I didn't get the support I needed
"It's still diabolically difficult to actually have a conversation with a hospital consultant. Really, really hard."
"I know someone who died of cancer because she was unable to get any appointments anywhere. She took herself to A&E and ended up in hospice a couple of weeks later and dying."
"Since the pandemic, a lot of young people will need to access CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services). Even on an emergency note from the GP, they're still waiting four and a half months later for an appointment. And that's somebody who was deemed at risk. "
"Unless they fight, people don't get the services that they are entitled to on a statutory basis. The services are there, and the framework is there. But you have to fight to get them."
"Locally, the waiting lists are so long. Mainstream waiting lists are not appropriate for people with cerebral palsy. If you need footcare, orthotics, physio, it's quite specialist really. You need the continuity, and you need the person with the neurological understanding to proficiently provide the service. It feels that it's...read more
"Social care wise, it's working for me at the moment. But they just want to reduce my package and expect me to pay through the nose for it. And so that's driving me insane."
"I've got a cousin who has cancer and she needs a hysterectomy. And she has waited 11 months so far. And I'm sorry, that's just unacceptable. It really is."
"Do we have the access to the social care we need? My experience is that it’s better in London than it than it was when I lived out in the sticks. And my parents who live in Yorkshire would say the same. That actually it's even worse outside of the...read more
"In terms of more mundane interactions, I've almost given up going to the GP because it just takes so long to work."
"My dad has been in and out of psychiatric hospital and that has been challenging, accessing appropriate care for him. Both of our parents are of an age now where they're not in care homes, but they need support. And getting that is challenging as well. I think the whole...read more
"Working in the homelessness sector, we have to fight to get treatments for people who are very, very ill. For mental health and addiction treatment, for general treatment or for social care. They just get missed out."
"A lot of people that tend to care for people with disabilites like myself are not very good at doing things like form filling. They tend to think, 'Oh, this guy he's up and about. He's quite independent.' And they forget about your other needs. And when you enquire, you don't get...read more