to access high quality medical care for pets than humans?

[Noalcohol26]

This morning my partner came home from work at approx 6:30 to find our cat meowing in pain with a significant limp outside. We rand our vets with an attached vet hospital and arranged to go in. We were in there approximately 15 minutes, with our lovely cat having a full check (thankfully seems to be nothing serious) and sent on our way once they had given her a painkiller. Total cost £200 (will be reimbursable with our insurance). If she had been a human it would have been hours and hours sat in A&E and it's made me feel cross (I work in the NHS so this isn't an NHS bashing thread). AIBU to think something needs to change when I can access this care for my pet but not my (human) family?

My parents recently tried to arrange a private GP, but there isn't one in our area. They have recently paid for specialist consultant appointment and a CT scan.

This was after needing an ambulance a few times and geing sent home from hospital once stabilised, with no follow up plans.

They're not wealthy and have limited savings, but we've encouraged them to use their savings on healthcare when needed.

People often have no idea what their NHS care costs. Thats why they get a shock with the price of vet treatment for their pets. Most people pay very little in tax compared to what they take from the NHS, and other things which their tax pays for because it doesn’t all go towards the NHS.

I remember a relative talking about ‘all the tax they paid’, when in actual fact they never paid more than £3k a year as they didn’t earn much, and then they were moaning about the shit services. They seemed to forget the 4 children they had on the NHS, their schooling, dental care, eye tests and glasses, housing and child benefits they received, as well as other things tax goes towards that they benefitted from. They were getting a very good deal for what they paid, but moaned loudly.

You can't compare the two because there is no 'NHS' for pets - you are paying for private pet healthcare.

If there were an NHS for pets you can guarantee it would be as slow, if not slower, than the NHS today.

I was on a 13 month NHS waiting list to see a consultant about a possible hysterectomy. I have health insurance so saw a consultant privately within a week of phoning, hysterectomy performed two weeks after that. That's not much longer than it would take to have your cat spayed!

I suppose if I was paying £100s a month into a pet national insurance system but I was being advised I also need to pay £50 into a pet private insurance system to get my pet a vet appointment I would be mightily unimpressed too.

Also agree with the pp, my poor cat was put to sleep when he couldn’t breathe properly anymore, my Dad was put in a side room with essentially the same thing until he died and it took over a day.

We need the grown ups to have a proper and dispassionate discussion on universal healthcare in this country before it collapses and is replaced with the American model as that one is presumably the most profitable for corporations.

You might be surprised how "cheap" a private GP appointment is - same day online appointments can be as low as £40-£50. Obviously that's not cheap if you don't have the money, but depending how often you need to see a GP urgently it could well be quite a bit cheaper over a year than your cats insurance!

Well, quite. I know I could get private medical insurance and have seen a private consultant previously when I was desperate to be seen (serious eye issue) but the NHS waiting time was 14 weeks. I just think that there needs to be an overhaul - so much money in the NHS is wasted on missed appointments, shit IT systems and bloated management issues. I think this has been triggered as I'm on the verge of leaving the NHS as it just feels so unsafe for patients and staff currently.

There is waste, but honestly, I’d be careful what you wish for. It really could be so much worse, especially for those that are not well off.

We have private medical care including a private GP, we will always be able to afford our care, but plenty of people could end up in a terrible situation with any ‘overhaul’.

There is waste in all large organisations and the NHS is one of the most complex.

I sincerely hope someone grasps the nettle so that we end up with a European system...

There is no European system, as such - each state has its own system. But remember that 9 EU states spend more public money per head on health than the UK. Germany spends a whopping 55% more.

And in France, where the state only covers 70% to 80% of your health costs, you usually pay for a mutuelle policy, at anywhere between 30 and 150 euros per person month.

Honestly I’d personally prefer it if when on end of life an overdose of morphine was on offer to me quite frankly.

i watched my dad die of cancer plus Covid and it was not pleasant.

I agree with you op, even though I have Private Health. If any of my animals is poorly, day or night, I can pick a veterinary hospital and go. I get immediate access to specialists/scans or whatever tests they might need, emergency care, and if the worst happens, a pain and stress free end of life.
Even WITH private health, humans don’t get that. There is no private A&E, referrals have to be made, waiting for tests, waiting for results. And that’s private. I’ve given up on the NHS to be honest, I can’t even get a GP appointment. And the recent publicity around the sheer number of people who die in pain without adequate care or pain relief horrifies me.
The entire thing needs a massive overhaul.

One is private and paid for where people can shop for care. The other is run inefficiently by government and taxes.

What you aren't seeing is the pets that don't get treated because their owners can't afford vet treatment. Or the people who don't have pets because thry can't afford vet bills. We have universal human health care.

Few years ago my son woke up limping suddenly out of nowhere, went to a and e, was seen in under an hour, had a neurological exam, confirmed weird inflamed hip reaction to viruses, home an hour later with a leaflet, cost no pennies. So no. I disagree

Out of interest how would your cat have faired if you didn't have £200 upfront?

I have a child with asthma and one with seizures both have needed an ambulance in the past. At no point did I have to check my bank account or insurance before calling. Yet parenting groups I'm on online for their conditions you see the American parents with their at home pukse oximeter and kids with o2 saturation in the 80s wondering if they can afford a and e or have to take their chances

That premium increases steeply when you start claiming and they get older. My dog when a puppy was £10 a month and now at 10 with a heart condition is £165 a month. And you can't change provider as it's a pre existing condition. Good luck to you as time goes on and you realize that.

You've not thought this through very far, imagine you're at home with a child who wakes up limping and no money and you've £200 excess on your health insurance before being seen at a and e. Ridiculous comparisons.

And there's the fact that after the age of 8, you often have to pay the excess plus 20% of all the vets fees on top of your monthly premiums...

Yep. Frankly I want to cancel the pet insurance but my husband keeps saying 'what if he needs an operation next week' and that's how it is, your hands are tied.

Exactly. We cancelled our 13yo cats' insurance a couple of years ago as the costs absolutely skyrocketed - he then developed arthritis and needs three lots of medication a day 😂

Luckily for now the costs are under what we'd have paid for his monthly premiums but it's always a gamble.

Yes but it's all pay full costs. As well as paying tax and NI for a national service that doesn't work. There's none of the middle ground that pet insurance plans operate within. It's the worst of both worlds.

You can pay for private health insurance that works like pet insurance if you want, but it's bloody expensive.

It works pretty bloody well for an awful lot of things. Especially emergencies. As someone who has had paediatric admissions with both children and 1 paeds surgery and I myself am waiting for gallbladder surgery and had ultrasounds, painkillers, surgery consultation and now close to top of the list again for zero pennies. I still have flair ups and there is a wait but it's also not life threatening, my sisters gallbladder became life threatening and was removed in 48 hours.

I work in a specific department with lots of long term elderly patients and we are as efficient if not more efficient than private hospitals (which I've also worked on) just a bit less glossy and shiney

@saltandvinegarpringles Exactly, there's no middle ground.

If you're willing to pay for medical care you can access pretty much anything. There's not private A&E, but you can get consultants to see you at home or access private urgent care centres if you are willing to pay enough.

It's easy not to appreciate how much medical care if really costing, because in the NHS you will never see a bill.

Unless you are earning over 45K a year you aren't a net contributor to the system.

There does need to be significant change in the UK to healthcare and it probably involved much larger portions of the population having private healthcare.

@Barnbrack I realise in an emergency one will usually receive sufficient care of an expected standard. But really, in 2026, this is nothing to shout from the rooftops about. It's a bare minimum expectation for a modern healthcare service.

You can "pay as you go" with private healthcare too if you want, you don't need to have insurance.

What other middle ground did you want?