Richard Frost wrote: ↑Fri Aug 05 2022 5:42pm
Why are waiting lists so long?
Even before Covid-19, demand for NHS healthcare was far outstripping supply: there were 4.4 million people on waiting lists in England in early 2020. But the pandemic made things much worse: about 2.4 million NHS operations were cancelled in England and Wales in 2021. GP appointments were greatly restricted. There are now 6.6 million people – over a tenth of the population – waiting for treatment. Around 332,000 have been waiting over a year – 13 times the comparable number from May 2020.
https://www.theweek.co.uk/news/science- ... dium=email
So, several things
My GP retired 2 years ago, I never met his replacement but he then left the practice and was not replaced..... Since then I have had one callback from "a GP" last November - he was not registered with my practice. It was a pointless conversation but got my prescription renewed. I then reported an issue to my GP practice last week and supplied a photo for a callback. I was asked to go in to see another of the practice GPs. That took all of 5 minutes...... so GP interaction, minimal. however, having had a flu-jab in January, I have now been sent aninvitation for another! This all feels like tick the box.
I had a CT scan as part of my post-cancer monitoring earlier this year. It was carried out in the hospital carpark by a "provider" using Filipino nurses. I then had a colonoscopy a few weeks back - again it was suggested I attend a mobile unit in the carpark, same setup. However, in the end I was seen "in house" - but even then over half the nurses in the department were Filipino agency staff - none of the EU nurses who were there at my last visit are still in the UK. So a good wodge of NHS funding is going straight into Providers/Agencies.... no doubt American. Plus the monitoring seemed to be tick the box.
Now I have received a letter about my ongoing monitoring. A new process has been introduced, which apparently seems to suggest that I'm monitoring myself! A blood sample envelope was included in the letter, but no reference to it or suggestion of where to get the test done..... I've read the letter several times and I'm sure if you know the system they are talking about, it makes sense, but I don't and it doesn't. Left to me to call them up and find out what it actually means....
Then on to Dentistry. I finally saw my dentist in November. I needed treatment. It took 3 months and 2 cancelled appointments to get it in February, but I was then referred to a dental surgeon due to a broken tooth. That was finally dealt with in June! Now one of the teeth treated in February has broken... so I reported it as an emergency and I get to see someone (not my own dentist) on Monday.
I fear to God that I should have a recurrence of my cancer..... I know the staff on the ground are doing what they can, but there's obviously a big problem across the NHS and there's precious little attention being paid to the individual.
Then we hear that 70,000 extra people paid for their own elective surgery last year (not cosmetic, necessary and valid for NHS treatment) because the timescales being quoted were years away! All of the experiences I've had would "encourage" you to go private...... and it's hard to believe that it's not a deliberately engineered situation.