What do you think of the NHS?

[zebrastripes]

My mother and I were having this discussion today. She's an NHS nurse. We're both of the opinion that although the NHS definitly has numerous faults, better a faulty NHS than none at all. Wasn't its fault that it suffered huge cutbacks due to a Thatcherite agenda and plus I'd hate to pay 3k for the privelege of giving birth to my baby. There's a girl i know in America who has really crap health insurance, she thought her son had meningitis,but as she couldn't afford the hospital fee she waited and asked her neighbours what they thought.Luckily it was a false alarm but if it hadn't been that baby would be dead. Basically,the way i see it, I moan about the NHS with the rest of them,but I'd really miss it if it wasn't there.What does everyone else think?

 

[laetitia85]

My mum also is a nurse for the NHS.
My opinion is that the medicine is excellent, it just isn't delivered properly:

- The waiting lists are too long (but that's nobody's fault, there are just too many people in need of care and treatment) but that gives you the time to die.

- Doctors often find 'cheaper' ways to deal with patients as they wanna save the NHS money. and that's not right. i don't like to be told "take some paracetamol" everytime i go to the doctors. I'd like to be offered some real treatment or an investigation/referral to a specialist if i need one. a simple stomach ache can result in cancer, you never know.

- Hospitals standards are not good enough.

So overall, like i said, the NHS has efficient medicine and practice. it just needs to be delivered well and reach people on time.

i know i keep saying this but WHERE I COME FROM (lol) belgium, if you have a gyneacological problem, you get to see a gyneacologist, not just your GP or nurse.

I'd love to see a gyneacologist for my unclosed episiotomy but my GP keeps refusing to refer me, saying that i just have to wait, it will heal eventually

 

[zebrastripes]

My mum also is a nurse for the NHS.
My opinion is that the medicine is excellent, it just isn't delivered properly:

- The waiting lists are too long (but that's nobody's fault, there are just too many people in need of care and treatment) but that gives you the time to die.

- Doctors often find 'cheaper' ways to deal with patients as they wanna save the NHS money. and that's not right. i don't like to be told "take some paracetamol" everytime i go to the doctors. I'd like to be offered some real treatment or an investigation/referral to a specialist if i need one. a simple stomach ache can result in cancer, you never know.

- Hospitals standards are not good enough.

So overall, like i said, the NHS has efficient medicine and practice. it just needs to be delivered well and reach people on time.

i know i keep saying this but WHERE I COME FROM (lol) belgium, if you have a gyneacological problem, you get to see a gyneacologist, not just your GP or nurse.

That's exactly what i think.It's not really their fault either, because so many hospitals were closed or amalgamated,now they have a bigger area to cover,so of course the work may not be up to standard, if they have to get everyone done.

It really annoys me when people really start having a go at the NHS because at the end of the day most of them are just trying to do their job the best they can under extremely difficult services

 

[Sherlock]

That's just it, if we had a system like they have in the US, most of us would not be able to afford decent health care cover. Or we would be afraid of going to hospital because we could not afford treatment. So many of my American friends live in fear of losing their jobs as they get help toward their medical insurance via it. And even with insurance, often you don't get drugs and so on covered. Small print is evil

I know the NHS has its faults. I know its bogged down in red tape (some of it its own doing) but it provides a decent free health care service to all. OK, some things you have to pay for privately, but lets be honest, we are lucky to have as much as we do fall within it.

I might not be happy with an individuals bedside manner when having NHS treatment, but I am capable enough to ask them to be a little less abrasive or to speak up for myself. I won't bitch about how useless the system is overall or in specific areas. Most of the people within the system don't deserve that.

I lived elsewhere in Europe for a number of years and saw first hand their health care systems. In the Netherlands you pay a medical insurance each month, taken direct out of your salary, either to a private firm or the national set up. It's more than we pay over here in contributions. But its a good health care system and it works as people have to pay in to it. I never had a complaint when I was living there I have to say.

My experiences within NHS care since being back in the UK have been good. I've also opted to go private to save on wait times on occasion but it wasn't the be all and end all. I'd go private again if I felt it was needed and the NHS wait time was too long.

 

[Quill]

In the UK, I can walk to my local clinic. A larger hospital is within easy bus ride distance. I have gotten next-day appointments, and the wait time at the clinic isn't that bad. Never had a problem with rudeness.

In the US (where I was born and spent 25 years of my life), I had to drive 40 minutes to the nearest hospital, and there were no local clinics. I wasn't in the boonies, either. I had to wait weeks for appointments. The doctors were nice but always rushed off their feet, it was always a 15-minute cattle call type of appointment where they tried to get done with you ASAP. This kind of attitude ended up killing my mom, who died because they overlooked the symptoms of what she had.

On top of the insurance I already paid I also had to pay co-pay everytime I went, which was anywhere from $20-$40. Prescription birth control pills were $75 for a 3 month supply. I paid approx $200 a month on health insurance. If I had required an ambulance I'd have to pay for that too, anywhere from $250-$1000 or more, depending on how much insurance covered.

In fact if I moved back right now I'd have a really hard time (if not impossible) getting health insurance due to being pregnant, as it's listed as a "pre-existing condition" for a lot of insurers. Over the years I have learned to take care of myself but I do rest easier knowing that if some accident happens and I need an ambulance, it now won't clean me out financially.

Sorry if this seemed a bit of a rant, I guess it is really, but I was sick to the teeth of paying that much money for shoddy health care as a healthy mid 20's woman. I do think the NHS gets a bad rap sometimes, BUT I don't mind seeing some complaints because I think that some criticism here and there is warranted... it keeps the administrators, politicians and the public on their toes instead of getting complacent.

 

[kalia]

I've been having a great NHS week.

I had an emergency dental appointment on Friday - although I can't get an NHS appointment I have discovered that you can still get emergency appointments I thought I would have to go to my private dentist and that would have cost at least £100.

I had the physio on Friday and she has given me exercises to do to help with pelvic girdle pain, or at least to let me exercise my muscles without aggravating the joints and I go to another physio on Monday to get a support belt so hopefully I'll be able to go back to work.

I have my 30 week scan tomorrow too as they found problems with baby's kidneys at the last scan. We would have been tempted to pay for a private scan around now if we weren't having this one so that would have cost us at least £75.

All in all, it's a brilliant service! I'm certainly getting my money's worth from my national insurance now

I'd hate having to decide whether I could afford to have treatment done - I know I'd put things off.

Also, my brother's a doctor and his girlfriend is an occupational therapist so I can't say anything bad about the staff I wouldn't anyway as the service has always been great in my experience. I'm not sure if service is the right word but I couldn't figure out what would be.

 

[nathanmum]

i work for the nhs and i dont really think its working. since i qualified its got worse and worse and i really dont see how it can be made to work.
i think a private system is worth a try.
there are some very expensive treatments + drugs out there and i think that a private system would make them more accessible to people and help to reduce some of the unfairness in the nhs.

 

[grace]

the NHS keeping my baby alive would have cost me at least £500,000 - and thats just for her 6 month hospital ordeal. just the surfactant to lubricate extreme preemie's newborn lungs costs £400 per dose and they require 4 doses . ive read horror stories about american parents who have had an insurance problem and have had to pay thousands and thousands of dollars for their child's healthcare.

also, over there they have to pay for aftercare but we dont. it would cost a fortune - she gets all her feeds delivered monthly, all the enteral feeding equipment, all the oxygen stuff (they even give me the money back for electricity the unit uses) then theres a physio, speech and language team, occupational therapist, paediatrician, dietician, 2 community nurses, her RSV jabs monthly (they cost a lot apparently) all her follow up appointments with the surgeons.......my goodness. it must cost LOADS! those people are on good money!

i have since stopped complaining about paying my taxes and take my hat off to all who work for the NHS. what would we do without it???

 

[elaine22]

I haven't really had much involvement with the NHS apart from the odd doctors visits over the years and being pregnant, and I found all my midwives, gp's, etc fine. The only thing that has annoyed me really is the attitude of some doctor's receptionists lol
It does get quite bad press sometimes for things like cleanliness, staff shortages, etc but I'm guessing that really has to do with government funding or lack of it, rather than the general staff?
OH's brother is a hospital doctor and I've seen how hard he works - it makes you appreciate how hard it must be, especially if there are staff shortages etc

 

[Geordie&Bairn]

LACK OF NHS DENTISTS IN MY AREA MEANS ME PAYING PRIVATE
( WHILE PREGGERS AS WELL )
MAKES ME


I am so ANGRY that i have to fork out for private care when i should by rights be getting it all free
the NHS dentists should NOT be allowed to switch to private or part private which is what they all hae done
No spaces any where so i have to pay

 

[rhian85]

i have mixed opinions here:
FOR:
*i think the NHS is great in terms of medicine and the service in general
* we have a new free NHS dentist and its an impressive surgey and VERY clean and great dentists.
*i take my hat off to SCBU staff where we are they did a great job and were so so friendly and so so clean

AGAINST:
* i think lack of budget affects the quality of the service -
1) waiting lists are far to long in wales an orphopeadic apptnmt can take almost 3 years !

2) hospitals need to be cleaner - when i was on labour ward OH noticed BLOOD splashed all up the wall and it was old blood

3) after christopher was born he was CHECKED BY 2 PEADIATRITIANS and we were told he was fit and healthy enough to go home..he was rushed back to SCBU after 3 hours at home as he was SEVERLY dehydrated and jaundiced how the fook did thehy miss that ?

4) the childrens unit here just havent got any intrest in the children - its "just a job" to them not one nurse had any dedication to the children u could feel the cold approach from them when handling LO

so there we are

 

[rhian85]

i have mixed opinions here:
FOR:
*i think the NHS is great in terms of medicine and the service in general
* we have a new free NHS dentist and its an impressive surgey and VERY clean and great dentists.
*i take my hat off to SCBU staff where we are they did a great job and were so so friendly and so so clean

AGAINST:
* i think lack of budget affects the quality of the service -
1) waiting lists are far to long in wales an orphopeadic apptnmt can take almost 3 years !

2) hospitals need to be cleaner - when i was on labour ward OH noticed BLOOD splashed all up the wall and it was old blood

3) after christopher was born he was CHECKED BY 2 PEADIATRITIANS and we were told he was fit and healthy enough to go home..he was rushed back to SCBU after 3 hours at home as he was SEVERLY dehydrated and jaundiced how the fook did thehy miss that ?

4) the childrens unit here just havent got any intrest in the children - its "just a job" to them not one nurse had any dedication to the children u could feel the cold approach from them when handling LO

so there we are

 

[rhian85]

dont know wh ylast post came up twice...

just been browsing bbc news and here is another reason i dont highly rate the NHS - far to many human errors :

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7249286.stm

the poor woman

 

[SarahH]

I have never had any complaints with regards to the NHS, yes the waiting time can be a pain in the arse, but in my eyes because my mum had the best doctors working with her I had her here with me longer than I possibly should have as they did everything in their power to make her comfortable and have as little pain as possible.

With regards to the USA system, I do actually like it. I have to disagree with Quill, where we stay they are litrally hundreds of Hospitals and Doctors surgeries within a 15min drive at the most (I have to drive longer to get to my local surgery here!) The insurance which we have through my husbands work is excellent, dont have to pay a penny, not even for your presciptions (inc birth control as I ran out while there on my 3mth stay )
When we were there Arianna took ill, and apart from the wait at the hospital and them putting a drip in ( ) they were excellent, yes I admit I fell out with them over the drip, but I would have done that here too..... over emotional Mummy.

Also, in all the hospitals over there, they HAVE TO give you treatment even if you have no insurance. They all have signs up in the waiting area stating that it is a crime not t provide the best possible health service even if you have no insurance or can't afford to pay, waiting times will be longer tho.

 

[Quill]

Yeah, I just want to qualify that my experience with the U.S. health system is only one part of it, SarahH is right, it's different depending on your situation and insurance... some insurance companies will pay for everything, lots of people get it through their jobs.

They do have to give you treatment if you don't have insurance, but they'll land you with the bill afterward. Friend of the family had no insurance and went in for an emergency appendectomy. He would have died, so they had to treat him. Afterward there was a $30,000 bill.

 

[Krystal]

My mam died because of numerous mistakes made by NHS doctors. I don't care what sort of shortages you have, what rep tape is in place it should not stop you being able to diagnose people properly.

The care she recieved was appalling, 3 weeks before she died she was sent to LONDON (we live in the north east) for a PET scan.. she had to pay for a train down to London at the last minute because they refused to take her down by ambulance or even a car, even though she could barely walk because of cancer. We had to borrow a wheelchair from a elderly neighbour We only got the PET scan because my uncle is married to an American whose uncle is top cancer surgeon, he managed to have a look at her slides and tell her that the cancer they were treating her for was not primary and they needed to investigate further cos they were making big mistake, when we spoke to the doctors about this they had a go at my mam for getting someone else to look at it for her They treat her terribly in the hospital, I had a go at one of the nurses for shouting at my mam in front of us because my mam didn't get up quickly enough evern though every bone in her body was riddled with cancer. My mam had private healthcare but she was too scared to use it even though I begged her because the doctors told her that if she went private they would not share results of their tests and she would have to go through it all again. she was terrified and just wanted help. And that is just a tiny bit of the mess they made of it, believe me there was a whole lot more.

I know there are some good stories and my son being born was one of them but no body can tell me that the above story about my mam is justifed because of red tape or whatever else!! It was a blatant disregard for someones life/final moments. They had no kindness/respect. I am not talking about 1 doc/nurse but a whole lot of them and not all in the same hospital.

So as far as I am concerned i'd welcome private healthcare, i have it myself so wouldn't make a big difference to me.

sorry that was so long

 

[Squiglet]

I would have to say that on the whole the Spanish NHS is better than the UK...but it is by no means perfect... and while they are light years ahead in some ways... they are centuries behind in others ... I would have given anything to have had the birthing options in the UK open to me here...but sadly I didn't

there is very little care in the community... so if you are dying of cancer they will often send you home and expect your family to care for you...if you don't have any family...tough!

 

[beanie]

I would have to say that on the whole the Spanish NHS is better than the UK...but it is by no means perfect... and while they are light years ahead in some ways... they are centuries behind in others ... I would have given anything to have had the birthing options in the UK open to me here...but sadly I didn't

there is very little care in the community... so if you are dying of cancer they will often send you home and expect your family to care for you...if you don't have any family...tough!

situation in the UKisn'tmuch better sadly. Wehn my dad was terminally ill we were told we would have to care for him at home, which included the expectation we would give him bed baths (we were aged 19 and 16 at the time, nothing like giving a man his dignity). Eve whe he fell down the stairs we weren't offered any extra help. If it wasn't for the fantastic care offered by organisations such as hospices and mcmillan nurses a lotmore people would be alot worse off (and these are mainly funded through charity)

Saying that I am grateful for the NHS and think we are a lotluckier then other places though if I could afford it I would get private health care.

 

[poppy160]

We were talking about this the other day aswell. I said I'm going to start appreciating the NHS more because I've had so much hospital care which I'm sure would have cost more than what I've paid in my Tax/NI. Just in this pregnancy I've had countless scans and consultant appointments, been in and out with leakages and everytime I've been in I have been treated very well. I've only ever seen the good side of the NHS thankfully, but it's heartbreaking when you hear stories of people not being treated with the respect and dignity they deserve. I worked as an Auxilliary Nurse for a short while with elderly people some had things like Dementia and Alzhiemers, others had come in with broken bones after traumatic accidents and we made sure that everyone was comfortable and clean. No matter how tired I felt or how busy we were I couldn't imagine not giving 100% to the job

 

[kirlykird]

I don''t have a problem with the NHS.

I'm quite happy with the service that it provides and I would rather have a longer waiting list than have to pay to see my GP or pay for my health care.

I look back over my life and how the system with it's faults or without has helped my family and myself & the reconstruction of my older 2's hands could never have been done had I had to pay privately.

Yes the NHS is under strain but we are a growing nation. I wouldn't wish for private health care to replacce the NHS as so many people would go without and I believe that this would end with a higher mortality rate than we have now. Personally my opinion is if you don't like it go for the other option & pay, don't use the free option & then moan about it

I believe that healthcare is provided to the best means that the individuals within the NHS working system ca provide & I am grateful for it