‘I was worried I was going to die’: why one NHS patient had to go private
Dee Dickens is ideologically opposed to private healthcare but was compelled to make switch after she found a lump in her breast
Dee Dickens, 52, from Pontypridd, made the difficult choice to go private even though she is ideologically opposed to it. After discovering a lump in her breast she was referred for a scan on the NHS's two-week rule for suspected cancer. But after waiting six weeks, and being continually being told the waiting time was going up, eventually to a three-month wait, she was forced to pay for her own scan and appointment privately.
In February last year, I found a lump in my breast, and went to the doctor that day. The doctor examined me and said: I don't like that.' She said the lump was the size of the top of her index finger and she would rush me through for an urgent screening that would take no longer than two weeks.
Continue reading...