im glad i waited for nhs funding as i simply could not afford the life long aftercare, as i dont know where ill financially be in say 10 years down th road, for me it was worth the wait as my band broke down 3 years in, if i had of been a private patient then theres no way i would of been able to afford a band removal/replacement, the nhs took care of all that for me.
so for me i think the wait i had on the nhs list was worth while.