NHS crisis: Why I couldn’t face NHS waiting times so went private - Alexander Brown

I knew something was wrong immediately, but not the extent of it.

It was a cold September last year and I’d been playing football when I started to feel a sharp pain in my foot, like I was forcing a bone to bend.

Dragging myself home on foot like an idiot, I convinced myself it was just an impact injury and tomorrow would be better, because as previously mentioned, I’m an idiot. Instead, the next day was agony, seeing me unable to put weight on my foot and falling when I tried to get out of bed.

Putting on work shoes was also impossible, prompting me to pair trainers with a suit – a sin that only works for David Tennant as Doctor Who.

Waiting times have become a major issue in accessing the NHS

Waiting for things to improve, they didn’t, leading me to my local GP in London, where I got an appointment for the next week and looked forward to getting better.

Instead, they told me it was plantar fasciitis – an inflammation of the part of your foot that connects your heel bone to your toes. I was told if the pain didn’t go away in six months to come back.

He could not say how long it would last, nor how to make it better, just that I could get support in six months to make painless movement less than a memory.

The time yawned in front of me and I couldn’t face it. I am an active person – I lift weights, play football or swim most days, not just because I enjoy them, but because I feel awful if I don’t.

Body dysmorphia and a healthy sleep pattern are the perfect storm. I am constantly full of energy and not using it leaves me miserable, because gyms are bad for your brain.

I panicked, thinking of hiking trips, university reunion matches and nights out, all of which I’ve now missed.

Going to the office became a trade-off, hoping whichever MP I was meeting would make up for the pain the next day.

So I went private, pouring money into physiotherapy, not waiting six months, but instead getting treatment immediately – a privilege many simply can’t afford.

I have spent nearly £600 on treatment so far, a disgusting amount of money that most people simply can’t afford to spend on medical bills. I mean what is this, America?

NHS waiting times are bad, that’s nothing new. But it makes me feel awful knowing I can get treatment because I can afford it when so many can’t.

Others will be in far worse situations and be unable to do so. Mental health patients are increasingly going to accident-and-emergency for help. Alongside agonising waits for referrals, trans people are waiting years.

My situation is just about quality of life, the ability to do things I enjoy. I’ve had to pay to get closer to it, which just isn’t the sign of a functioning health service.

It is now 119 days since I got hurt and I still can’t run, still can’t dance – if I ever could – and have endured far more conversations about feet than anyone should ever have to.

This has been terrible for my mental health, my fitness and my work and it is haunting knowing others will suffer more due to the cost, and wait longer for things much more important.