Looking for opinions on money saving vs. suffering

66Mustang

I’m not looking for any advice but just wondering if anyone can rationalise what’s going on, or wondering if anyone has had a similar situation

A family member has been waiting for an operation for over 10 years and finally got a date, but at the last minute were told they can’t have any operation until an allergy test is completed, because they were allergic to nickel jewellery as a child and the implant has nickel in it

The allergy test will determine whether they can have the standard implant and it will go ahead as before, if they are allergic they will have the same operation with a titanium implant, which is more expensive

The allergy test has a 28 month (>2 year) wait list

The only downside to the titanium unit is cost, if desired it's possible to just pay more and have it regardless. I wondered how much it must cost to justify not just playing it safe and giving them one anyway. To make someone wait in agony for 2 years I assumed it must be like 300 grand or something, and was quite shocked

I was only able to find the unit in a different country, and the price list was a while ago, but I did some currency conversion and inflation adjustment and the difference in price between the 2 units is very roughly: £2,500

We obviously looked at paying for the allergy test ourselves, and probably will do so… it’s around £1,000, however the cost of this means that reduces the cost savings to the NHS, they obviously would have less expense than a private individual but even if it was half, i.e. £500, this reduces the cost saving to the NHS to £2,000

- I understand cost does have to come into it and there are well publicised instances where people are denied million-pound surgery because of cost, but since when is £2,000 an amount to squabble over?

- is it normal for a patient to have to endure extreme pain for 2 years to potentially save £2,000?

- what if a patient is on benefits, which my relative could well be if they didn’t have a pension. This would cost the government tens of thousands over 2 years (in benefits and lost income taxes), writing off the £2,000 cost saving to the NHS about 20 times over

- why weren't they told to have the allergy test some time in the last 10 years? You can only imagine how being told their operation was cancelled at the last minute affected their state of mind

Thanks if anyone can share their views

Nicebrit

I've had a similar experience, not to do with health wise. But to do with Child Services. Information was kept at bay, resulting in me making an Official Complaint, and a huge back pay owed. Was a fight and lasted just over a year.

Seems that for some reason we always seem to be fighting. Information witheld, misleading information.

In your relatives case having the test a lot sooner, operation could have gone ahead.

Someone along the line, has either witheld information and/or not passed it on, or didn't think about it at the time. however, it's still questionable as to why wasn't this sorted sooner. Maybe a complaint is in need? Local MP? Maybe internal communication error? as to why it's taken so long.

Sorry can't be of much help, but I think if it was myself, I'd be writing a letter of complaint, then email it and copy everyone in, just so it leaves a paper trail.

66Mustang

Thanks @Nicebrit that does help a lot

I'm glad your issue was settled in the end, I agree it seems like everything is a battle

Sandy_123

Its a shame over the 10 years that test couldn't of been done sooner.

rubin16

The NHS is a shambles at the moment I'm hoping this new government really does help the NHS out. I'm roughly in a similar situation at the moment I'm awaiting for this new medication which will get rid of all my symtoms at the moment and basically keep me well however it needs funding. I've been waiting over 6 months now and its the reason I keep falling ill alot.

10 years is abit much though I couldn't imagine waiting that long, thats awful. When I've been in hospital a few times though I do know the NHS get ripped off alot with medications and devices. Like for example they pay over £50 just for paracetamol where it costs us like 40p in the shops. The whole of the NHS needs an overhaul. I do hope you manage to sort something out though, they should just do the titianium one anyway to be safe.

66Mustang

Thanks @Sandy_123

Thanks @rubin16 as well

When you talk of the NHS getting ripped off you are quite right. My Dad works for NHS Property Services who do the maintenance work on like the buildings and stuff. Sometimes there is stuff they don't have the staff for and they get private tradespeople in to do it instead and when they see the customer is "NHS" they literally add a "0" to the price, like my Dad had to inspect some work done that should have cost maybe £3,000 and the contractors charged £25,000

My Dad jokingly said could he do it for half of the £25,000 in his own time but that's apparently not legal, even though it'd be saving everyone money

MW123

@66Mustang

It's baffling that the allergy test wasn't considered until the very last minute, especially after your relative has already endured a decade long wait for the operation. Adding a 28-month delay for this test on top of the initial 10 year wait is simply unacceptable. This situation reveals serious flaws in the NHS's communication and planning.

The last-minute cancellation of the operation is incredibly distressing and demonstrates a complete disregard for your relative's emotional well-being, alongside the years of pain and anxiety they've suffered. I strongly recommend raising a formal complaint about these last minute delays and the significant anxiety they have caused.

Although it is expensive, the £1,000 private test might be the quickest way to expedite the operation. Many consultants offer services at private clinics alongside their NHS work. Personally, I sometimes opt for a mix of NHS and private care. While I'm not keen on the extra expense, it often proves to be the only way to expedite the care I need.

Cantilip

"because they were allergic to nickel jewellery as a child and the implant has nickel in it"

Good job someone did notice, better late than never, but it's probably one line somewhere early on in medical notes that may be 4 inches thick or run to several volumes. It is for example fairly routine for a cancer patient to have two or three volumes of notes. Since the current information is probably on computer, the doc may not even have the past medical notes at a consultation.

WhatThe

66Mustang, I was allergic to nickel jewellery as a child. I'm still allergic to nickel jewellery.

Nobody else in my family had this and I've no idea what causes the sensitivity but it is lifelong.

egister

Franz Kafka cries

Jimm_Scope

Honestly, I'm shocked they're still using nickel. I understand it's much cheaper, but it has it's complications like this allergy.

I've never heard of a nickel allergy going away. My partner has a nickel allergy, they actually developed it after wearing a belt with a buckle made of nickel, it took a few months of exposure but now she cannot have anything to do with nickel.

If they were allergic to nickel in the past I would take that as they are allergic and a test shouldn't be needed to continue with using a titanium implant.

I would request going forward with the Titanium implant? Unless my partner is mistaken, nickel allergies don't go away. So this feels like time-wasting to me, instead of doing the thing they know they should really be doing.

@WhatThe seems to back this up too!

I'd inform them the test is not necessary and the non-nickel implant must be used.