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sibelian

(7,804 posts)
Mon Feb 2, 2015, 12:26 AM Feb 2015

An American uses the British NHS


I know youse guys know all this stuff already but here's yet another article on the subject to plague your conservative relatives with...

http://uk.businessinsider.com/an-american-uses-britain-nhs-2015-1

'THIS ROLLS ROYCE ISN'T MOVING FAST ENOUGH!'

The context here is that the NHS just released its most recent stats on accident and emergency room waiting times. The headline number is that 84% of patients are seen within four hours. In the UK, this is regarded as a huge failure — the standard the NHS is supposed to meet is 95% of patients in four hours. The UK media went into a fury about it, and some hospitals have begun postponing and rescheduling some non-emergency procedures in order to get those waiting times down.

In the US, having sat in many an ER waiting room for hours at a stretch, the idea of a hospital seeing nearly 9 out of 10 patients in four hours would be regarded as a miracle. Bear in mind that within that four-hour period the NHS doctors are triaging patients: If you get hit by a bus, you're going to see someone instantly. If you broke a finger because you fell over while drunk at the pub, you're probably going to wait at the back of the line. It's not like people are literally bleeding to death while they wait for attention (although the British media loves it when it finds individual cases where that has happened).

So my overall impression is that currently, the Brits' complaints that the NHS isn't hitting that 95% mark is akin to saying, "This Rolls Royce isn't moving fast enough!"




Read more: http://uk.businessinsider.com/an-american-uses-britain-nhs-2015-1#ixzz3QYgmiIA6
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daredtowork

(3,732 posts)
1. A lot of his plusses for America change if you're on Medi-Cal
Mon Feb 2, 2015, 12:36 AM
Feb 2015

Once you are on Medi-Cal, you take the appointment the doctor gives you, you wait a long time to see specialists, you travel long distances to see specialists (since they are reluctant to take Medi-Cal), and sometimes you can't get the specialist at all. For instance, I haven't been able to get an orthopedic specialist since I've been on the ACA. They simply won't take me. I suppose the ones that do take Medi-Cal patients are seeing ones that are more of a priority first.

daredtowork

(3,732 posts)
8. I think it might be a little more buffed up than that
Mon Feb 2, 2015, 02:22 AM
Feb 2015

I remember after the ACA was implemented, California made more progressive moves than the rest of the nation and tried to nudge our system closer to universal health care. Medi-Cal is managed by regular HMOs, and for the most part I think I receive "normal" healthcare. Some aspects are questionable, though, and I wish there were better ways to argue a point on absurdities.

BrotherIvan

(9,126 posts)
4. My experience with the NHS was spectacular
Mon Feb 2, 2015, 01:57 AM
Feb 2015

My friend while we were visiting mistakenly drank a glass of wine while taking medication and blacked out. They saw him within 20 minutes. I was frantic, saying he didn't have health coverage for international. The doctor lifted himself up and said proudly, "This is England." They never asked for ID, insurance cards or money. Totally different from the American system.

daredtowork

(3,732 posts)
9. I had the opposite experience at Oxford, lol
Mon Feb 2, 2015, 02:26 AM
Feb 2015

I know I had coverage of some sort over there, but I'm not sure what.

I managed to contract some stomach flu and/or pesticide-poisoned myself from not washing off some vegetables. I was sicker than I have ever been in my life and possibly threw up MORE than my body weight. My friends tried to take me to the University medical center and they practically blocked the door. They refused to see foreign students, no matter how sick they were. I suspect that went double for Americans. I was pretty lucky I didn't die, considering the amount of dehydration involved, lol.

5. "Old British people love to complain to NHS staff if they wait more than 10 minutes."
Mon Feb 2, 2015, 02:10 AM
Feb 2015

I remember the clinic at the local hospital in my hometown used to have a sign posted next to the receptionist's desk.

"If you have been waiting more than 10 minutes, please notify the nurse."

Of course, that was back in the 1980s. Things change.

One interesting thing this hospital started in the late 1990s was a 24/7 triage nurse desk and helpline. You could literally call and talk to a nurse practitioner any time of day any day of the year. She or he would then either dispatch an ambulance, schedule an appointment for you at the clinic the next day, or have you call your regular doctor to discuss the problem at a future date.

I don't know how common that is. I've only experienced it at that one hospital, and have not seen it anywhere else I've lived.

daredtowork

(3,732 posts)
10. At the moment I'm not so concerned about how long I have to wait as
Mon Feb 2, 2015, 02:32 AM
Feb 2015

whether the doctor will see me for the WHOLE appointment.

If the doctor is triple-booked and running two hours late before they have even seen me, then they will cut my appointment short. That means they won't give me a cursory glance for physical symptoms, won't put symptoms together by reviewing what's in the Electronic Medical Record, won't review letters sent by specialists or from emergency room visits, won't get to referring me to specialists, and won't even get through all my presenting problems. I will be lucky if the doctor allows me to bring up even ONE problem before vamoosing out the door and sending in a nurse to wrap things up.

Really, under those circumstances, how long you have to wait for the appointment is the least of your worries.

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