Public healthcare

shout2thelord

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yeh the north west is the worst hit region for dentists and doctors some people have been pulling their own teeth out. My private dentist is good for obvious reasons. Not many patients, lots of money. This town experienced a jump in immigration after the EU opened up too, about 7000 people in the first month so it put further strain on the health service.

Yeh required and what actually happens 2 different things. An emergency dentist once told me a dentist would have to see me if i was in pain, i was like will you call and tell them that because ive been trying for like a year.

At one point i had an abcess on one tooth and a hole hitting the nerve on another, thats when i finally had enough money to go private. I was in so much pain, i had just been taking heaps of pain killers to deal with it.

I was in australia for the last 3 years had health insurance and it covered pretty much everything and the doctors where great.

Cant say about the US system because ive never experienced it.
 
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ScottishJohn

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yeh the north west is the worst hit region for dentists and doctors some people have been pulling their own teeth out. My private dentist is good for obvious reasons. Not many patients, lots of money. This town experienced a jump in immigration after the EU opened up too, about 7000 people in the first month so it put further strain on the health service.

Yeh required and what actually happens 2 different things. An emergency dentist once told me a dentist would have to see me if i was in pain, i was like will you call and tell them that because ive been trying for like a year.

At one point i had an abcess on one tooth and a hole hitting the nerve on another, thats when i finally had enough money to go private. I was in so much pain, i had just been taking heaps of pain killers to deal with it.

I was in australia for the last 3 years had health insurance and it covered pretty much everything and the doctors where great.

Cant say about the US system because ive never experienced it.

The fact is Australia spends more than we do. It in terms of private spending they spend twice as much as we do, and in terms of what the public purse puts towards healthcare it costs each australian almost US$200 more per year.

That is like an extra £29 billion spent on our health service every year. Which would make some changes. You pay for it either way.



And let me be clear, whatever the frustrations with the methods surrounding provision here, our doctors are great too.

In recent years my mum has survived breast cancer, and my wife had a complicated birth, and is now pregnant again. I couldn't fault the NHS at any step.
 
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Lotuspetal_uk

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yeh the north west is the worst hit region for dentists and doctors some people have been pulling their own teeth out. My private dentist is good for obvious reasons. Not many patients, lots of money. This town experienced a jump in immigration after the EU opened up too, about 7000 people in the first month so it put further strain on the health service.

Yeh required and what actually happens 2 different things. An emergency dentist once told me a dentist would have to see me if i was in pain, i was like will you call and tell them that because ive been trying for like a year.

At one point i had an abcess on one tooth and a hole hitting the nerve on another, thats when i finally had enough money to go private. I was in so much pain, i had just been taking heaps of pain killers to deal with it.

I was in australia for the last 3 years had health insurance and it covered pretty much everything and the doctors where great.

Cant say about the US system because ive never experienced it.
It's interesting what you said about when you were in Australia. If you don't mind me asking, how much did you pay for Australia's health insurance per month and what did it cover you for?

Did you also have to pay into a government health care system too?

From your experience which system did you prefer (UK's or Australia's)

Cheers :thumbsup:
 
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shout2thelord

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It's interesting what you said about when you were in Australia. If you don't mind me asking, how much did you pay for Australia's health insurance per month and what did it cover you for?

Did you also have to pay into a government health care system too?

From your experience which system did you prefer (UK's or Australia's)

Cheers :thumbsup:

I had student cover and it wasnt expensive and it covered pretty much everything. you sometimes had to pay first and then claim your money back. if you went to the docs you would pay the equivelant of £20 and then you could claim it back. But its not an unreasonable amount to pay.

If you needed to go to hospital in an emergency though they would just charge your insurance but you would have to pay additional to go to a private hospital. There are a mix of good and not so good public hospitals.
 
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Lotuspetal_uk

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I had student cover and it wasnt expensive and it covered pretty much everything. you sometimes had to pay first and then claim your money back. if you went to the docs you would pay the equivelant of £20 and then you could claim it back. But its not an unreasonable amount to pay.

If you needed to go to hospital in an emergency though they would just charge your insurance but you would have to pay additional to go to a private hospital. There are a mix of good and not so good public hospitals.
Thanks sis. Private here for a GP is quoted at 60 pounds. :doh:
 
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shout2thelord

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The fact is Australia spends more than we do. It in terms of private spending they spend twice as much as we do, and in terms of what the public purse puts towards healthcare it costs each australian almost US$200 more per year.

That is like an extra £29 billion spent on our health service every year. Which would make some changes. You pay for it either way.



And let me be clear, whatever the frustrations with the methods surrounding provision here, our doctors are great too.

In recent years my mum has survived breast cancer, and my wife had a complicated birth, and is now pregnant again. I couldn't fault the NHS at any step.

Im sure the NHS does do the best with what its got, but obviously they are under increased pressure with the level of immigration to certain areas to. In australia they keep a good control on immigration, it was frustrating in one way because it meant i couldnt stay and i loved it there. But it also helps the nation over all.

The NHS were also great with my parents, both my mum and Dad died in NHS hospitals and they did a lot to help and support us. But i also cant deny i had no access to a dental care for 3 years, my friend had more access in zimbabwe. so whatever we do we need to find a longterm solution, yes more funding will help but not if the rate of immigration continues to increase.
 
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Robbie_James_Francis

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I think one of the biggest problems with the NHS is the 'postcode lottery'...it makes such a huge difference where you live as to what quality of healthcare you receive. Where I grew up the District Hospital is awful.

I agree with ScottishJohn than we need to spend a lot more money on the NHS--doctors are so reluctant to spend money on things like MRI scans. Sadly, several members of my family would probably still be alive today if it weren't for the fact that doctors are often too happy to dismiss serious conditions so the Trust doesn't have to fork out on a referral or a test.
 
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ScottishJohn

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Im sure the NHS does do the best with what its got, but obviously they are under increased pressure with the level of immigration to certain areas to. In australia they keep a good control on immigration, it was frustrating in one way because it meant i couldnt stay and i loved it there. But it also helps the nation over all.

I don't know that immigration would be top of my list of problems for the NHS, for one thing, it is immigration which is topping up the supply of highly specialised doctors nurses and dentists willing to work for the NHS.

shout2thelord said:
But i also cant deny i had no access to a dental care for 3 years, my friend had more access in zimbabwe.

I think you'd be lucky to find a dentist in Zimbabwe these days.

Anyone with a dental emergency, whether they are registered with a dentist or not can contact NHS Direct (a service I have used many times and anm constantly amazed by) and will be referred to an emergency dentist.
 
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Robbie_James_Francis

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Anyone with a dental emergency, whether they are registered with a dentist or not can contact NHS Direct (a service I have used many times and anm constantly amazed by) and will be referred to an emergency dentist.

NHS Direct is fantastic...I really can't fault the service they provide. The website is particularly handy for second-guessing your GP. ;)
 
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shout2thelord

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I don't know that immigration would be top of my list of problems for the NHS, for one thing, it is immigration which is topping up the supply of highly specialised doctors nurses and dentists willing to work for the NHS.



I think you'd be lucky to find a dentist in Zimbabwe these days.

Anyone with a dental emergency, whether they are registered with a dentist or not can contact NHS Direct (a service I have used many times and anm constantly amazed by) and will be referred to an emergency dentist.

went to the emergency dentist and they said they can only give pain releif and that i would have to find a dentist. because i was in pain a dentist had to see me but of course they wouldnt.

I havent heard of NHS direct before but then ive been in australia the last 3 years so could have missed something.
But i heard news when i was in australia that people here were pulling there own teeth out cos they couldnt see a dentist.
 
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a.d.ivNonasNovembres

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I am glad we have the NHS but angry at the way New Labour (and Thatcher) have in the process of trying to improve efficiency with internal markets and market based motivators for staff have actually damaged efficiency and the fundamental ethos of service in the NHS.
 
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ScottishJohn

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went to the emergency dentist and they said they can only give pain releif and that i would have to find a dentist. because i was in pain a dentist had to see me but of course they wouldnt.

Part of this is down to greedy dentists. All of the could see you, an could take you on as an NHS patient. But they might end up making less than £100,000 that way. Heaven forbid!

I havent heard of NHS direct before but then ive been in australia the last 3 years so could have missed something.

It is a phone number you can ring 24/7 and get medical advice, and if there is something seriously wrong with you they'll make you an appointment straight away. They send us to an out of hours GP service about 10 minutes up the road. The first time we used it within 30 minutes we were home with antibiotics having been seen by a doctor. The second time my wife was sent to hospital and again, was admitted and was being treated within 30 minutes of phoning. It was rolled out between 1998 and 2000. 2004 for Scotland where we call it NHS 24.

But i heard news when i was in australia that people here were pulling there own teeth out cos they couldnt see a dentist.

Some people will do anything get their name in the Sun or the Daily Mail.
 
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ScottishJohn

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Just on anecdotal evidence, we had two visits to the GP last week.

The first was on Monday, my wee boy wasn't well, my wife phoned in the morning and got an appointment for 4.30pm. The second was on friday, I had been off work for a couple of days, I phoned in the morning and got an appointment for 9.50am.

So we have no problem accessing our GP in a timely fashion.
 
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Judy02

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Just on anecdotal evidence, we had two visits to the GP last week.

The first was on Monday, my wee boy wasn't well, my wife phoned in the morning and got an appointment for 4.30pm. The second was on friday, I had been off work for a couple of days, I phoned in the morning and got an appointment for 9.50am.

So we have no problem accessing our GP in a timely fashion.

Yeah a month or so back, I was able to get a same day appt at my GP surgery as well. I think you usually need to try and ring pretty early, like 9am, but it seems pretty good.

I know the NHS is far from perfect in the way its managed at times, but I just have such a strong feeling privatised healthcare would be so much worse, and a very elitist system, where richer people's lives are more important. It just sickens me, and to only be concerned with keeping people alive if they only have money just seems morally wrong. I can't understand how anyone working in the medical profession, dedicating their lives to making ill people better, can ever feel ok about that?

Thanks very much for everyones contribution to the thread though and keep them coming. It's really interesting to hear peoples thoughts on the issue who are from the UK. I know this gets debated a lot every so often in the WD forum on here, but I was interested in hearing what people who live in Britain think about this idea.
 
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procrastin8nturtle

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I wish we had the same system here in the US. I am a lucky one who has insurance. I have family whom does not have insurance. There have been many times my father and mother needed medical assistance and not able to get it.

Sometimes I get angry at doctors, until I realize some are hudreds of thousands in debt with student loans. Maybe they went in with the intentions of helping, but realized that it just can't happen. It seems to be a vicious circle. Maybe we should be angry at the colleges that charge 75,000 to 100,000 and more per year for these doctors to attend school. This maybe different there in the UK.
 
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ScottishJohn

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I wish we had the same system here in the US. I am a lucky one who has insurance. I have family whom does not have insurance. There have been many times my father and mother needed medical assistance and not able to get it.

Sometimes I get angry at doctors, until I realize some are hudreds of thousands in debt with student loans. Maybe they went in with the intentions of helping, but realized that it just can't happen. It seems to be a vicious circle. Maybe we should be angry at the colleges that charge 75,000 to 100,000 and more per year for these doctors to attend school. This maybe different there in the UK.

Fees in the UK are certainly a lot lower. Until recently the Government paid all your fees for your undergrad degree, including medicine. Now it is more of a lottery, things are organised differently depending on where you live.
 
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Judy02

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I think fees for degrees here vary, depending on what university you go to (although I'm not certain. I missed it by just a few years, before top up fees were introduced). Before then, fees were a standard amount per year, wherever you went, and whatever you studied. However, even at the most prestigious universities now (Oxbridge), it's cheaper than I think any university in the US. University fees in the US are much much higher than they are over here. Kinda makes you curious where all those extra thousands of dollars/pounds actually goes to...I doubt university spending is that much greater than here, for what they charge for, if at all...
 
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procrastin8nturtle

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Kinda makes you curious where all those extra thousands of dollars/pounds actually goes to...

Yes! great question. Last week a college football coach was paid 6 million dollars to resign... to resign!! Just because they didn't approve of his win/losses. It would all be paid to him in 2 installments within the next year and a half. Very frustrating...
 
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