| 
People seem a little afraid of having a National Health Care System here, even though most of Europe does with no ill effect. I lived in England for five years with my British husband, so I thought I'd share my firsthand experiences with you. The first contact I had with the NHS was when I came down with some little bug, and went to see my local physician. Like all the local doctors, he was a GP. Each GP has a 'list' of patients that choose him as their primary care physician. Like many Americans, I brought a book to my first appointment. I was in a state of shock when I was ushered in to see the doctor five minutes after settling down with Chapter One. (It was just getting good, too.) He was warm, interested, thorough and efficient all at the same time. I never got the impression that he was in a hurry, although the entire experience was less than 15 minutes. Once he had given me a going over, we sat down at his desk and chatted some more while he entered his findings into a PC. This was to be my record while in England. I was given an antibiotic for my ailment, which was also entered. He then scribbled out a prescription (English docs have the same handwriting as the American version) and I toddled off to the chemist (English for pharmacy). Lovely. You shove your paper over the counter, wait a bit, and then you are charged the standard fee of six pounds. Doesn't matter what it is, it's six pounds. To my American eyes, this all appears to be a miracle. I don't even have a bill coming for all this fantastic service. My second visit I still brought a book, thinking I might have just gotten lucky the first time, but the routine was the same. Nine o'clock means nine o'clock to a British doc and his staff. I had been sent a reminder that they didn't have a record of certain female preventative checks, and would like me to plan on having that done on my next visit. We got through all this with no fuss, and again I sat and chatted with the doctor while he entered it into my record on his PC. I asked him if he ever thought of moving to America, because he would certainly be a millionaire whithin weeks of arrival. When he stopped laughing, I got a short lecture on how their system works. "That's the problem in America", he said. "Your doctors only make money when you are ill, so they encourage you to visit as often as possible, whereas here we tell you not to come into the office for every little sniffle, firstly because there's rarely anything that can be done about it, and secondly because each office is given a flat sum for each patient signed on for the year. So every time you come in, that money goes out of the pool for health care at this office. We encourage people to use home remedies for coughs and sniffles and the odd tummy ache, so that we have more funds left to treat people with chronic or more serious conditions. Physicians here have a salary, which isn't related to office visits. The problem in America is that your physicians have a vested interest in sickness, rather than wellness." Guess that's us told. Some people might be wondering at this point about how they handle emergencies, and since I was involved in a couple of those I saw that firsthand, too. |
Like the GP, the first line of defense is the small local hospital. There they have more equipment, and a 24 hour staff. It functions as an ER as well as a place to have more invasive or lengthy tests and minor surgeries, which are done by Specialists. If you come in too badly off for them to cope with, they get you stabilized and put you on an ambulance (no bill) and send you to the closest Big Hospital. The Big Hospital has the same equipment and staff levels as an American hospital, with a great many of the nursing staff (as it was in USA until very recently) being students who are affiliated with that particular hospital. One exception - they still have wards, rather than private rooms. Hospital is hospital. Each bed has curtains on either side, but you're on a ward. Other than that, they hook you up to the same fancy machines they use here. (Still no bill). What about those Specialists? It works much like our HMOs do. You must get a referral from your GP in order to see a Specialist. Once you get the recommendation (and they aren't horrid about giving it) you simply phone the specialist closest to you for an appointment. Some work out of the Big Hospitals, and some are on their own. A Specialist appointment has a longer wait time - it can be scheduled a month or two from the time of the call. (On the other hand, I have had the same experience here with dentists, eye guys, and pediatricians.) If the Specialist recommends a surgery or fancy test, that will be scheduled at the Big Hospital (no BILL). In case anyone is wondering, you also have the option to 'go private' if you feel the wait time for an elective surgery (say a knee replacement or something) is too long. You might be required to wait the better part of a year, otherwise. Mind you, this is elective stuff, not emergency stuff. If you want to jump the queue, you can pay and get it done faster. Being rich still has perks, it's just not required that you be rich to have the surgery. Dentristry, like here, is its own world. There are NHS dentists, but I 'went private' for mine. (Evidently, there are not enough of them, and the wait is long. However, you can at least see one on the NHS, if you need to.) My dentist had all the equipment you could hope to see, and he was death on latecomers. Again, don't bother to bring a book. Nine o'clock means nine o'clock, and GOD HELP YOU if you're late. They run these offices like well-oiled machines. They start on time. They keep their appointments. They finish on time. And somehow, being English, they never seem rushed. One further note I think is worth mentioning. The people I encountered in health care were a different breed. They went into health care because they actually 'care'. They like medicine. They are interested in your little problems. That's why they chose it as a field - not to make a million, but because they like taking care of folks. I saw an ER nurse there get tears in her eyes because her patient was in pain. Not dying in agony mind you, just in pain. Ever see that here? I don't think you can really put a price on that. Anyway, that's life under the NHS for one American. Rule Britannia, baby. 
|
