Not for the first time in recent years we have had really exemplary service from the NHS. I know quite a few people, not least on here, have had bad experiences, but you speak as you find.

At the beginning of March we were helping stepson #1 in his garden. Mrs Papyrus stepped backwards and tripped over a concrete cat. As you do... Went to A&E at the Princess Royal Hospital in Haywards Heath, was seen within a couple of hours and diagnosed with a fractured wrist. Came home with a temporary plaster, went back a few days later where they replaced it with a large pink plaster and said come back on April 2nd. Did that, plaster came off, end of story we thought. However, her fingers started to go numb, which wasn't in the script. We consulted Dr Google and it seemed to be carpal tunnel syndrome. It was pointless trying to get a GP appointment, so we cut out the middle man and went back to A&E and saw a really lovely doctor who was very thorough and spent about half an hour poking and prodding. She sorted out an appointment with Orthopaedics for just 3 days later (that was yesterday). The consultant confirmed the carpal tunnel diagnosis, disappeared for a few minutes, came back and said "I've seen the surgeon. She can do you tomorrow at 0730, is that OK?" Sound of jaws hitting the floor! It was a half-hour operation and she was back home in time for coffee. We are just amazed. The service has been so good and all the staff have been lovely. The NHS gets a lot of bad press, but when it works, it really works.

Cheers,

Chris

My experience exactly. Over a couple of years I went from never bothering the NHS to being one of the 'regulars'. I cannot fault the people or the service I have received.  Professor to porter; tea trolley person to surgeon: all are excellent and personable.

I hope Mrs Papyrus has a swift recovery.

Now, about that concrete cat...

With all good wishes.

John

I'm glad you got such prompt service from the NHS, Chris

Here's my experience:-

For some years I have been experiencing severe leg pains when walking more than 50 – 70 yards. My GP and I thought it could be down to the statins I'd been on for all that time but, having tried every statin under the sun, he finally decided last November a deeper investigation was required so he told me he'd make an appointment with a consultant. When the letter came through from the NHS the appointment offered was 1st June 2025.
I told him I was not prepared to wait that long and would get private consultancy. In January I saw a vascular consultant and in February a spinal consultant.
£2000 later it appears I have spinal stenosis and would need a lumbar decompression operation following a spinal MRI. However, because I have an internal defibrillator I would need a cardiac team present at both the MRI and the operation. Ramsay Healthcare (the private health consultants I saw) do not do anything requiring the cardiac team so I'm thrown back into the hands of our NHS.
Now I'm waiting to hear about the MRI scan but am in the queue so your guess is as good as mine as to when that will happen. So, by spending some of my savings I cut the queue to see the same consultants I would see on the NHS but am now 'back in the system'
Money talks.

Oh God, you've got Ramsay Health there as well?

That organisation has cost me heaps since 2019!

Every time I have medical stuff done to me here, I pay.

I can't knock the NHS.  The service over the past 12 months have been amazing.

In March 2024 I was advised to go straight to A&E after ringing 111 for a pain in the left of my chest.  A CT scan showed I had a large cyst in my Spleen. The CT scan also found an enlarged prostrate, along with blood in my urine so was told to see my GP to start the ball rolling. After the blood test I was referred to Urology on a 2 week "plan" which meant each stage / appointment would be within two weeks of the previous event.  So within a couple of months I had seen the consultant, had an MRI, seen the consultant again, booked and had an MRI, seen the consultant again, had the procedure to obtain 23 biopsies, and then had the final appointment with the consultant to get the results which thankfully was clear and no cancer found.  I had to do one final blood test in December which resulted in being discharged in January this year.

In between all that going on I had seen the consultant regarding the cyst in the spleen and a series of ultrasounds and a CT scan was booked over a year to monitor its growth.  However in January this year I had a flare up that was so intense I went into A&E once more.  It was rammed with an 8 hour wait. However on presenting to the reception to report the pain and the cyst I was seen almost straight away, given morphine, an ultrasound, a physical examination and a further CT scan and moved to the surgical assessment unit within 4 hrs.  Fortunately the spleen was intact and I was given some pain killers and discharged.

But it didn't end there... the CT scan also reported two incidental findings, one to do with my bowels, the other kidneys.  I was referred back to my GP to start the referral process, and as such have had two colonoscopies, a further CT Colonoscopy to check out my bowels / digestive tract, and a renogram to check out my kidney function, the latter two in the past 2 weeks and now just waiting to receive appointments to get the results and hear what the future may entail.

So for me the service has been exceptional.  I hate to think how much all this would have costed me if I had gone private especially if it costs £2000 just to see a consultant as mentioned below.   

You had excellent service. I feel I've been declared 'non-priority' (and freely admit there are more deserving cases out there) but imagine if you'd been told it would be 6 months before you could see a consultant. Yet, by paying to go private, I saw the exact same consultant within a month
Any physical treatment I've had from the NHS has usually been superb (e.g. triple bypass and right hip replacement) but I'm having to jump through hoops to get there (not literally as I can't)

I've got mixed results on the health scene but cant fault the NHS:-
Two osteoarthritic thumbs dealt with expertly by consultant
Obstructive Sleep Apnea diagnosed and CPAP machine supplied and monitored
Speedy referral for the cataracts operations

What's interesting is the use of private health companies:-
Second cataract op done by Circle Health under NHS contract
Hearing aids supplied by Audiological Science under NHS contract and previously by Scrivens

The eye is great but the HAs from Scrivens were useless and searching on-line I discovered they were a discontinued model! It's not all good because its privatised!

A few years ago the NHS sent me to a consultant at a private clinic within the NHS hospital building when I had piles. I think my appointment was within a week and they were excellent. The clinic I mean............

Quote from: Newportnobby on April 17, 2025, 11:17:06 AMYou had excellent service. I feel I've been declared 'non-priority' (and freely admit there are more deserving cases out there) but imagine if you'd been told it would be 6 months before you could see a consultant. Yet, by paying to go private, I saw the exact same consultant within a month
Any physical treatment I've had from the NHS has usually been superb (e.g. triple bypass and right hip replacement) but I'm having to jump through hoops to get there (not literally as I can't)

Personally I feel that people are expecting too much form the NHS.  Whilst technically its not a free service as for the most part people pay for it through taxation and NI.  But given the volume of people requiring its service things are prioritised on a case by case basis.  In my case I have two options regarding the spleen.  One is to carry on as is, and take prescribed pain relief as when needed, or to have the spleen removed as a normal operation.  Chances are if I opted for the latter I could / will be waiting 6 - 12 months for a routine operation.

I have personal theories as to why the NHS is so stretched but this forum is the wrong place to bring politics and the like into the discussion, and is probably against forum rules.

I agree that it does seem strange that you see one consultant who has an NHS waiting list of 6 months or more, yet you can see them within a month if you throw money at him. Some might say that if they were paid more then there would be less need for them to go private which would then shorten waiting lists as those who are have their procedures currently pushed back at the expense of those who can pay to have the procedures done privately. 

At least there is an option for you if you can afford it.  I have no idea how the grading of individuals and their conditions is undertaken, and I dare say that within such specialist areas some are higher up the list than others depending how much risk to life there is. In my case I could be waiting longer for the spleen to be removed as its slow growing, than someone in the same situation but with a faster  growing cyst. In reality this may not be the case as cysts in the spleen are very rare apparantly.

Quote from: Malc-c on April 18, 2025, 12:24:08 PMAt least there is an option for you if you can afford it.

Not so. Having thrown £2000 to see a consultant or two, because I have a defibrillator implant, an MRI/operation can only be done under the NHS as a cardiac team has to be on standby

Very interesting to hear other people's experiences - thank you all. I'm sure part of the reason the Princess Royal Hospital is better than others is that it is the 'right' size. It is not a huge impersonal place like its sister hospital, the Royal Sussex in Brighton which has, shall we say, a bit of a reputation. But then, as I said at the beginning, you speak as you find. I have two friends who were treated for major illnesses in hospitals with utterly dire reputations, frequently turning up on the news for all the wrong reasons, and yet they had exemplary care and very positive outcomes. I hesitate to say it's all down to luck, but it seems to be a case of seeing the right person at the right time.

Mrs Papyrus is recovering quickly, thank you for asking. Boredom is the main problem now as she can't play music, knit or do any gardening. At least she doesn't complain about the food...

Cheers,

Chris

Viewing from within the NHS (non-clinical, but having had the privilege to observe the front line), it unfortunately difficult to separate the Clinical need and the Political need at times...

A lot of the initial access issues date to the changes to GP contracts in the Early 1990s which removed certain obligations. There are significant changes coming in the next two years which it is hoped will redress some of that - we'll not judge in advance how effective it will be, but it's the first time in 30-odd years Governments (of either colour) have attempted the scale of change.

In some ways, it is almost a victim of it's own success - new discoveries and techniques are keeping people alive for longer but with the consequence that they cause increasing demand down the line...

Regarding the 'Independent Sector' Providers (many of the biggest names are not actually "Private" Limited Companies in it for the Profit - some notable ones are actually Mutuals or Community Interest Companies), they are often accused of creaming off the simple stuff, and avoiding the more complex cases, but they are only licensed for specific provide categories of treatment so can't legally do any more and at times do provide useful extra 'surge' capacity. From the commissioner perspective (the Integrated Care Board, formerly Clinical Commissioning Groups who hold the purse strings) it doesn't actually cost any more for you to go to the IS hospital than it does to the NHS hospital - there is a fixed Tariff covering 97% of NHS Funded clinical expenditure, though some IS can and do charge above that if you choose to pay them directly.

There are some really good players in the market - SPIRE/BUPA, Nuffield, Circle/BMI are all decent to deal with and get good feedback; I'd best not say anything about Ramsay other than their local sites to me don't fit that category...
In Mick's case I suspect that really his GP should have known his history and the limitations of Ramsay (guessing either Fulwood Hall or Buckshaw??) and advised somewhere more suitable...

Quote from: Papyrus on April 18, 2025, 05:50:07 PMAt least she doesn't complain about the food...

I came out of Preston NHS hospital telling everyone the food was great, and that I ate better than I do at home

Quote from: PLD on April 18, 2025, 06:09:09 PMIn Mick's case I suspect that really his GP should have known his history and the limitations of Ramsay (guessing either Fulwood Hall or Buckshaw??) and advised somewhere more suitable...

@PLD Buckshaw for vascular and Euxton for spinal. My friend Rob will be having his cataracts done at Fulwood