In 2000, I was permanent residence of UK. I had back pain and other problem in 2000. I was unable to get appointment and wait period was 3 month. I called my Doctor here in USA. Got appointment immediately in US. After treatment, went back again to London to pack up.
Medical system is horrible in UK. My brother-in-law needed hip replacement, because he was unable to stand and pain was too much for him to handle. Wait period was one year unless and until he breaks his hip. So my sister suggested her GP, she can break it now. After using all scare tactics, he got operated after 15 days.
A few years ago I read the transcript of some legislative meeting on health care. They were trying to solve the problems of poor care in the counties out in the country. It was pretty amazing.
The one quote I remember was something like “The average wait time for a hearing test in the farm country is 14 months. We need to get them down to what a person in London waits, which on average is only 6 weeks.”
(For a hearing test!! And I’m sure I’m off on the wait times, but I know it was over a year in the rural areas, and over a month in London!)