I had the same experience in the U.K., twice - once about 12 years ago, once two years ago.
Olive oil does absolutely nothing that I can tell. I’ve tried it, fastidiously, as my ears are really prone to filling with wax.
My experiences on continental Europe have been entirely different, however.
Ten years ago, about 18 months after being refused treatment in the U.K., I was working in France, and woke up one morning utterly deaf in one ear. Couldn’t unclog it, so went to the local rural clinic. I had to wait about 15 minutes, and they hosed my ears out with a rubber hand-bulb. Magic. €7.20, I think, which was the standard consultation cost at the time.
Most recently, I had an ear block again a few weeks ago, and I now live in rural Portugal. Again, took myself to the local clinic, hoping to make an appointment - and they were shocked that I hadn’t gone straight to their emergency department. I had no idea or expectation that they would have an A&E - this is a tiny clinic for a population of less than 2,000. Anyway, toddled around to the back, where there is indeed an A&E, and again, they did it there and then, no cost.
I’ve found doctors in the U.K. to generally be a pretty unhelpful bunch - I think it comes from them drowning in insane KPIs and spending most of their time pushing paper or trying to keep their practice from disintegrating. They don’t have time for patients. I ended up seriously unwell as my GP kept brushing me off — and a dear friend ended up dead, as she was repeatedly told by her GP that her colon cancer was IBS, until it metastasised and ate her alive.