watervole | I love the NHS

Just to balance downright incorrect propaganda on other parts of the web...

I had both my children in NHS hospitals. I had easy births both times and friendly, helpful nurses.

I had an emergency appendix operation the same day that my doctor referred me to hospital after I had a pain in my side.

I had radiotherapy for my Dupuytren's Contracture (I had to argue for it, but it was a treatment unknown in the UK at that time and the system eventually took on board the German research and gave me what I requested)

I've had nothing but friendly, effective help for recent 'female' problems.

I get medication for my asthma at a price I could afford even when my husband was out of work.

I've just had an MRI to investigate the causes of my ongoing vertigo and I'm seeing the specialist again next week.

My husband's dislocated his patella three times (which is incredibly painful) and had plaster, physiotherapy, etc. on the NHS (not forgetting the ambulances).

We'd better not forget treatment for concussion, visits to casualty with severe asthma, health checkups, an upcoming eye operation and other things that I'm sure will happen to the family in years to come.

For part of our lives, we had medical insurance as a job perk. All of the things I've listed above were treated on the NHS.

Do I love the NHS?

You bet I do.

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You're right, the NHS is wonderful. My mother was taken into hospital over three weeks ago after an internal bleed and then had some additional problems due to the strains on her body: she's 87. She is now well on the road to recovery, despite the fact that she was very close to dying for a few days.

All the staff at Bournemouth hospital have been utterly wonderful, without exception, from the guys who mop the floor and empty the bins to the doctors and consultants. The nursing staff have had some difficult patents to deal with at times, but they've handled everyone fairly and without discrimination. I cannot praise them enough.

I broke my wrist a couple of months ago. I was seen almost immediately (within ten minutes) at A&E (although it wasn't too busy at 6am - later in the day I'd have expected to wait a bit longer), was X-rayed, given a temporary cast and booked into the fracture clinic for the next day. Over the next couple of months I had a stack of X-rays, an MRI scan, a cast, and fortnightly checkups with a consultant at the hospital fracture clinic. The staff were unfailingly polite and scrupulously efficient, even on the day I got the time of my appointment wrong and turned up in the morning rather than the afternoon - they managed to fit me in then rather than telling me to come back later.

In total this cost me less than ten quid (three return bus fares to the hospital at £2.90 each). I suspect this is two or three orders of magnitude less than it would be in the US.

~~Of course, if I lived in the UK I'd have been shot to save taxpayers' money.~~

I have to agree. I'd far rather have the NHS than not and I've had fairly good experiences for all manner of things. I have free prescriptions which I am very grateful for but also rather ashamed of/embarrassed by in an upside-down sort of way.

Oh I agree, compared to what is available else where for free we still have the best Health Service in the world. But having had nearly 40years as an adult using and visiting A & E and the wards of our local hospital there is a drop in quality of some aspects, primarily cleanliness. Since cleaning was out sourced the quality has dropped and for many people the wait at A&E can be fore ever, 6 hours was the record. I only waited 15 minutes when I last had need of them but because of my diabetes I think I was seen before a few people that were there when I arrived. But they might just have been waiting for people who were already being seen to. But when it comes to the staff I have nothing but praise for all those who I have met and had need of.

Everything negative about health care services that is being said now via the media is nothing but big pharma propaganda. We all know that. The vast majority of Americans want a health care system of any kind. Out of control capitalism has only itself to blame for eradicating the saner, lower-cost system we once had. It has a lot of guts trying to destroy the necessary corrective measure it alone made necessary.

Those "town halls" are now pseudo-ad hoc propaganda soap boxes. Their garbage could never cancel out what we all have already experienced -- at least one loved one who died because they didn't have insurance. Let them terrify people with all their ludicrous crap. It won't cancel out my 48 year old friend Harry who died because his very treatable heart condition went undiagnosed.

For a more balanced perspective of US opinion/reaction, I'd recommend watching clips from most of the shows carried over our MSNBC which is a sane, progressive network -- Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow in particular.

I know many (if not all) of my US friends feel the same way. I'm just giving you ammo if you need it.

I had a good American friend who got totally screwed by her insurance company and she didn't have the money to take them to court - and they knew it.

Excellent! Do you mind if I link to this post?

Be my guest. That's why I posted it so that people would have real data to quote.

I had a friend in the US who committed suicide a couple of years ago. The likely cause? The medical bills for her husband's treatment while he was dying. She was under staggering stress and knew she'd never be able to pay it off.

I agree! Having grown up in a country without an NHS, I hope I still appreciate it with the eyes of an immigrant - with gratitude and awe.

It is a source of National pride and yes, I for one would not want to live in America where only the rich get good healthcare and the working class can just FOaD.

Ah, this is what you're talking about:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8198084.stm

Bravo, both my parents lives have been saved multiple times by the NHS.

When Max bit me I had a six hour wait but then I had a two day stay in hospital, an operation under general anesthetic, follow up visits and six weeks physiotherapy, all for the cost of the bus fare.

I'm a member of the poor but working class' and would no doubt not get health insurance in the US.
I am terrified by their system and stories of people worrying WHILE HAVING A HEART ATTACK over how they are going to pay for their care. It is a ridiculous, frightening and wrong state of affairs.

FF

Whilst the NHS may not be perfect (no system is) it's certainly not as bad as some make out.

Yes, there are problems, but many of those are caused by limited resources and there is always the option of "going private" if you can afford it.

But, unlike the situation in the US for most people you *NEVER* have to ask yourself the question "Can I afford to be ill?"

And as for ludicrous claims that it's "Orwellian" or "Communist" or (most laughable of all) "promotes terrorism", you have to wonder what planet these people are living on.

I love the NHS

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