The British version of "Breaking Bad"

Walt gets cancer and then receives free high-quality treatments for five seasons.

Or, because of the increased waiting periods for MRIs, Walters tumors grow too fast and there is only one season.

The number of patients waiting more than six weeks for a test such as an MRI scan has quadrupled, according to analysis of NHS data. Photograph: Rex Features


Patients could die because of rising NHS waiting lists for tests and treatment, the leader of Britain's hospital doctors has warned. Delays in identifying conditions such as cancer may mean that a patient's illness reaches the stage where surgery or drugs cannot save them, Dr Mark Porter told the Guardian.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/ ... cost-lives

Info that's not a year old.....

At the end of July 2012, there were 660,000 patients still waiting for one of 15 key diagnostic tests, and of these 6,115 were waiting 6 weeks or over from referral. The number waiting 6 weeks or longer shows a decrease of 2,300 from June 2012, and a decrease of 4,700 from July 2011.

The 6,115 waiting over 6 weeks or longer represents 0.9% of all patients waiting for a test. This compares to 1.3% at the end of June 2012 and 1.8% at the end of July 2011.

In total, 1,451,000 of the 15 key diagnostic tests were performed during July 2012, which represents a 10% increase on the same period last year. When adjusted for working days in the month there is an increase of 5% month on month and an increase of 7% for the three month period May-July.

http://mediacentre.dh.gov.uk/2012/09/05 ... agnostics/

Here's the CURRENT website for the UK's NHS (national Health Service) and the "specific' policy on wait times. http://www.nhs.uk/choiceintheNHS/Rights ... times.aspx

What are maximum waiting times?
You have the right to start your consultant-led treatment within a maximum of 18 weeks from referral, unless you choose to wait longer, or it is clinically appropriate that you wait longer. This includes treatments where a consultant retains overall clinical responsibility for the service or team, or for your treatment. This means the consultant will not necessarily be present for each appointment, but will take overall responsibility for your care. The setting of your consultant-led treatment, for example whether hospital-based or in a community-based clinic, will not affect your right to treatment within 18 weeks.

If it is not possible to be seen within the maximum waiting time, the primary care trust (PCT) or strategic health authority (SHA) that commissions your treatment must investigate and offer you a range of suitable alternative hospitals or community clinics that would be able to see or treat you more quickly.

And the first comment which I'm sure you will say is made up:

Apparently "urgent" does not mean urgent until it has bee triaged. My "urgent" referrals apparently arent. Its now mid August. Im completely addicted to Morphine and Codeine. Have yet to receive a response from Hope hospital so just rang my PCT PALS team to tell them that my urgent case will not be treated within the timescales allowed by govt

Doesnt the NHS realise that when somebody is in excruciating agony. The only thing they want is to be treated. They dont want to and dont have the energy to complain. Ive been saying for the last 14 weeks now....somebody just give me my details. I'll sell my house and go private.

Sounds like wait times are a problem to me, otherwise why would they set the maximum wait time to 18 weeks and even that's not even a given?

My wait time through kaiser was 1 day.

Wait till you have a major catastrophic health emergency and we'll see if you want to sell your house to pay for it (as the comment you quoted suggested). Or better yet, wait till you change jobs and you are no longer covered because it was a "pre-existing condition." There's more to the health care debate than wait times.

Raees wrote: Wait till you have a major catastrophic health emergency and we'll see if you want to sell your house to pay for it (as the comment you quoted suggested). Or better yet, wait till you change jobs and you are no longer covered because it was a "pre-existing condition." There's more to the health care debate than wait times.

Oh but this bill is suppose to make our healthcare system better. Will it be better if we have to start waiting for stuff like MRIs for up to 18 weeks like in the wonderful UK system? And we ARE NOT guaranteed to keep our current insurance if our employers can't afford to keep it for us... again, is that better? I agree our system needs to be tweeked, especially for the poor... but that doesn't mean this Pelosi abortion of a bill is worth running with. They were wrong on economic predictions, so there's good reason to believe they will be wrong on this bill.

And as for the first comment, what other choice would a person have who can't get fast enough treatment by the government? I WOULD sell my house if it was the only way to get private health care and save my life.

...that doesn't mean this Pelosi abortion of a bill is worth running with.

What BILL? Health Care Reform passed some time ago. It's the LAW.

Raees wrote:

...that doesn't mean this Pelosi abortion of a bill is worth running with.

What BILL? Health Care Reform passed some time ago. It's the LAW.

Lets see what happens when it goes into full effect. Lets see what people think about it when their choices become more limited, when young people are forced to buy it or pay a fine, or when premiums increase at a higher rate of speed. We'll see if the people who will be paying for this new law want to keep the new law when they have to wait longer for treatments. 2800 pages of a bill that was never read before it was passed. We shall see.