A recent study by the Office for National Statistics suggests that 65% of NHS users have been waiting up to 6 months for an appointment.
In addition, roughly 70% of users have been negatively impacted by the delay in treatment.
Benie Davies, 26 from Suffolk, is one of those users, who has been waiting over six months for treatment he has been receiving for over ten years after switching GP’s.
“I’ve been receiving treatment for mental health and ADHD management for over ten years. I’ve not even been given a time frame. The GP rang the other week to ask if I still wanted it. I obviously need it, things have got really bad without it”, he said.
The NHS is facing an increased demand for mental health services, with around a third of this study’s participants agreeing that the increased cost of living has affected them.
“The worst thing is feeling forgotten about. I think these waiting lists encourage unhealthy behaviour as a plea to try and get attention from them.”
The study cited the most common negative impacts being boredom, loneliness, anxiety or stress (57%) and a worsening of their condition (38%).
Michelle Browning, 47, from Colchester was on a waiting list for urgent surgery for 16 months before getting the procedure she needed.
“It caused my family so much distress. My operation was cancelled five times, sometimes at the last minute. My surgical team advised me to complain so I got the surgery.
“I have four kids. My two youngest have complex needs. They can’t be cared for by just anyone, so I had to extensively prepare each time I went in for surgery.”
A South London nurse, choosing to remain anonymous, said, “as service providers, a lot of the time we are just as inconvenienced by these lists as you. We are on them ourselves.
“I can only speak for hospitals, but when you’re waiting on various scans or procedures it’s upsetting to build rapport with patients and see them being let down. You don’t want them to have a prolonged stay or feel frustrated”
“What the patients don’t see is that the scan is booked for 2 but say for example at 1.20 an emergency fatality comes in, it becomes a priority. Then you have staff pressures, timing pressures, people go home at 5pm. If the scan gets pushed back again and it’s interrupted by yet another fatality, you get pushed back again.
“It’s a constant cycle of chasing and hoping. But with that said, we are blessed to have the NHS providing a free service.”