NHS experience

[AtW]

Go private.

Money talks.

WHS

Signing up company to private plan...

[Platypus]

Well, Dim, my mate went in for a routine operation, only to wake up with a group of doctors all looking at him.

"Doctors, what's wrong? I can't feel my legs" he exclaimed.

"I'm sorry" replies a doctor, "but we had to amputate your arms"

[Platypus]

Although another mate of mine was equally unlucky.

I accompanied him when he went to the doctor to collect some test results.

"Well, I've got bad news and even worse news" said the doctor.

"Oh dear, well you'd better tell me the bad news" said my mate.

"I'm sorry to tell you, you have cancer" said the doctor.

Stunned, my mate asked "So, what's the other news?"

"You have Alzheimer's disease" said the doctor.

My mate seemed quite pleased about this, as he exclaimed "Well, at least I don't have cancer!"

[SeekingIT]

Definetly Friday...

My mate went in for a routine operation, only to wake up with a group of doctors all looking at him.

"There's good news and bad news".

"What's the bad news?"

"We've accidently amputated both your legs"

"******* Jeezus christ!, what's the good the news?"



"The bloke in the bed next to you would like to buy your slippers"

Easily pleased........

[Doggy Styles]

If you are seriously ill, the best place to be is with the NHS. However if you want to see a specialist and see him quickly, then get whipped in for surgery within a couple of weeks even if it's not life threatening then you can't beat private.

WHS, sort of.

Private for anything other than an emergency.

[gingerjedi]

WHS, sort of.

Private for anything other than an emergency.

So pay through the nose for minor stuff and rely on the state for real expertise.

I guess that's a win win for both camps.

[tractor]

Cysts

Years ago, I developed a cyst on the inside of one eyelid. Went to GP, it was quite painful but not an emergency.

Upshot was it would take at least 3 weeks for an eye appt at the local hospital, wouldn't be able to drive so no work etc etc.

Booked in that same afternoon at the local BUPA. 2o mins later cyst in the bin, eyepatch on for 36 hrs and then back to normal, all in all 2 days off and £125.

[Doggy Styles]

So pay through the nose for minor stuff and rely on the state for real expertise.

I guess that's a win win for both camps.

No, I said emergency. Where you need an ambulance, that kind of thing. There are many serious situations where you don't need an ambulance.

Besides, we pay through the nose for the NHS.

[gingerjedi]

No, I said emergency. Where you need an ambulance, that kind of thing. There are many serious situations where you don't need an ambulance.

Besides, we pay through the nose for the NHS.

That's the perception but I've seen plenty of studies of other supposed superior systems and the numbers don't stack up, Americans support a massive insurance industry that doesn't need to be there and many Europeans pay a lot more than we do for their 'free' service.

[Mich the Tester]

That's the perception but I've seen plenty of studies of other supposed superior systems and the numbers don't stack up, Americans support a massive insurance industry that doesn't need to be there and many Europeans pay a lot more than we do for their 'free' service.

Here in NL we used to have a socilised healthcare system, whereby only those on relatively high incomes were obliged to buy private insurance, but even that was only to cover things beyond the basics. Then the wise and wonderful politicians decided everything would be better and cheaper and less bureaucratic if the whole thing was privatised and handed over to the market. Now, everybody has to pay through the nose for private health insurance (although about 10% of people haven't got it because they simply can't afford it), healthcare is more expensive than ever, the government has to plough more money into healthcare than when it was socialised, the bureaucracy created by the insurance cartel (the same people who mis-sold annuities, f**ked up everybody's pension and loaded people with downright cancerous endowment mortgages) is a nightmare and the standards are no better for most people and going down for old people's care.
I draw two conclusions;
- if you think socialised healthcare is expensive, wait till you see what it costs when the insurers get their mucky hands on it.
- given economic circumstances we can afford either healthcare or health insurers, but we can't afford to pay for both. Take your pick.

And for anyone who's still following the logic that the market inevitably does things better than the state; try spending a day ignoring the Tea Party wingnut rhetoric and look at evidence for a change. The evidence from Europe is that socialised healthcare systems 1) work, 2) cost less for the consumer and 3) cost less for the taxpayer. Shove the right winged rhetoric up your arse and just hope there's a socialised healthcare system that'll send an ambulance to bring you to hospital where highly skilled government employees, possibly immigrants, will extract it safely and quickly and not send you an enormous invoice for saving you from your own abject stupidity.