no one said the US system is better.
That's great, where it exists. Because it doesn't exist where I live.
Visiting the UK. Health Coverage ?
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no one said the US system is better.
That's great, where it exists. Because it doesn't exist where I live.
How then did you find out what was wrong with these complete strangers, doctor patient confidentiality would prohibit the doctor from telling you and aside from you going to ask these apparently incredibly ill strangers you can't have known that.
You also stood by and did nothing in all of these cases despite being so morally outraged?
People make up all kinds of crap to make their dull empty lives seem interesting.
I'm not saying the NHS is good, I'm well aware it's on it's knees as a result of the Tory scum and persistent underfunding by a number of corrupt "governments"
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Which is what I said....
My point is that A&E isn't necessarily free for all, if you are admitted your insurance company will pay for A&E.
I can give plenty more anecdotes: my aunt who has been crippled by a disastrously wrong leg cast, a friend severely hospitalized due to the nurse giving 5x the dose of a drug, my mum misdiagnosed with breast cancer (luckily she was all clear), the failure to diagnose my mum with gluten intolerance for 5 years, when I was 12 and sat in a seemingly empty hospital for 4 hours before I got my hand x-rayed.
I can also give many positive US anecdotes - never waiting more than a minute to see anyone, accurate appointment times, excellent service, and even very low prices even when paying fully out of pocket (I needed chest x-rays to get my greencard so had to pay myself, $150 is extremely cheap IMO). Of course there are plenty of counter examples, charging $40 a pill for aspirin is a complete joke (luckily covered by health insurance)
The US health system has huge problems and no one should go without health coverage. the NHS mostly succeeds but the service is far from adequate IMO. maybe my experience is extremely abnormal, but I have so many negative experiences with the NHS it seems more than a statistical anomaly. The latest screw-ups has persuaded a lot of my family to purchase BUPA cover so if they don't suffer the same fate as our close friends.
I want to like the NHS, free at source health care is very commendable, but the service in my experience is quite shocking.
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well not perfect but Switzerland probably has the best system
yeah, I really like the Swiss system.private insurance, state controlled and if you cannot afford insurance it is provided for you.
I also like the JSA equivalent. you get paid 80% of your previous salary for up to 2 years while you look for anew job. After that the payments reduce to a state payout
This is interesting.. One of my boys was born in Sept 06. I'd like them to both have dual nationality. So they can travel freely around the Europe without the woes of needing a visa.
They can be dual nationals without issue. I have a new baby girl and we will be getting her an EU passport to go alongside her US passport ASAP.
So in March when I went into A&E then waited 4 hours with what turned out to be a dislocated elbow and broken arm, I should have just slept it off then? lol.
The NHS isn't perfect, far from it, but it isn't shocking either, it can be but then so can the US system...my experience of US healthcare is somewhat less positive than yours, including waiting in an ER to get a broken arm looked at for over 9 hours when I was 13...but then I was just a poor kid in the state care system, not a middle class professional with excellent health insurance coverage. The NHS were excellent to me during a long period of major health care necessary when I was injured severely, and they continue to be in the long term, treatment that would have cost hundreds of thousands in the US and unlikely to have been fully covered even with Military coverage. Our relative experiences are different and only serve to illustrate the subjective nature of such judgements.
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Just because it's not an emergency, doesn't mean you don't need seen....
All A+E departments use a triage system. Everyone is seen according to strict criteria. Note that is proper criteria not some layman's interpretation of what is important ie airway is important, bleeding everywhere not so important, broken bones well they can wait quite a bit, etc. Hence also why children will be seen quicker because their airway is more at risk due to its shape.
They are specialist in that area - accident and emergency - they are there to stabilise you not plan your oncology treatment or perform anything other than life saving surgery.
Hmm, not so sure you'd be saying that if you had to go through the system the way it is now. You are basing your judgement on something historical and at that time there was a few creaks but there was also quality. I am not so sure there is that quality any more and there is certainly more than a few creaks.
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I'm still under treatment, have been to one degree or another for 7 years...my most recent major surgery being last February.
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That's ongoing trying entering the system fresh. Also I would point out there is a big difference between good care and what the general public think is good care. Two very different things. That's why people think private is so good they get in quick and it looks like a nice environment. That says very little about the quality of decision that is being made.
I receive excellent care, have done and continue to do so. It doesn't matter if its really rubbish by whatever definition you are using, the fact is that my care has been exactly what was necessary for me, it has been done in good time, professionally and with the care and attention necessary. All aftercare has been diligent, I have contact on a regular basis and all my questions and concerns over the years have been dealt with quickly and professionally...and my treatment hasn't all been ongoing exactly. I have been in different hospitals and under different consultants as my treatment required.
As far as I am concerned, and where my improved health and increased ability to function is concerned along with the access to aftercare and support, I cannot complain and I have had no problems with my treatment...that would imply good care by any objective definition I can discern.
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Dont private send to NHS if its serious just without ques?
Well then you are the lucky one but that is of course a subjective opinion in stark contrast to my impressions and it appears of many in this thread. If we were to move onto objective facts then the NHS does not perform well at this time. And like I said as a layperson and in an area which is not your expertise whether you would know good care or not is debatable.
That is not to knock the NHS or the staff it would be like hitting a child and showing them no love or attention and then damning them for poor results at school.
Right, so I should have just made an appointment at the fracture clinic a week later? You are forgetting the 'A' in the 'A&E'. The '&' sign is another clue.
It turned out my injury was an emergency too, because I had an unstable fracture near to an artery with bone pushing the skin out and I had surgery as soon as possible (three hours under a general anesthetic and now I have a massive plate in my arm).
Unfortunately they haven't invented a technology which can tell whether something is an 'emergency' or not as you pass through the door. Many people don't realise how bad injuries are until they are seen under further observation such as xray, often 4 hours later in the UK.
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