Have I said lately...I REALLY love NHS

As one of those people whose employer didn't offer insurance and who went into bankrupcy due to medical debt - which you can almost no longer do at all thanks to Mr. Bush - I'm grateful every day for the NHS.

NO ONE should end up w/debts they can never pay back or lose their house b/c they or their children get a common disease.

Think this doesn't happen b/c you're insured?  Think again! 

Plus, being stuck in a job you hate b/c of the insurance.

No, thanks!

I'll take the NHS any day.

Think this doesn't happen b/c you're insured?  Think again! 

My parents are both insured.  They received the first of however many bills they'll get from my mother's most recent surgery/hospital stay.  Nearly $10,000.  Not covered by their insurance.  Dad's talking about selling the house....

My parents are both insured.  They received the first of however many bills they'll get from my mother's most recent surgery/hospital stay.  Nearly $10,000.  Not covered by their insurance.  Dad's talking about selling the house....

Yes, my mum's cousin's husband had to have an emergency triple bypass and of course, all the related treatments for coronary artery disease.

His share is $20,000.

Just wanted to say that I was discharged from an NHS hospital yesterday after having a hysterectomy. The care I received was incredible. Everything about my experience was excellent. Honestly, I can't praise the hospital enough. Even my father (a doc in the US) had to admit that the nursing care over here is way better -- in the US, the nurses spend so much time with paperwork. Here, they can devote just about all of their time to patient care. And they do.

Glad to hear it went well!

The way I look at is is this....if people don't mind paying out the nose for better medical care...then you can do that in the UK as well -go private in the most well known and highest rated hospital....The NHS provides basic cover and does a pretty decent job of it.... some places are better than others... (same as in the USA) ...
--or fly to the USA.... and pay there...

Yes, my mum's cousin's husband had to have an emergency triple bypass and of course, all the related treatments for coronary artery disease.

His share is $20,000.

but he's alive to pay for it, however difficult it may seem. here there are plenty of people who become to sick to have the operation while they linger on the waiting list!!!!
i'm glad that some people have good experiences, but as a nurse working for the NHS, i've seen people die, YES, DIE! because decisions about a persons where need for expensive tests, ops, drugs are weighed against their lifestyle, age, future potential. did i mention that i saw a consultant make a casual decision not to transplant a patient because his 30 percings and tattoos made him look "rough". he died less than a week later.
there is a common new sepsis drug widely available in the states and used in other trusts that is not used at the trust where i work because it is "too expensive"!!
i totally support the concept of the NHS, and have long supported national health in the states, but everyone needs to understand there are limits to the system.

but everyone needs to understand there are limits to the system.

I think everyone does understand this, but it is nice not to have to choose between taking the kids to the doctor for bronchitis/whatever, and putting food on the table...

that's a fairly narrow, short sighted outlook...are you not planning to get old in this country??? do you think the rules will change by the time you need your hip replacment???

My son qualifies for orthodentia under the NHS - just found out this morning.  Now he has an 18 month wait but he's not ready yet so by the time his name comes up, he will be ready to go. 

I sure would not have gotten that in the US system, even with my supplimental insurance. 

Hopefully, the gov won't cancel the programme altogether before his name comes up!

that's a fairly narrow, short sighted outlook...are you not planning to get old in this country??? do you think the rules will change by the time you need your hip replacment???

Why shouldn't I be glad I can take my kids to the doctor when they are sick?  And how many people need hip replacements in the US that can't afford them?  Whether they're not getting them there because they have no insurance and can't afford to pay out of pocket, or not getting them here because of the waiting lists on the NHS, they're still not getting them.  

I prefer to think of it as an optimistic, grateful way of looking at things rather than being narrow minded and short sighted...it's possible to be grateful for the good things in life without forgetting about the bad...

I prefer to think of it as an optimistic, grateful way of looking at things rather than being narrow minded and short sighted...it's possible to be grateful for the good things in life without forgetting about the bad...

when you work for the NHS and see how they cut corners it's a little harder to be optimistic!
have you heard the government is offering a 1.5% increase when the cost of living is 3%??
nurses are organizing to protest and possibly go on strike! today nicolePA2UK found out they've closed her ward...her options are being made redundent and getting a position on another ward that may not be as childfriendly....will everyone still be raving about the NHS when there are no nurses left to care for them....i suppose nurse auxillaries can be trained to pass meds???? and cleaners can help gran to the toilet and porters can do CPR???

I agree there are limits to the system... and there will be with any publicly funded agency....

people die in the USA all the time --waiting for organ donations, from MRSA and other bugs, medical malpractice, misdiagnosis and plain lack of insurance.  If medical care were socialised in the USA there would be wait lists too (look to Canada and even at systems like the VA hospitals in the USA) for proof of this. 

I know there need to be improvements in the NHS and I feel that many nurses in both nations deserve badges of honor for the work they do.

The thing is that... the UK and countries that provide socialised helath care are doing a great service for the people.  Overall, people get seen, treated and don't have to pay at the point of delivery or even as mcuh as they would in a non-socialised environment.  Moreover, you have the choice in these countires of going private or of paying for whatever care you want. So really you can have BOTH systems.  One where you are guaranteed a minumum of treatment (hopefully of a decent standard) and the other where you can put yourself into debt up to your eyeballs (if you don't have the money) for the care you want.  If my life was on the line no amount of money would stop me.  Why do we really expect our basic socailised care to work quickly as a pay as you go system anyway? 

I may be a bit cynical, but to me in either nation money talks... yes some things are done on a charity basis, but if you are rich and famous you have easier access to top doctors and technology.

In the USA you get the hip replacement if you have the money to pay for it or are insured....likewise you get the medication you need if you have the way to pay for it.... 

-what's better having a set level of care and then being able to pay to get better care or not even having that basic level of care?



and ladybug I think conditions for nursing are pretty dire in many nations...

We kept getting told there is a shortage and then they refuse to pay to have enough...   with the NHS in particular what I see is a large amount of funds being sucked up into some huge void and not being spent where it needs to be.  It's horrible money management and many Trust heads need to be sent back to finance 101.


US nurses are also the bottom of the totem pole as well...  any caring profession is seen as less by so many until it's their life on the line or their child in trouble at school etc.

but he's alive to pay for it, however difficult it may seem. here there are plenty of people who become to sick to have the operation while they linger on the waiting list!!!!
i'm glad that some people have good experiences, but as a nurse working for the NHS, i've seen people die, YES, DIE! because decisions about a persons where need for expensive tests, ops, drugs are weighed against their lifestyle, age, future potential.

And you think this doesn't happen on Medicare?  Or people with no insurance?  Or with insurance, for that matter?  Insurers employ bean counters to decide what and what not to cover.

There was just an incident last month in Denver involving 'patient dumping' of the homeless and uninsured.

I've seen this from both sides of the fence - living in the US WITH good insurance and in Canada with socialised health care. 

Our healthcare in the US was fabulous - but I also saw one of my good friends go into the poor house with her breast cancer treatment and she had good insurance. 

In Canada, I have watched the health care system be whittled away bit by bit and it really infuriates me.  I used to work in a children's hospital and when they had to make cuts, it was the janitorial staff NOT the top heavy-within-5-years-of -retirement set (there were at least 5 of them).  We also had an outbreak of norwalk virus and MRSA so could not afford to lose janitorial staff.  I would bet that those administrators were not going around cleaning wards.

Also, the lure of making big bucks as a doctor is too great for Canadian med school grads.  they are flocking to the states.  Why would they stay in canada and work for relatively low wages, with high patient loads when they can rake in the cash and work on their golf game south of the border?  There are many places in Canada that you can not even get a doctor to see you.  My kids only got a pediatrician because DH's boss was a pediatrician and called in a favour.  DH and I didnt' have a doctor.  The advice we got was "don't get sick"

My mother had a hip replacement and as soon as her hip was critical, she had the surgery.  Lucky for her, her other hip hadn't deteriorated while compensating for her bad hip.  Many people find they've trashed their good hip while waiting for surgery. 

Generally speaking - you get service in Canada if you are critical.

I did have one situation with my son that really made me angry.  He got a very serious infection in his finger - he almost lost it.  we were sent from our pediatrician to the emergency room because he needed immediate surgery to deal with the infection (he'd already gone through antibiotics etc.. and nothing worked it just got worse.)  When we got to the emerg, it was packed with kids who had stuffy noses, sore throats, fevers, all the things that should be seen by a GP or pediatrician but because most people didnt' have doctors, they used the emergency room.   Whereas my son had a genuine emergency.  we had to queue and wait - for 5 hours, only for them to tell us the surgeon wasn't available and we had to come back the next day.  Fortunately, she gave us an appointment and we didn't have to wait.  and also fortunately, my son didn't lose his finger.