"I went to Holland because the NHS was so slow"

I went to Holland to have the checks I needed after really getting no joy in the UK.

I saw a GP at 8 am in the morning. She gave me a slip and told me to phone the number of the hospital. We talked to the lady in charge of booking 10 minutes later at the hospital. She gave me an appointment for a scan at 10 am in the morning the same day.

We went to the hospital. I was scanned. The technician was concerned by what he saw and said he wanted to get me an X ray as well. I was sent immediately to the X ray technicians we did it 15 minutes later. The results will be to the doctor on Monday morning.

In the UK this procedure took about a month and wasn't completed. I am still in pain and none the wiser but am told that I will be referred immediately Monday morning to whomever I need to see.

So the point is - instead of seeing a GP who sends a letter to a hospital, then having the Hospital send a letter to you for a time that may or may not be convenient when dealing with kids, job, etc far forward in the future, it is immediate, accessible convenient and efficient.

No wonder the NHS writes on the backs of their letters from the hospitals that the NHS wastes £600m a year in missed appointment times. Why the bureaucracy and why the wastage? I wish the Dutch would come over to the UK and reorganise our entire system.