Is anyone struggling with just getting basic NHS treatment?

[ArseInTheCoOpWindow]

I’ve got difficult mental health problems. My lovely GP said NHS psychiatrists are very rare. I ended up paying.

I have ( l think) frozen shoulder. Seen 2 physios in 7 months. Yet all the stuff l read says refer upwards after 7 months. But nada. No specialist, no help except a few crap exercises which are doing nothing. Yet again I’ve ended up paying. Private physio does manipulation which has been really helpful.

I could go on. Most of my money seems to go on private health atm. I don’t have a lot of money, but there seems to be nothing at all atm.

I know it’s struggling, but l just wondered if other people were struggling.

Yes, I'm waiting for open heart surgery, scheduled for last October, just hope they get to me before my valve gives out.

Yup, I'd have become disabled if I'd waited for my operation on the NHS. Took out a 40k loan to save myself from a lifetime in a wheelchair.

Yes, very definitely.

Yeah, am waiting to hear if CAMHS will accept a referral for my child, GP thinks it's highly likely it'll get rejected and was reluctant to send the refferal in.

5 year old DD is showing signs of high anxiety and PTSD having been a victim of abuse and assault by her father multiple times (he is convicted but on community service). Seriously, how bad does it have to be to get accepted?!

I’ve given up with CAMHS. That was another thing l had to pay for.

Dd is waiting for an ASD assessment. 18 months wait.

It is awful. Unfortunately none of this is solvable quickly, but the best way to solve it is to stop voting for the current party in power who have defunded the NHS. The NHS isn’t perfect but can’t function without money.

The NHS isn’t perfect but can’t function without money.

They have tried to start throwing money at it but staffing is a much bigger issue and will only get worse. I don't know why they're not throwing the kitchen sink at trying to retain staff, it'll be a big, big, big problem in the not so distant future- and it's not all about pay either, in fact that's only a small reason people are leaving.

@Patchbatch

The NHS isn’t perfect but can’t function without money.

They have tried to start throwing money at it but staffing is a much bigger issue and will only get worse. I don't know why they're not throwing the kitchen sink at trying to retain staff, it'll be a big, big, big problem in the not so distant future- and it's not all about pay either, in fact that's only a small reason people are leaving.

For the frozen shoulder - I've been fortunate in that my gp has been brilliant about it, and I've just had a procedure called hydrodistension - literally life changing, though it has taken nearly 8 months to get to this point, many many drugs and destroyed my mental health.

If I ever had it again (likely, apparently) I would go private and pay for the same procedure. ASAP. It absolutely destroyed my life and cost me my job.

@Timeforsinging81

Yeah, am waiting to hear if CAMHS will accept a referral for my child, GP thinks it's highly likely it'll get rejected and was reluctant to send the refferal in.

5 year old DD is showing signs of high anxiety and PTSD having been a victim of abuse and assault by her father multiple times (he is convicted but on community service). Seriously, how bad does it have to be to get accepted?!

We have been waiting for a CAMHS appointment since December 2020. Also have been paying for private counselling. DD was seriously unwell, so we had no choice - Luckily we had the choice, but it has seriously depleted our savings, and every three months or so we get a letter from CAMHS telling us she is still on the waiting list.

Most of my friends and family are using private healthcare alongside the NHS. A big shift from just 10 years ago.

I think we’re starting to really feel the results of backdoor privatisation (apparently standing at 40% at the moment).

NHS outsources healthcare = long term rise in cost of healthcare = lower capacity in NHS = NHS outsourcing more healthcare

And so it continues.

At this point the NHS is still free at the point of contact, but that contact point is becoming increasingly difficult to access.

I had an ophthalmology appointment cancelled (understandably) in April 2020. I’m still waiting! I finally involved PALS last month and apparently I should get an appointment next month. The procedure I need will probably be delayed for a long time though.

@PineForestsAndSunshine

Most of my friends and family are using private healthcare alongside the NHS. A big shift from just 10 years ago.

I think we’re starting to really feel the results of backdoor privatisation (apparently standing at 40% at the moment).

NHS outsources healthcare = long term rise in cost of healthcare = lower capacity in NHS = NHS outsourcing more healthcare

And so it continues.

At this point the NHS is still free at the point of contact, but that contact point is becoming increasingly difficult to access.

None of it is privatised in the strictest sense of the word, outsourcing means the NHS still 'owns' the service but pays a private contractor to deliver the service. I think semantics are important because one would be driven solely by profit with poor accountability, the other is incentivised by bringing efficiencies and has to adhere to much stricter KPIs than the NHS itself does. Whether the contracts are strong and managed professionally is another matter. The elephant in the room really is agency staff.

I was meant to see my ophthalmologist in October but because my condition seems stable there are no available appointments. If it changes I might be able see someone. Was also re-referred to ENT a year ago after being mistakenly discharged. Haven't heard anything. I can't afford to go private either.

This is not a new problem or a covid problem , I would have died in 2016 if I hadn’t paid and gone private , the NHS had discharged me from their care 6 days previously unable to walk more than 5 metres and with a BP that dropped to 50/ every time I stood up .

@1990s

It is awful. Unfortunately none of this is solvable quickly, but the best way to solve it is to stop voting for the current party in power who have defunded the NHS. The NHS isn’t perfect but can’t function without money.

There are many problems with the NHS ask anyone who works for it . Waste is astronomical , Mismanaged with expensive processes not fit for purposed. Staffing , TheNHS loses an estimate 5.7 billion a year on fraud ,People make shit choices making them a burden on the NHS and lastly funding it could never have enough money.

Quite frankly anyone who think throw more money at it (we have and we do ) will solve the problem is stupid .

Unfortunately it very easy for any political party to score points by just blaming funding rather than the other route causes and people are gullible enough to believe this .

Yes, it's really bad. We've had to pay privately to see a GP for DS2 as we're getting nowhere with the NHS. Same with DS2, I'm having to pay privately for psychiatric treatment as NHS just kept fobbing us off with online CBT.

The thing is, I don't mind having to wait as I understand they're overwhelmed by demand. What I can't accept is the total lack of interest or empathy, or desire to help. My DS recently told a Dr he felt suicidal, Dr could not have been less interested.

I have a progressive neurological disease, pre COVID I had amazing treatment and can honestly say I felt well cared for by the NHS. Post COVID my condition has progressed, I haven’t seen a neurologist since 2019, all my appointments are by telephone and my “care” is non existent. When I asked when my next annual review will be I was told there won’t be any in future because of the backlog . There is no help when I’ve asked for it as no one responds to calls. I had an MRI in February I still don’t know what the results are. I am now having difficulties walking, they don’t know as I have given up asking for help.

DD hasn't seen her neurology consultant since the beginning of 2019. Normally she would have annual check ups. We've had a few phone calls but I've also been told we're scheduled for a call and then heard nothing.
Her medication has been increased based purely on what I've told them, no tests done and no indication that we will ever see the consultant again.
Our GP has been good but there is a limit to what they can do without referral.