Letters: the NHS shutdown is hurting patients and costing lives

Poor treatment

Sir: My recent experience supports Dr Max Pemberton’s view that the NHS is letting down thousands of patients (‘Nothing to applaud’, 30 May). I am a 71-year-old living alone, with no symptoms of coronavirus. For several weeks I have, however, been experiencing severe pain in my left hip. A consultation with my GP diagnosed that I needed a shot of cortisone to reduce the inflammation, but I was told that the NHS was unable to offer clinical consultations due to a focus on the crisis. I was unable to cope with the pain any longer, so my daughter arranged a private consultation and an injection at a cost of £220.

My heart problem is potentially more serious and is proving more difficult to resolve. After a severe chest infection at Christmas I admitted myself to hospital, where they discovered that I had atrial fibrillation and was a stroke risk. I was prescribed blood-thinning tablets and beta blockers and booked in for treatment in April.