To hesitate to move back from US to UK because of terrible state of NHS

Are there stats for someone nearly dying rather than just dying or having to receive more care then they otherwise would have because of poor management?

It’s not common at all. A poster posted the stats a few pages ago.

In the U.S. you have health insurance to get great treatment. You can do the same in the UK.
To even consider the NHS as a reason NOT to move here from the US is laughable!

That’s terrible, I’m so sorry. I hope he’s better now?

And on the other hand when my then 16 year old son collapsed suddenly we phoned 999 the paramedics were there within minutes they immediately diagnosed him being in Diabetic ketoacidodosis ( we had no idea he was Diabetic) hooked him up with fluids oxygen etc blue lighted him to hospital, took him straight through to resus ,he was in critical care within an hour
I'm not denying there are many many problems with the NHS but in a life saving emergency they were brilliant.

Coming back to the thread now, had a quick look through all the replies and will read more later. Thanks for sharing all your experiences!

To clarify, I would definitely get private insurance (either paying on my own, or more likely through employer) so I wouldn't be relying on "just" the NHS. But I know that at the end of the day, the resources/doctors are the same regardless of NHS-only or private, but having private insurance provides faster appointments. (Please correct me if I'm wrong.)

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I am healthy and have no chronic conditions, thankfully. But I have had many one-off issues needing urgent treatment at an urgent care or emergency room if it was a weekend / late night (such as a fracture, infection and sudden swelling, severe pneumonia, etc.) Also, wait times in the US, even at top hospitals and with referrals, to see specialists or have surgery can be pretty long (several months). I know of one case where an operation was needed to diagnose an anomaly that showed up on a scan during an emergency visit, but the surgeon was on holiday so it was delayed by a month. After the operation revealed cancer, there was again a few months' delay before chemotherapy could begin due to lack of available appointments. And the patient's stay in the hospital was terrible -- very poorly staffed with nurses, even if the patient pressed the call button for something urgent (vomiting, IV drip disconnected, alarm beeping, etc.), help would take more than 30 min to arrive, etc. All this was in a major US city with excellent hospitals! So I'm worried that the situation in London/Southeast might be even worse, with longer delays, lack of follow-up appointments, etc. Hopefully I won't need any of this, but I would feel safer knowing that reasonably timely, good-quality care is available at least in a way comparable to what we have in the US.

There was a thread on MN the other day about a lady whose DH spent over a day waiting in A&E with a perforated bowel and had no choice but to sleep on the floor...which is terrible. I know someone who went to the emergency room here in the US with a bowel obstruction and they were triaged and given a bed almost immediately.

I always used to agree with this, but it's increasingly common that people die or nearly die in A&Es in the UK because of problems with their care (or lack of it).

I see your point but in 46 years I’ve only attended A&E twice. It’s not something people generally do often is it?

and tbh, you’ll find them generally very good in a (true) emergency

A&E is triaged - people who have to wait in a&e for 5 hours don’t need immediate medical treatment. (Disclaimer mistakes get made in triage of course)

I live in a city. There are two large 24 hour supermarkets within a 15 minute drive (clothes, household items, books). There are 24 hour pharmacies.
Free museums and art galleries galore.
Decent public transport. People complain about the trains but at least we have a train system.
How are your food standards and food safety regulations over in the US? Growth hormones in meat? We refuse to import American meat. Chlorine washing meat? Untested additives in food and drink?
I get 6 weeks paid annual leave. How much does the average American get? I have an option to buy an extra 10 days.
How much paid maternity leave would you be entitled to in the US? Are your maternity rights protected in law?
People criticise the UK and posters on here say we've become a 'third world country ' - were nowhere near perfect but thats bollocks.

The shootings are indeed a big cause of worry in the US, I will not deny it. But I live in a liberal coastal city so it's better than being in the Southern US at least.

'New' infrastructure according to parents -- buildings better-maintained, newer, bigger and cleaner, more accessible. Shops open longer hours. Public toilets and drinking water fountains more numerous and accessible (airports, museums, etc.) More money for better equipment in hospitals, universities, scientific labs, etc. I do agree with many of these things, but I think I actually have a rose-tinted view of the history and culture the UK offers so I'm willing to compromise.

@Star555 Thanks for confirming "shootings are indeed a big cause of worry". Like yeah, we know this - and USA is the top country in the whole world for gun death. Congrats.

Your parents don't understand the meaning of infrastructure. It's not shops open longer, or more public toilets or water fountains FFS.

No, I said I've been to urgent care many times. (Injuries, infections, etc.) Most of those times, I called my GP office first and asked for a same day appointment. Only of they couldn't give me that, then I went to urgent care.

I have only been to the emergency room (A&E) once, and that was because the urgent care was closed in the middle of the night and I had caught a bad stomach bug from travelling abroad and couldn't keep any food down.

(Apologies for the double post; posted on Living Overseas board but realised it's probably better to post here to get the perspective of MNers who currently live in the UK rather than the US)

I'm a long-term expat (in my 30s) living in the US. My parents and I moved to the US many years ago when I was in school, and although I have always thought about moving back home as an adult (I love history and culture and easy access to Europe, which the US woefully lacks), my parents are settled in the US and don't want to move back because they think the UK is in a bad state (failing NHS, high taxes, older infrastructure, etc.) One parent had a major operation recently and is under ongoing treatment at a top hospital here in America, and they think they would not have had received timely care like this in the UK given the current state of the NHS.

I have been on the fence about whether moving back home would be a good choice or not, and am thinking about it more seriously now given the US government situation, although my parents are against the idea. I don't mind the lower salaries in the UK so much (I have a STEM postgraduate degree and would likely have a job at a company in/near London), but I am mainly concerned about the state of healthcare. I have heard so many horror stories about overflowing A&Es and huge waits for life-saving treatments in the UK. I am currently single and don't have any close family or friends in the UK that I could count on for support if I were to need major medical treatment (touch wood). I would be willing to pay (or my employer would pay) for private insurance, but am not sure how much it would truly help.

Has anyone else decided against moving back to the UK, or decided to move out of the UK, primarily because of the sorry state of the NHS? Is access to timely medical care really that bad in London and the South in general? On one hand, I want to return to my homeland and raise (future) children there because of the culture, etc. but on the other hand I want reliable, high-quality medical care for myself and any kids I might have.

Haha let's not get into details but this was severe diarrhoea, nonstop...

The shootings are indeed a big cause of worry in the US, I will not deny it. But I live in a liberal coastal city so it's better than being in the Southern US at least.

'New' infrastructure according to parents -- buildings better-maintained, newer, bigger and cleaner, more accessible. Shops open longer hours. Public toilets and drinking water fountains more numerous and accessible (airports, museums, etc.) More money for better equipment in hospitals, universities, scientific labs, etc. I do agree with many of these things, but I think I actually have a rose-tinted view of the history and culture the UK offers so I'm willing to compromise.

I was advised to go to the emergency by the 24/7 phone nurse because I was at risk of severe dehydration and would need IV fluids.

The shootings are indeed a big cause of worry in the US, I will not deny it. But I live in a liberal coastal city so it's better than being in the Southern US at least.

'New' infrastructure according to parents -- buildings better-maintained, newer, bigger and cleaner, more accessible. Shops open longer hours. Public toilets and drinking water fountains more numerous and accessible (airports, museums, etc.) More money for better equipment in hospitals, universities, scientific labs, etc. I do agree with many of these things, but I think I actually have a rose-tinted view of the history and culture the UK offers so I'm willing to compromise.