Healthcare in the UK vs United States?

BitterAndTwisted

No matter how bad the service from the NHS can be, it's a million times better than anything available in the USA to ordinary, working people.

That there is a massive section of the population who are too poor to buy adequate health insurance and too rich to receive free care in the richest country on God's Earth is shameful in my opinion. Incomprehensible, too.

I'd rather wait in a queue here, for scarce resources in a filthy waiting-room than face the possibility of not getting any treatment in the USA

gingin_2

Out of interest, what happens with standard childhood vaccinations in the US? If you don't have medical insurance, does your child go without, and if you do have medical insurance, do you still have to pay a proportion towards it?

I think the quality and standard of hospital care in the UK is pretty much a lottery, but good on the whole. I do think that GP services are pretty top notch. To be able to get appointments in 24 hours, to get free, regular checkups and reassurance when needed is great. To have free cervical screening, vaccinations for children, mammograms etc. etc. is fantastic.

melancholly

i also wonder what mental health care there can be in a system like the US - now i think it's the aspect of the NHS care that is worst, but it's still functioning (it's far from perfect though and not as good for PR as baby units and cancer wards - which are both hugely important - i just mean that it isn't something most of the voting public thinks about much!). if you have a condition that means you can't work and are socially stigmatised anyway, how on earth do you pay for treatment?

BitterAndTwisted

The very poorest in the US are forced to rely on hospitals funded by charity donations. Those who cannot afford to see a GP end up in A&E

tanith

I'll be interested to hear what our OP thinks about how we UK citizens feel about our NHS...

not_tonight_josephine_2

I wouldn't swap the NHS for the US system under any circumstances. The NHS certainly isn't perfect (but then no organisation that large will ever get it all right), and there seem to be a few issues that keep coming up regarding care of the elderly, but overall I think the NHS is wonderful.

My OH wouldn't be here today without the NHS, and will require very expensive treatment for the rest of his life. The NHS staff who saved his life were without exception professional, kind and caring.

We cannot get private health insurance now due to his condition, I honestly don't know what we'd do if we lived elsewhere?!

kindofagilr

The NHS is by no means perfect but I am more than happy with it, I definatly think its a better solution than the healthcare in the USA

415SanFran

When I was in the USA.
Although I had insurance I still had to pay for each and every visit, ($15 not a huge amount but even so) Kaiser Permanante then wanted me to make a further appointment to tell me that I was better. (Yeah right)
I do not think I saw the same Doctor twice.
They have every piece of expensive machinery that you can think of, but the down side is they have few people that have the knowledge as to how to operate said machinery.
I had no chance of EVER getting out the door without a expensive prescription to find after buying I could not take because it did not mix with other drugs that I was taking, the Dr did not think to cross check anything. I often wondered if this was a ploy for everyone to make a further appointment with yet another prescription.
I was not allowed to step into the building when I had shingles!!! A Dr over the telephone gave me the diagnosis!
All in all it was terrible, give me the NHS any day.
One plus side. I booked an appointment to get sterilized and saw the Dr on the Monday and had the surgery on the Friday.

Morglin

I have had absolute uproar with the NHS over the years, dating back to the 70's - what with mis-diagnosis, poor care, stroppy doctors, waiting lists etc., it has, at times, been a nightmare.

BUT, over the last 10 years, other than cleanliness and the poor standard of SOME nurses, I think it's improved no end. I think both of these need to be addressed urgently - it's not money that's needed, it's a change of attitude by some nurses/cleaners.

Consultants are more user friendly (they seem to have dropped the 'I am God' complex) , GP surgeries are much easier to deal with (and any lairy receptionists are muich easier to bring to book via the complaints system), and outpatients seem to run closer to times than ever before.:T

All I can say is that last December I was coughing up blood, and my GP thought it could have been something nasty (Cancer, I expect).

Within 8 days, I had seen my GP, had blood tests, had X Rays, had a full body scan, and seen a consultant for the all clear. I got the all clear so soon because he phoned me at home, during an evening - that would be hard to achieve within the private secctor, and was astoniishing via the NHS.:T

In 1985, when I had various problems, they told me I had an undiagnosed lump on an ovary, needed a full hysterectomy, but I'd have to wait 9 months, which ended up in me going for private care, at vast expense, the following week to have the op.:eek:

Whatever the failings of Labour, they have done some good stuff with the NHS.:beer:

Lin

helphelphelphelp

Personally I cannot fault the nhs. My son was seriously ill and a diagnosis took 7 months. Throughout his time in hospital we think around £400k was spent on him. And even when were given the bleak prognosis, at no time did money come into the equation when withdrawing treatment. Imagine a loved one being ill and having to worry about having no home and a lifelong debt to buy more time with them. Thank god that was not something we had to worry about. The nhs has ts faults like any major organisation but on the whole I think t works.