Hi Welshman.
Pleased that you got the treatment you wanted and seem to be doing well although you needed to go to another area for it.
As regards you and others extolling the NHS, the concept is attractive and there are many highly skilled doctors, nurses and other dedicated staff that serve in it. However, I think you are looking at it through rose tinted glasses and if you will forgive me for saying so, not fully aware of it's many short comings or how poorly it compares with major European countries of which I have some experience.
Firstly, not all Commissioning bodies will pay for a specific treatment in another area if they cannot provide that themselves, though of course they will offer an alternative. A member of this forum reported being affected in this way. Also, when it comes to some forms of treatment it can be a post code lottery.
The most significant thing however, 'the proof of the pudding' one might say, is that cancer survival rates in the UK are amongst the worst in Europe.
Few hospitals have the latest equipment and many have old/clapped out stuff. (A recent stay in the main North Devon hospital confirmed this was a case in point).
There are many foreign doctors and nurses, not all with a good grasp of English. The NHS can't afford to train sufficient indigenous personnel, yet still pay agency fees for nurses to cover the short fall at times.
Some hospitals are so bad that they have either been closed or are under special supervision. Some use machinations to show they are meeting targets yet they have patients waiting in ambulances queuing up outside. Hospital administrators and others close ranks and buy off or otherwise try to stop whistle-blowers. (I am under a gagging order myself for an non directly related reason).
When I reported back on my treatment experience in Germany to my 2nd opinion in the UK, he told me he had worked in German Hospitals and was sometimes ashamed how UK hospitals compared.
Better and later equipment, beds waiting for patients rather than patients waiting for beds, much better staff to patient ratio, less crowding and more room. This better ratio goes back to GP's and also applies in France and Italy. The German system works well even an obvious tramp got the same treatment as me so there is a safety net.
The question is, whether by reorganisation or extra resources the NHS could be improved to a much better standard, though this has not worked though tried for some time. The alternative is to have a much more widespread and capable private system such as other countries enjoy instead of the NHS. If you value your health one should be prepared to pay a little more than presently paid through taxes (which should be reduced) to get quicker and in some cases better treatment.
I could make more points but this is not intended to be a diatribe but a realistic look at the NHS. Naturally, those who have had reasonably early and good treatment are happy with the NHS but many aren't (just read reports) and it has to be considered overall. Far from being amazing, there are areas where the NHS is lacking in many respects and patients deserve better.
Edited by member 14 Mar 2015 at 23:28
| Reason: Not specified