You can’t deny the NHS is a wonderful concept; free healthcare for all, regardless of finances, age or gender. Great idea, it’s just a shame that it doesn’t seem to actually work.
Seeing a doctor is so hard most of us will wait until we’re bleeding out of our eyes before we will try and get an appointment. It’s scary that we live in a society where guns, knives and drugs are supposedly so available but getting access to a doctor is harder than getting through Simon Cowell on an X Factor audition.
I believe anyone should be able to see a doctor that day, or that hour, whether at a surgery or at home if they are not able to travel. I believe that everyone should have access to all the treatments they need regardless of age, gender or condition. I thought this was the overall purpose of the NHS, but this purpose has become totally skewed by lack of funds. And I can’t help but wonder whether we are all suffering at the hands of a very noble, yet in my opinion futile, dream.
The news is full of horror stories about people being refused life saving drugs because they don’t live in the right postcode, or because they’re too old, IVF not available to women over a certain age, BMI or because they smoke. All of this seems to contradict the whole point of the NHS. It’s been in the news recently that Britain has among the lowest cancer survival rates in the Western world. Isn’t that scary?
I have a few friends in America (which is incidentally at the top of the list of cancer survival rates in the recent study) who, while admitting healthcare insurance is expensive, seem to be able to get access to doctors whenever they need to, specialist doctors at that. And, as much as it scares me to say it, the standard of care seems to be much higher.
Like education, I believe that healthcare should be free for all, but not at the cost of quality healthcare.
On Wednesday, after being poorly for days (hadn’t called the doctor, I was just too ill to face interrogation by the receptionist only to be offered an appointment next Thursday week with some random doctor I’ve never even heard of), I eventually decided I should get some advice. It took 3 calls to (and call backs from) NHS Direct, and an hour fruitlessly calling the (constantly engaged) out of hours doctors service, before a doctor eventually rang me and arranged to come and see me at 11pm. Exhausted by 11pm I decided to cancel and try to see my own doctor the next day. But the out of hours number was still engaged. Thank god for 1471, the number the doctor had called me on was answered straight away. I don’t know whether or not this is an organisational oversight or some kind of tactical error, but it seems strange that the number provided by the doctor is constantly engaged. Anyway, the doctor was already on his way, he arrived (at midnight) and gave me some antibiotics. All’s well that ends well but I came out the other side noticeably worse for ware and with even less confidence in the system.
You could argue that if I’m that bothered about it I could pay for private healthcare. But you still have to see a regular GP in order to get a private referral, and that doesn’t seem any better a system. I think we either need to improve the NHS, or go with a fully privatised, insurance covered system.
I just don’t see how we can improve the NHS; I have absolutely no doubt that the people who work for the NHS are doing the very best they can. But despite having wonderful people, it’s quite obvious that there simply isn’t enough money to do it properly.
I am lucky enough to have had some wonderful treatment through the NHS but I have also had some shocking experiences. Surely healthcare is something we should never be expected to compromise on?
However noble, it’s a very naïve and romantic dream to expect to have a perfect free healthcare system, a perfect free education system and all the other things we believe is our right in the this country. I like the idea of it, I just don’t see how it’s possible. And realistically what’s more important, the health of the nation or nursing (excuse the pun) an outdated concept?
The blog is interesting but I am not sure that your solution of going to an insurance scheme as in America could be better. The issue that you raise is about the standard of service provided. I am sure that the systems are crap in the public sector and they waste money internally and that could be changed with a different mindset of those managing the service and the customers. Clearly there isn't enough money in the service in the current circumstances. You couldn't deliver the current service by insurance funding. They are pricing risk. In my case the only risk they would face would be whether I have complications in the future. The current drugs bill would continue anyway so how do they price insurance in my case? What about people who cannot afford the insurance or are old? How are long term conditions priced? The cost of private health insurance is high. Just go on-line and get a quote for your family. When my hand was done last year it was in a private hospital paid for by the NHS and they were excellent. The costs of delivering a service shouldn't be different whoever is delivering it and the private sector has profit to add so should be more expensive. I have never understood how the private sector can be cheaper for the same service.
ReplyDeleteThat's my point, that our current private insurance system also doesn't work. I have got a quote for insurance for us but it doesn't cover GP service! At the moment the private insurance system we have in this country simply doesn't offer a comprehensive cover (unless you pay per appointment £65 is the current rate of a doctors appointment with Bupa, and even then they say they don't offer all services, some would have to be done through the NHS). My argument is that at the moment there is NO choice anyway, so why not go the whole hog and make a new totally slick and well managed system where doctors are paid well for what they do and anyone can see a doctor when they need to?
ReplyDeleteIn the US a lot of health insurance is covered by employers and those that are on the poverty line get insurance help through the welfare system. If our government stopped spending out money on an ailing NHS, and vast sums of money on council housing for people who frankly don't need it (there are many people in council houses well able to pay a mortgage or private rent, they simply got on the council list at a young age and therefore got offered a house - fair play they are playing the system and getting what they are entitled to under the current system but the rest of us struggle to pay our mortgage or private rent, another rant for another day!) they would have the money to help those who GENUINELY couldn't afford insurance. The rest of us would either get it through employers or suck up the cost (we have to pay for every other bloody thing anyway). I would rather pay to have an excellent health service than get a crap one for free. At the moment that isn't an option in our country because the private health service is just not comprehensive enough.
It just seems to me that the US have a better standard of service. They have paediatricians, ear nose and throat doctors, gynaecologists... all specialists we have here but we have to be in serious serious trouble before we even get a look in with any of these specialists. Americans seem to be able to just make an appointment.
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A few weeks ago Son number one had a temperature of 41degrees and was drifting in and out of conciousness. We were told we had to get him to a doctor that day. It was 2pm on a Saturday afternoon. We were offered an appointment in AN HOUR AWAY at 730PM or half and hour away at 930PM. He is 4 years old. THAT is unacceptable. Eventually against the advice of the out of hours doctor we took him to our local A&E (we were told not to take him there because there are no doctors there only nurses, don't even get me STARTED on our local Hospital). Where we still had to wait for an hour but it was a whole 4hours quicker to be seen by a nurse there than drive for an hour and wait 5 hours to see a doctor.
ReplyDeleteMy doctor offers emergency same day appointments but the last 2 times I have had emergency appointments we have had to wait because the doctor has been running 2-4hours late. Waiting in a stuffy waiting room for 4hours with a sick child (and another one in tow) is possibly one of the most hideous experiences I've ever had.
I'm not saying that moving to an insurance based system is without its problems. How to price insurance for people already old, or who have current health issues is of course something that would need to be determined by people far cleverer than me (my immediate reaction would be similar to the cat insurance you get quoted insurance for life at a young age based on your risks etc, prices would go up for smokers, maybe those with current long term conditions could have some kind of government subsidy I don't know that is just off the top of my head).
I'm also not saying that the current system is entirely crap. As I said I have had a few experiences with wonderful PEOPLE through the NHS, but the repeatedly shocking and appalling experiences I've had, continued bad press and clear indication that the financial state of the nation ain't gonna change any time soon makes me quite fearful for the boys (and everyones) future as far as healthcare is concerned.
Hi Beth, just to say I really enjoy your blogs :) I also agree with your view of the NHS too....I pay to see a private GP and when I want to get a private referral I self refer by doing research online to find a specialist. The only part of the NHS I use is the A&E department, usually for my little one - luckily our local one is at the top of the league tables on that score. I find it hugely expensive to use a private GP, but in my view it's worth it for the convenience of being able to get an appointment within hours with someone who isn't trying to get me out of the door within 5 minutes. I also think there tend to be certain unspoken entry requirements for NHS doctor receptionists....but that's another story :)
ReplyDeleteYes, I agree that our NHS and education system seem inadequate, but we should all remember that it is far worse in most of the other countries of the world - pregnant women walking for two days for an antenatal appointment, little or no access to basic medical care, vaccinations, contreceptive advice, let alone those countries without even a clean water supply. I started watching a documentary last night about a fabulous all-inclusive holiday resort somewhere in Africa. For £600 (most of which is the cost of the flight) you can eat and drink as much as you like, whilst sunning yourself in 5* surroundings, meanwhile the hotel workers live in absolute squalor, are paid less than half of their country's minimum wage of £3.60 per day, and have no clean water. I think, in retrospect, we should count our blessings that we live in England, and let's not forget that half NHS time is taken up with obesity, smoking related illnesses, and A&E is full of people so pissed that they have caused injury to themselves or others. Ours is a country of over-indulgence, and that's a fact.
ReplyDeleteArabella - that's interesting that you pay to see a private doctor, is this covered under a health insurance?
ReplyDeleteAnon - Of course we are all grateful that we don't live in those conditions and the treatment of that hotel staff is appalling. I think we all wish for a world where situations like that did not exist. However, I don't think that because we happen to have been lucky enough to have been born in this country we should sit back and accept an unnecessarily substandard healthcare system. As far as obesity, smoking related illnesses and drunken-ness goes, people are always going to eat too much, smoke and get drunk (and frankly it is their right to do so) but under an insurance based healthcare system they would pay more and therefore cover the cost of their own treatment, their choice. You're right that they take up time and money that the NHS doesn't have but under the current system that is the way it goes. Yet another reason why things need to change.
Interesting comments. Thanks :-)