Is the NHS useless?

[unbeliever]

I'm not rich, but I earn enough that I'm paying significantly more total tax than the national average. We're making our contribution and we've always been content to do it. I like the idea that people no matter what their status have access to healthcare, and I've always supported it even though I know I'd be paying a lot less tax without it.

 

I'm starting this thread because I'm extremely angry that whenever my family needs healthcare it's either not available on the NHS so we have to pay ourselves, or the NHS charges for it.

What the hell! What on earth have I been paying for all these years?

 

I have a family member with asthma. We have to pay £17/month so that somebody I love can have £6/month worth of medication to keep them alive.

 

I have a family member with a serious mental health problem. Just forked out almost £400 for 90 mins with a psychiatrist because the NHS won't help. Maybe an under-qualified counsellor in a matter of months or a GP without a clue as to what they're doing will hand out some pills, which we have to pay for again, which are more likely to worsen the problem.

 

I can barely afford to pay the healthcare costs for my family. A big part of this is that I'm paying massive taxes for a compulsory healthcare program, which itself then charges me again when I try and use it, or just flat out doesn't cover my family's medical needs. What on earth is going on?

 

I'm frankly fed up with it. I give up. Shut down the NHS. I'll have my taxes back. Then I'll be able to afford the healthcare my family needs and buy food at the same time.

[biotechpete]

You earn significantly more than the national average but you can't afford the prescription charge? A prescription prepayment card will cost you £104/yr for an unlimited supply of medicines.

[unbeliever]

You earn significantly more than the national average but you can't afford the prescription charge? A prescription prepayment card will cost you £104/yr for an unlimited supply of medicines.

 

Just looked that up.

I could save £90/year on the monthly double-prescription.

I'll probably do that and I appreciate the tip, but it's small change considering my total healthcare costs.

[willman]

Which part of the the healthcare scenario do you feel your lacking?

 

Your family members have been assessed,advised they have issues and prescribed the correct medication all totally free.(well paid for by contributions of everyone). You don't say whether your family members are contributing,as you seem to feel that your payment should enable you to receive NHS treatment.

 

I don't recall ever being told medicines were free.

 

Regarding the mental issues YOU chose to try and circumvent the current situation by buying your preferred option. I think next time you access the NHS for the same issue you should be refused treatment, if you can afford £400 once you can pay your way in the future. If you'd waited you would have received the counselling free of charge.

Will the psychiatrist give you a prescription for pills that you will get free?

 

Other people are paying massive taxes for the NHS and have no family members so the money they pay is propping up the multiple users from other families.

The NHS isn't perfect but neither is society.

[Halibut]

The NHS is very useful indeed. The OP is whingeing about not very much really and seems to have a bit of a chip on their shoulder.

[unbeliever]

Which part of the the healthcare scenario do you feel your lacking?

 

Your family members have been assessed,advised they have issues and prescribed the correct medication all totally free.(well paid for by contributions of everyone). You don't say whether your family members are contributing,as you seem to feel that your payment should enable you to receive NHS treatment.

 

I don't recall ever being told medicines were free.

 

Regarding the mental issues YOU chose to try and circumvent the current situation by buying your preferred option. I think next time you access the NHS for the same issue you should be refused treatment, if you can afford £400 once you can pay your way in the future. If you'd waited you would have received the counselling free of charge.

Will the psychiatrist give you a prescription for pills that you will get free?

 

Other people are paying massive taxes for the NHS and have no family members so the money they pay is propping up the multiple users from other families.

 

My family have been repeatedly mis-diagnosed on the NHS and put at risk by their incompetence. Nobody has helped for "free". That's why, out of desperation, we've started paying for help. We shouldn't have to.

It took a fee charging therapist an hour to finally, after many years, give us the right diagnosis and a fee charging psychiatrist another hour to confirm it.

 

Waiting months is not an option as you would know if you'd ever been close to somebody with a serious mental health problem.

[Mister M]

In spite of the NHS spending being 'ringfenced' from central government cuts, spending on mental health provision has been cut nationally by 8% in the last 5 years. Learning disabilities and mental health are always the first areas to be cut in the NHS.

Though I do know that many private health care plans used to exclude treatment for mental health conditions from their plans, not sure why though.

Having said that, if your family member was in need of something like intensive care, which is incredibly expensive, in my experience the NHS is very good.

[Cyclone]

I'm not rich, but I earn enough that I'm paying significantly more total tax than the national average. We're making our contribution and we've always been content to do it. I like the idea that people no matter what their status have access to healthcare, and I've always supported it even though I know I'd be paying a lot less tax without it.

 

I'm starting this thread because I'm extremely angry that whenever my family needs healthcare it's either not available on the NHS so we have to pay ourselves, or the NHS charges for it.

What the hell! What on earth have I been paying for all these years?

 

I have a family member with asthma. We have to pay £17/month so that somebody I love can have £6/month worth of medication to keep them alive.

 

I have a family member with a serious mental health problem. Just forked out almost £400 for 90 mins with a psychiatrist because the NHS won't help. Maybe an under-qualified counsellor in a matter of months or a GP without a clue as to what they're doing will hand out some pills, which we have to pay for again, which are more likely to worsen the problem.

 

I can barely afford to pay the healthcare costs for my family. A big part of this is that I'm paying massive taxes for a compulsory healthcare program, which itself then charges me again when I try and use it, or just flat out doesn't cover my family's medical needs. What on earth is going on?

 

I'm frankly fed up with it. I give up. Shut down the NHS. I'll have my taxes back. Then I'll be able to afford the healthcare my family needs and buy food at the same time.

 

Prescriptions have been charged for, for a very long time. Without that charge you'd have to pay even more tax.

The reason that mental health treatment is so slow is chronic underfunding.

 

How much do you imagine it would cost you to get medical cover for these things in the US? Probably a lot more than it's costing here.

You say you'll be able to afford the medical care you need, but I seriously doubt that you'd find yourself better off. And it's not just about you of course, many, many other people would find medical care simply inaccessible.

 

---------- Post added 30-10-2015 at 09:07 ----------

 

My family have been repeatedly mis-diagnosed on the NHS and put at risk by their incompetence. Nobody has helped for "free". That's why, out of desperation, we've started paying for help. We shouldn't have to.

It took a fee charging therapist an hour to finally, after many years, give us the right diagnosis and a fee charging psychiatrist another hour to confirm it.

 

Waiting months is not an option as you would know if you'd ever been close to somebody with a serious mental health problem.

 

So campaign to have mental health properly funded.

[willman]

My family have been repeatedly mis-diagnosed on the NHS and put at risk by their incompetence. Nobody has helped for "free". That's why, out of desperation, we've started paying for help. We shouldn't have to.

It took a fee charging therapist an hour to finally, after many years, give us the right diagnosis and a fee charging psychiatrist another hour to confirm it.

 

Waiting months is not an option as you would know if you'd ever been close to somebody with a serious mental health problem.

 

That may have been a fee paying therapist who also doubles for the NHS - many do. Milking the system and selecting those people who they feel can pay extra for their services.

 

You "assume" that people having negativity to your own situation aren't experiencing the same or worse.

 

As for free - if the persons receiving NHS treatment haven't paid into the NHS then the services they receive are being provided free.

Although if you cost up the number of visits made to the NHS for the mental issues at the rate your private therapists charged would that not have taken a big chunk out of your own contributions,without the additional costs of the NHS Service in general which you pay for.

My wife had back surgery some years ago - the private cost of the operation and recuperation were in excess of 4 years of her personal tax and NI contributions.That doesn't take into account everything else.

[JFKvsNixon]

My family have been repeatedly mis-diagnosed on the NHS and put at risk by their incompetence. Nobody has helped for "free". That's why, out of desperation, we've started paying for help. We shouldn't have to.

It took a fee charging therapist an hour to finally, after many years, give us the right diagnosis and a fee charging psychiatrist another hour to confirm it.

 

Waiting months is not an option as you would know if you'd ever been close to somebody with a serious mental health problem.

 

What you are highlighting isn't a problem with the people working or running the NHS, or a structural problem, but a chronic lack of funding towards the NHS - particularly in the "cinderella services" such as mental health.

 

These services are often suffer from lack of funds due to "us the public" wanting Premier League healthcare, but we're only willing to pay Championship level funding. So what's happening is the money drains away from services such as mental health towards the newsworthy services such as cancer care.

 

The answer is obvious. If we want the same level of healthcare as our comparable neighbours, we have to fund the healthcare to the same levels as our comparable neighbours. Otherwise the NHS will always be robbing Peter to pay Paul.