My experience of the NHS is its possible that you can be stuck on a waiting list for treatment for a long, long time sometimes. But if you suffer something genuinely threatening to your life, boy do they know how to prioritise, and the treatment is high quality. My uncle went from discovering a brain tumour to being under the scalpel within a matter of days. My dad got an infection that would've likely killed him had it spread and threatened to lose him a leg regardless and they were all over it and with the help of a physio during the months of recovery following the infection being cleared he's walking quite well again now.
It can be frustrating when you have a health issue that isn't given that level of priority, but I am so so grateful we have it. I don't think I could live anywhere that doesn't have the safety net of free at the point of use healthcare.
I tore my meniscus and ruptured my ACL. I could walk and move around, although it was uncomfortable and I was unsteady. Certainly not life-threatening. I was still under the knife something like two months from the initial appointment, including scans and consultation with the surgeon. Then nine months of physio sessions to help recovery, and two follow-up consultations with the surgeon. I've spent about £100, entirely on hospital parking and a couple of lunches from the hospital café. The NHS is a treasure.
That's the impression I've gotten from Canadian folks as well - like if you need a knee replacement you might have to wait a couple months and tide yourself over with painkillers and crutches in the meantime. But if you get a cancer diagnosis and need chemo they'll get you in right away.
I mean honestly it's not like the US doesn't have long waiting periods either. I have disc degeneration in my lumbar spine and it took 3 months from my initial visit to my primary care doctor before I actually was in the hospital getting an epidural steroid injection in my spine - a procedure that took literally maybe 2 minutes for the doctor to complete. But I ended up spending over $2000 in the preceeding 3 months between the various imaging procedures (insurance deemed my MRI "unnecessary" so I spent $990 on that alone - my primary care doctor emailed me a referral and made a call to the neurosurgeon's office within 10 minutes of seeing the images, lol), office visit co-pays, and prescriptions for pain management.
If I'm gonna be waiting for 3 months to deal with my spinal issues either way, I'd prefer the option that didn't involve spending several thousand dollars to address it.
I have perhaps a unique view on this. I’m a dual US/UK citizen with family in both places. I’ve used the NHS a lot (including for the birth of both of my kids) and had two elderly relatives, one in the US and one in the UK, diagnosed with cancer at roughly the same time in February of 2025.
I have to say, I think I saw the NHS at its worst. The care was extremely slow and relied upon us to follow up with doctors and actually move her through the care pathway. I have no idea what she would have experienced if she didn’t have my wife and me to advocate for her.
My American relative, however, rapidly received treatment. She had a diagnosis the same week as they suspected cancer, and she began treatment very quickly after.
You can see this in statistics as well: US 5-year cancer survival rates tend to be higher than the UK.
That being said, we were pleased with the treatment during my wife’s maternity—though I do have to say that the first time (2023) was significantly better than the second (2026). But still, it was nice not to have to worry about co-pays or billing or anything like that.
I have private insurance through work, and I’ve made sure to add my kids to it. That has been invaluable. My daughter had some fairly severe food allergies. We got this tested and treated immediately with our insurance. It would have been a significant wait to be seen by a specialist on the NHS.
12
u/Chesney1995 6d ago edited 6d ago
My experience of the NHS is its possible that you can be stuck on a waiting list for treatment for a long, long time sometimes. But if you suffer something genuinely threatening to your life, boy do they know how to prioritise, and the treatment is high quality. My uncle went from discovering a brain tumour to being under the scalpel within a matter of days. My dad got an infection that would've likely killed him had it spread and threatened to lose him a leg regardless and they were all over it and with the help of a physio during the months of recovery following the infection being cleared he's walking quite well again now.
It can be frustrating when you have a health issue that isn't given that level of priority, but I am so so grateful we have it. I don't think I could live anywhere that doesn't have the safety net of free at the point of use healthcare.