RapierFugue
Posts: 4740
Joined: 3/16/2006 From: London, England Status: offline
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Phoenixpower *adores LadyConstanze* I so hear you...if I'd ever have life-threatening healthproblems i would fly home, get registered unemployed (as that gives me healthcare at home) and get treated there. I couldnt believe it when here people have legally fight for good cancer drugs dependent on your postcode and am glad that granny got treated at home in two bed rooms followed by single room when she reached her final days. Last year i visited a friend in rehab after a stroke and was shocked...compared to her place my dads rehab 22 years ago, after a slipped disc, was a 5 star hotel and unqualified care staff for the elderly doesnt exist at home as they have to do a similar qualification to what nurses have to do...2 years ago i was dismissed from my GP reg fibromyalgia, blaming it on weight. He couldnt have been more ignorant when i told him that my pain is also in my arms sometimes and gave me diclofenac to shut up. Thankfully i moved and in surrey i bumped into a GP who got it, presumably as he is still teaching future GP's and not just clocking his time...i was lucky as it was frightening as lifelong long-sleeper to end up every night in incredible pain and the whole body turning stiff, affecting your ability to even breath, not knowing what is going on with you. Since he got it i get the right meds and life is good again...but I would not risk my life here either. In 2006 i tolerated to wait 4 months for my referal, that was the first and the last time, considering in Germany i can even refer myself to the chosen specialist i want an opinion from and if they dont have an appointment as soon as i want i just call another one and dont have to wait and see, who i have to put up with. I haven't got the time or the inclination to deal with the errors and assumptions in your post. I don't blame you, it's a common thing when people talk about the NHS. I will, however, say this; People get what they are prepared to pay for; note that in the UK there is no need to "register unemployed" to gain access to the NHS; it's free at point of contact to all, even if you're an overseas national or EU member. The scale of what the NHS takes on, in terms of numbers treated (population in total and number of patients) and conditions accepted for treatment (i.e. which conditions it is prepared to treat, which is a much greater list than almost every other public Health Service in the world), verses what is paid for it, in terms of percentage of GDP, make it one of the largest, as well as most cost-effective, systems on earth; note that many other countries split their healthcare at a threshold earnings, or median age, or condition type or class; the UK does not. Now I may not agree with that as a social and economic stance (and I don't, at least not all of it), but the myth that the NHS doesn't do a good job for the money, or that it should easily be able to offer greater standards of care without massive influxes of new money, simply isn't true. If people want German system, or a French system, or even a Swedish system, then they're more than welcome to implement it. Problem is, you'll need to chisel a lot more money out of people to do so, and you'll need to restrict both the numbers of people treated (or cap the "free" treatment at a threshold) and the conditions accepted for treatment. And no I'm not going to get into a debate about it either. I'm done trying to talk sense into people re: The NHS - let the next generation have a go now
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