Satisfaction with NHS 'hits 11-year low'
Being a BBC article I knew it wasn't total clickbait, maybe a little dramatic but I knew there was at least some research behind it. Overall satisfaction has dropped but only by 3% since 2007, but in 2010 the satisfaction rating was 70%, so in the last 7 years there has been a fairly steep drop. Satisfaction with GP services seems to be thing bringing the numbers down the most. People seem to be upset by wait times for appointments and lack of resources, but are happy with the services they receive when they are seen.
Now I read the article trying to imagine what things must feel like if this is your norm and what you've been brought up in and I can see the issues that are caused by lack of funding for a system that absolutely needs government support to remain viable.
I also read the article knowing what a for profit medical system looks like and I wish for just some short period of time people who are able to access a National Health Service, no matter what it's called, could see how good things are.
Until shortly before we left the United States I relied on Health Insurance provided through either my family's workplace or at times based on my working. A large chunk of our wages were taken monthly to pay the 'premium' and then every appointment and prescription had a 'co-pay'. The co-pays ran somewhere between $10 - $50 dollars depending on what service was being used. Regular everyday doctor appointments averaged $25 for each time I was seen, and being chronically ill I was seen a lot. Prescriptions varied depending on the medication and whether or not the insurance company had any sort of deal with the drug company, big Pharma at work. Testing beyond run of the mill blood work usually needed a pre-authorization, where the insurance company could deny the test even if the doctor deemed it necessary. Co-pays for testing could run $100 or more depending on the test being done. The insurance companies typically had hospital systems that they either ran or worked with and so they would dictate where and when tests or even surgical procedures could be done. Many people have run afoul of this system when in an emergency they are taken to the 'wrong hospital' and their insurance will either refuse to pay for the services or only pay the bare minimum. Many people, including our family, are forced to declare bankruptcy at some point because the amount of debt that accrues is unpayable no matter how many payment plans you set up with the hospitals or doctor offices.
Waiting times for appointments seems to be a universal issue. It was not uncommon to wait months to be seen by specialists, and appointments with primary care physicians could run 2-4 weeks at times (my last PCP office was amazing and if it was an urgent type appointment would usually get you seen yet that week, but this was not the norm). I spent 4 years trying to be seen by a pain management doctor and because they are so rare I never even made it on to a waiting list.
Since I have arrived here I have been referred to and been seen by pain management, it took 3 months to be seen but that sure beats 4+ years. I am able to see my psychiatrist on a fairly regular basis and have not gone more than 6 weeks without seeing her, I am also seen by my CPN in between those appointments. I have been seen twice by a GP, one appointment was scheduled within a week of calling and the other took 2 1/2 weeks, I will be seen in the coming week and again it was roughly 2 1/2 weeks between contacting them and an appointment being set. I have been seen twice by a pharmacist to tweak my meds, twice by nurses for blood work, and had a telephone appointment with a GP when there was some concern with my lab work. I have support people who come in 4 days a week to help with different issues and I go to the chemist once a week to pick up my medications which are prepared into a medi-box to allow David to not have to do it for me. I have also had one hospital admission, and two tests to assure that my heart vessels were not clogged because I have a weird variant on my ECG.
Because we are foreigners here, on David's student Visa, we did pay for our access to the NHS, but it was a one time fee that covers the full four years of his student status. He also paid for a prepay card for my prescriptions which will be a yearly expense. All of this has been covered by these two fees and that is something that would never have happened in the United States.
I am not saying that the NHS is perfect or that there are some major issues with it that so need to be fixed so it does not collapse, but it is a whole hell of a lot better than some of the other systems out there that will literally bleed you dry.
Cheers!
