As with others Fly I wish your wife well.
Yes it's true, you flog your guts out, pay your taxes and when it comes to wanting a {well deserved} helping hand you find yourself almost at the bottom of the heap, you'll go private and more than likely she will be seen by the very same [NHS] staff, only much sooner.
It's the same trying to make a doctors appointment, round our way you've more chance of dining with the queen than seeing a doctor.
What the medical industry {if that's what it's called} needs to be reminded of is, like in your wife's case, she works so pays tax, so the faster they can get her seen, diagnosed and cured the faster she will be back paying tax. Same when I was working I asked to see a doctor, strangely enough, when I was ill but to go into a surgery and see the waiting room either empty or full of lead swingers and be told they might be able to fit you in a fortnight Thursday.
One such time I was so ill I went to A&E as I was wasting my time with the surgery I got there at 3 p.m, after finishing work early, the first thing the receptionist said to me was "Why didn't you go to your own doctor" my reply was simple "You can tell I'm ill, the surgery receptionist obviously couldn't that's why I'm here, so if you would like to ring my surgery and explain how bad I am, get me in NOW and i'll go" needless to say I stayed there, had a few tests and I finally got home at 9:30 p.m.