Well, I honestly have a feeling that in all the cases I've seen in my family/friend circle the patient-to-be was looked as a package to be offloaded. My wife tried to go to the GP three times to get an appointment, or a referral, to a specialist. She was constantly fobbed off or offered ibuprofen. The GP receptionist suggested her she goes private... and lo and behold when we did they found she had an elbow fracture and a torn ligament.

A friend of mine was told that she'd probably be better off by going back to check with doctors her EU home country when the gynaecologist here had a 6 month waiting list for a specialist visit (she did and was operated for a tumour that, left untreated, could've caused her to lose her uterus).

Another was told that there was nothing the NHS could do for her when she sought professional help to deal with the follow-up of an assault and she should check with private providers or "elsewhere". All these people are legal residents here and pay taxes here.