Who wants to pay much more for medical care, have fewer choices, wait longer for it, and get lower quality when it finally becomes your turn? No thanks!
I'll explain my
horrifying experience with my country's socialised healthcare system, shall I?
I've had gallstones for years but never went to get it sorted because while it was a nuisance, it wasn't too bad. Bearing in mind I could go and see a doctor on the day of calling, I chose not to. Fast forward to 4th February and I had a gallbladder attack that was agonising(a lot of women liken it to pain worse than giving birth) and lasted 4 hours; typically the pain is reduced or subsided by that point so I thought no more, went to the ER, was immediately admitted in the major incidents ward and given various medicines via IV drip.
On top of that I had an X-ray of my chest as part of their protocol as the pain was radiating through my upper back and shoulders. All clear.
The pain subsided and I was discharged with an appointment to return on the 6th for an ultrasound scan. I went on the 6th and had gallstones confirmed by the technician that performed it and was told to wait to see a specialist. About 20 minutes later a surgeon and a team of 4 others took me to a room and explained my situation, suggested I take some of the stronger painkillers(Tramadol) when necessary until my operation date that I'd receive in the mail at a later date.
Not sure exactly what day it was, but I went in for a pre-operation checkup. Basically height, weight, blood samples, urine sample, blood pressure, that sort of thing, and meet the surgeon that will be performing my operation. Turns out he's one of the highest regarded specialists in the country.
Day of the operation, 24th March. Arrive at 07:30, admitted, second on the list and head to theatre by 10:20. Operation goes to plan, I am woken up by an anaesthetist after I'd slept for a while(don't know how long exactly) and head back to the day ward. I am asked if I'd like morphine for the pain but apart from soreness I was honestly fine so turned them down.
My pulse was quite high because I'd had anxiety and stress due to other circumstances, so they thought I was putting on a brave face and was actually in pain. I was expected to be discharged by about 16:30 but they kept me in a bit longer because my pulse was resting between 100-110. They did an ECG which came back fine so they just put it down to anxiety and stress which I'd told them about and I was discharged at around 19:30. I decided to take them up on the offer of morphine(Oral morphine) as I was going to be walking out and hospitals are quite big so I thought what the heck, it's probably going to be a bit uncomfortable so I'll have some. It actually didn't do anything, though, because I've pretty much built up a tolerance to morphine given how long I'd had issues with my gallbladder and taking Co-codomol and Codeine for so long.
The most pain I was in, honestly, was the numb backside from laying down for so long.
So then it's off home I go. They gave me some painkillers as well and 4 weeks worth of spare dressings for the 4 incision areas as well as a lengthy breakdown of after-care with the nurse and a printout of the same conversation for reference as well as medication guidelines for recovery.
Like I said in my other post, I paid $9 for a prescription prior to my operation and that was it.
Sure I pay taxes, but it's worth every penny and more. I can call and see a doctor any day of the working week. If it's on the weekend then worst case I can call an on-duty GP or simply go to the hospital and be seen.
Is our system perfect? No. Do I prefer it to a lot of other systems around the world, the U.S. included? Without the smallest semblance of a doubt, yes.