Axe falls on NHS services

carolt

Hannah_10 wrote: »

Recently I was talking to an American friend. I was saying about an older man who had become suddenly ill, this is the overview:
The ambulance had been called to him by a neighbour in the evening but he had refused to be seen, after a jolly good try the ambulance service were forced to give up and go without examining him. The next morning he was worse still and phoned a relative very frightened. The relative then called the ambulance service. A paramedic car was sent. The paramedic found him to be far worse than expected and called a full ambulance. He was treated to stabilise him enough to move and taken to hospital for 5 days. He is fine now (in case anyone wondered).
At the time of telling the friend the story I was very upset with the man's behaviour and was thinking of giving him a stern telling him off. My American friend was quite concerned that I not do that "he has enough to worry about" she said, which perplexed me as I thought I had clearly explained it was a lack of worry on his part that was the problem, not an overflow of it.

She had forgotten about the NHS and on having already heard that he was not a wealthy man (previously always worked a physical job in the building trade) had made the natural assumption that he was not insured. Then using the best of her knowledge she had totted up the likely bill for 3 ambulance call outs and a 5 day hospital stay as in excess of $100,000 USD (roughly £66,000 GBP).

She is a kind of junior accountant in America, her husband is a pastor. They have 2 children and live a simple life- even so with two reasonable incomes they still can not afford healthcare insurance, it costs more than thier mortgage. A great number of other Americans are in the same position, terrified of every cough or sneeze in case this is the bill that costs them thier house.

I know it's not strictly on-topic but I thought it was perhaps worth highlighting what it looks like when you capitalise a basic human need.

Great post.

A good example of why our system is preferable, for all its imperfections.

MissMoneypenny

Generali wrote: »

Having been to hospitals in Germany (as a visitor), France (patient and visitor) and Australia (patient and visitor) it seems it needn't be that way, yet (British) politicians will have you believe the NHS is the envy of the world!

My aussie sister tells me that you can't all an ambululance in Australia because it will cost you a fortune. Also that each time you visit a GP, you have to pay and that includes paying for children too.

Plus no free dental care or glasses for children in Australia also. My sister got a huge shock with the bill, when one of her children needed braces for her teeth and the other needed glasses.

An Aussie friend in Sydney also tells me that when you get older (40+) you have to take out expensive insurance for things like hip replacements and knee operations. Before that age,they take a chance they don't need that insurance. If they do need an operation, they have to pay for it.

Jonbvn

The British Medical Association has weighed in on the new Prime Minister David Cameron's health care proposals.

The Allergists voted to scratch it, but the Dermatologists advised not to make any rash moves.

The Gastroenterologists had a sort of a gut feeling about it, but the neurologists thought the Administration had a lot of nerve.

The Obstetricians felt they were all labouring under a misconception. Ophthalmologists considered the idea short-sighted.

Pathologists yelled; "Over my dead body!" while the Paediatricians said, "Oh, Grow up!"

The Psychiatrists thought the whole idea was madness, while the Radiologists could see right through it.

Surgeons decided to wash their hands of the whole thing. The ENT specialists wouldn’t hear of it.

The Plastic Surgeons said, "This puts a whole new face on the matter...."

The Podiatrists thought it was a step forward, but the Urologists were p*ssed off at the whole idea.

The Anaesthetists thought the whole idea was a gas, and the Cardiologists didn’t have the heart to say no.

In the end, the Proctologists won out, leaving the entire decision up to the a***holes in London.


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