How lucky we are to have our NHS

it is no longer a national health service. We nationals pay for it but it is used by many from outside uk who have never paid a penny. Let`s call it what it is, international health service, free at point of use and supported by uk tax payers

Sarnia

A wonderful idea back in 1948.
Sadly, mismanaged by Governments for many years now and one of our major services overwhelmed with the sheer numbers of those using it.
It is crying out for a root and branch overhaul to streamline it and save billions.
Whenever I have needed it, the NHS has been there for me and mine.

This, exactly.

Karmalady, I don’t think your last comment is true .see this passage from a government website.

Patients should expect to be asked to prove that they are entitled to free NHS hospital treatment.

Since 23 October 2017, all NHS trusts and NHS foundation trusts must record when a person is an overseas visitor.

All overseas visitors will be charged 150% of the cost of NHS treatment for any care they receive, unless they are exempt from charges for NHS hospital treatment.

www.gov.uk/guidance/nhs-entitlements-migrant-health-guide#:~:text=Since%2023%20October%202017%2C%20all,charges%20for%20NHS%20hospital%20treatment.

Do we know for sure they implement these rules in all hospitals?

M0nica

Whatever the problems in the less dveloped countries - and Myanmar has specific problems, the resukts of a failing government and dictatorship.

This still does not make the NHS the envy of the world . In fact there are many far better health systems, the UK is not even in the top 3 or even the top 30.

Statista ranks the UK and the NHS at 34. www.statista.com/statistics/1376359/health-and-health-system-ranking-of-countries-worldwide/

The 4 best health systems are in Asia. most European countries have a better system than ours, even small countries like Malta and Cyprus, then there is Cuba, Costa Rica and Thailand.

Yes, we have better world care than in the failed state of Myanmar, but not one that is the eny of the world.

Hear hear.

We really dont know what we are missing out on, in some Countries. Sadly.

The NHS isn’t the envy of the world. If it were, then other countries would have taken up the UK model in their droves. So far, they haven’t.

Sallywally1

Just read an article on the BBC webpage about the situation in third world countries of people who are so poor they sell their kidneys. It is illegal of course, but still goes on. Ok we have a long waiting list for this and many other procedures, but it is free at the point of receiving. As someone who waiting for a shoulder,Replacement and in much pain, (shoulder especially painful this morning and virtually frozen), I can only say Thank you NHS. We must all strongly resist any plans for it to be sold off. Some things already have been, I recently had an ECG which is now run by a private company. Whatever its drawbacks, we have a service which is the envy of the world

Private companies have been used for years Sally.
I'm a retired Medical Secretary and nearly 20 years ago I started sending referrals to a private company for ALL diagnostic imaging. Still used now.

Poppyred

It used to be….but then offered it free to anyone who happened to come to the U.K. and of course they came in their droves, and who can blame them. Now, people who have paid in the system all their lives are having to wait years or paying privately to have anything done.

That's a large part of the problem.

They may be 34th in world ratings but certainly not in mine.
Saved my life three months ago so I'll leave you to guess my rating when personal is more important to me than any world competition.

But for every person they save, they also do a lot of harm to many more. My family's experience is of both the wonders of the NHS and also just how how truly terrible it can be, putting its patient's lives at risk.

No, sadly, the problems of the NHS are related to it's success.
We older people are living far longer, and require medication, surgeries, ( new hips abd knees, for example) physiotherapy, occupational therapy and social care. In the past, men and women died betimes.
Babies born with significant disabilities live on, and have long term needs for much medical intervention. These children would not have survived.
Many long standing conditions have responded to new initiatives. I lost a young family member to cystic fibrosis as a teenager.
The daughter of a colleague, born with CF had a heart and lung transplant and is alive approaching forty- at enormous cost in anti rejection drugs.

It's certainly better than third world countries but not anything like as good as other European countries. There are a lot of problems, and not just it being overloaded, some are bureacracy and instutional. I have a personal grip about ageism personally, when it comes to getting certain treatments. Also many life-saving cancer drugs aren't available other than privately.

We were profoundly grateful to the NHS when Gds at only 4 months, had such a serious case of bronchiolitis that he was sedated, on oxygen and tube fed for a week. The hospital and all the staff were brilliant.

He had it again a year or so later, but much less badly. And I still remember the tiny baby, only 3 weeks old and in any case premature, who was in the next cot that first time, also with bronchiolitis - she also recovered well.

Just as well Gds was such a roly-poly little porker the first time - he lost a fair bit of weight during that week.

My mum, when she was alive, refused to go to her local London hospital because she was absolutely convinced that they ‘bumped off’ anyone over 80. Hopefully she was wrong! That was in the late nineties.

I am glad I moved to the north west 5.5 years and picked the right GP surgery and only because the bus stops opposite. Also the pharmacy is on the next corner and they deliver my tablets.

Healthcare I have here is brilliant compared to where I used to live . My old GP never sent me to see a cardiologist and did an in house ECG and miss diagnosed me and not on any heart medication. Was under a neurologist and because of my weird symptoms only repeat electronic tests I had done in 1992 this was in 2017.

Moving here my new GP sent me to see cardiologist found out I have a small hole in the side of my heart I was born with and have PAF and should have been on heart medication for decades. Which thankfully have been on since 2021.

My neurologist didn't know what was wrong but because of my limb jerks and having 4 seizures which lasted 8-10 hours and took my speech for a few hours each time . He put me on medication in January 2020!and within 2 weeks after 32 years of limb jerks my limbs where still and no seizures. He sent my blood to have my whole genome genetically tested in January 2020 . Unfortunately because of covid didn't get the results until March 2022. So 1st April 2022 at the age of 63 finally found out what I was born with and it's rare he nor his colleagues have ever had a patient with it . So told him to use me as a guinea pig. Luckily the rare disease society put me in touch with a world wide Facebook group started by someone in the north west over 10 years ago as he didn't know anyone else with it . They have helped me so much my life makes sense I am not weird but have HPX . And the Brain Charity here have put it on their list of neurological conditions.

If I still lived where I did I dread to think of what would have happened to me .

What annoys me is all the criticism of people being on trolleys while waiting for treatment or place on a ward. I have spent 24 hours on a trolley twice and the care I got was like I would have had on a ward .

Beginning of last month had to go to A&E my daughter got me there at 5am on the Monday within hour had ECG,saw stroke nurse,had brain CT scan and bloods taken . My local hospital has an A&E trolley ward. The care I had was brilliant. By each trolley on the wall was a call button but the nurses where around all the time checking how we where . After my second ECG found an anomaly and saw cardiologist who said I would be taken to acute cardiac ward as soon as a bed was available.

Had all medication I needed and spent the night on the trolley . But it was comfortable nurses still checking on us all the time and it was very warm didn't need any blankets to sleep. Tuesday I went to the acute Cardiac ward was a bit out of it as I collapsed on A&E trolley ward but the care I had was excellent and everything explained to my daughter and me . Because of my neurological condition it confuses things as my symptoms kicked in so lost my speech for a while . But at least with my daughter and me getting the odd word out and miming they got all the information they needed. Only 4 beds in the ward and we where attached to a machine but had portable recorder we had to plug into to go too the shower room .

When I was out of A fib on Thursday take to another hospital on the Friday as I needed a angiography which I had on the Saturday. Finally discharged on the Monday after seeing pharmacist,physio , cardiologist and having an ultrasound.

Saw cardiologist at outpatients 2 weeks later and referred to stroke neurologist as they had ruled out heart attack and only found slight furring in my right artery which didn't need a stent but now take low dose statin to prevent further furring.

Saw the stroke neurologist 2 weeks ago and had text Monday night for an appointment on the 8th to have scan on the arteries in my neck .

I do think NHS is a postcode lottery as I am lucky here in the north west to have the care I need and access to GP either face to face or phone appointment if they don't need to see me . All the staff at my surgery are friendly,polite and helpful.

But I know if it wasn't for the NHS there is no way I could afford to have all the care I have had since birth .

Plus the regular mammogram had since I was 50 every 3 years,bowel screening since I was 60 every 2 years .and covid and flu jabs . Pneumonia one 2 years ago . I missed out having the shingles as I was 65 before the September date. So have to wait until I am 70. Had shingles last April but got the anti virals within 24 hours and they helped a lot .

Nothing is perfect but where would be with without the NHS.

nanna8, several members of my family were working in medicine in the nineties, some in London. I can assure you that ""bumping off" anyone was not on the agenda.

That’s good to know. I never really considered they did that, it would have sparked an absolute outcry but my old mum was convinced. Sad thing is she actually died at home ( heart attack ) and could possibly have been saved if she had gone to emergency.

Rather than get into a debate about the pros and cons of our ‘NHS’, I will leave it to a respected body to comment on what they have found. Paragraph 5, in particular, sums up what most people care about.

www.kingsfund.org.uk/insight-and-analysis/blogs/comparing-nhs-to-health-care-systems-other-countries

The present NHS funding model is fundamentally broken and with an aging population it is becoming unaffordable. Ever increasing public investment into an organisation that has falling productivity is not a sign of business success. The term NHS is also flawed: for example, GP practices are mainly independent health contractors supplying paid services to the NHS.

nanna8

That’s good to know. I never really considered they did that, it would have sparked an absolute outcry but my old mum was convinced. Sad thing is she actually died at home ( heart attack ) and could possibly have been saved if she had gone to emergency.

My mother used to tell me, ‘They kill people here!’ re her (dementia) care home. She was a wanderer, day and night, so I could only conclude that during her nighttime wanderings she’d witnessed undertakers quietly removing a resident who’d very recently died. Presumably they’d hardly want to be carting black body bags around when all the residents were still up.
It wasn’t easy to convince my mother, though!