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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to think that doc apps should be free for all kids under 2

117 replies

scuzy · 21/01/2011 11:22

so sick of paying for doc visits for my son who 9 timesouta 10 its teething but obviously want to know for sure. 50 quid a go is alot of money!!! i cant afford it. we mums just want reassurance why cant the nurse do it!

OP posts:
narkypuffin · 21/01/2011 12:03

Yes, it's the tax base. You need to have enough people contributing to get the cash to fund the system. On Ireland's tax base you'd end up paying so much to fund an NHSesque system that you'd be much worse off.

midnightexpress · 21/01/2011 12:03

Ireland isn't part of the UK!

oliviacrumble · 21/01/2011 12:04

Surely with a smaller tax base we also have a smaller population actually using the system narky?

The health care in Ireland is a joke, and has been in a state of semi-crisis for years. Dire leadership has been part of the problem.

I totally agree with you Op, in fact i think it should be free to the under-sixes.

last week I had to pay ?20 to have ds2 (Asthmatic) vaccinated against flu. I had to pay a further ?15 to the doctor to issue a script for his inhalers. When I go to the chemist to have this filled it will cost at least ?20 to get two inhalers for him.

It makes me very cross indeed.

midnightexpress · 21/01/2011 12:04

That was directed at purpleswan, btw.

Original poster
scuzy · 21/01/2011 12:04

we already fund a very wealthy social welfare system ....

OP posts:
Original poster
scuzy · 21/01/2011 12:05

scandalous isnt it!!

OP posts:
imustbemadasaboxoffrogs · 21/01/2011 12:05

Northern Ireland has free prescriptions too

midnightexpress · 21/01/2011 12:05

Yes, but you still need the basic infrastructure, which is very costly, and you have a relatively high number of users, as i understand it, because of the demographic breakdown of the population in Ireland.

BuzzLightBeer · 21/01/2011 12:06

Taxes in Ireland are no lower than the uk, especially now we have all the income levies and other charges.

You do really have free NHS. If you add up all your taxes and then take out what you get, see whats left for the NHS and see what your personal medical cost would be, you can be sure you all get pretty much free NHS, unless you are very rich and pay massive taxes.

thumbdabwitch · 21/01/2011 12:07

Scuzy - YANBU - that's a shocking lot of money to have to pay for an appt.
I totally agree with you on the "Better safe than sorry" aspect, and have taken DS to hospital 4 times, twice in England and twice in Australia when his temp has been all over the place and he has been ill. At no point were we told that we were being silly, paranoid, over-reacting or anything - all the medics said "better to bring them in just in case".

Sirzy · 21/01/2011 12:10

The NHS we have is brilliant, its not perfect by any means but I am grateful for it!

Sorry if I have missed it but what about emergency care or hospital stays in Ireland? Do you have to pay for them aswell? Do you have health insurance to cover costs?

oliviacrumble · 21/01/2011 12:11

I personally feel that GPs need to drop their prices. There seems to be a bit of a cosy cartel going on (certainly in my town), where all doctors charge ?50 per visit.

Who decided that this was the charge? In the past 2-3 years many businesses have reviewed their pricing structure, knowing that we have long passed the days of the celtic tiger.

Would love to see legislation brought in to regulate the doctors' pricing practices.

RunnerHasbeen · 21/01/2011 12:15

Scotland just use their budget differently, they don't get a larger chuck dedicated to health, they just assign their money in slightly different ways because the population has slightly different needs. Instead of being arsey about someone having something you don't perhaps you should campaign to have it as well instead of wanting it taken away from them.

I think evaluations into charging have shown a number of bad outcomes (people showing up with long list of symptoms, not getting lumps or symptoms checked quickly enough, needing to have a reclaim system for repeat visits or when the doctor needs to try a different treatment or gets it slightly wrong). My understanding was that this would work out more expensive, although it was just debating a £10 charge, so £50 might balance out at a purely financial (though not humanity based) level.

dontrunwithscissors · 21/01/2011 12:17

Just to correct a point upthread - we do pay for water in Scotland, but it's all together with the council tax. Certainly when I look at how my council tax bill is broken down, a portion of it is for water and sewrage.

narkypuffin · 21/01/2011 12:18

There will be a level of contribution needed to achieve a good level of care for the population. And taxable population does not = population as a whole. Children aren't contributing but need care and the elderly pay limited tax and tend to have higher need of care.

Imagine it as a line graph. With a small taxable population the contribution per person will be very high because, even though there aren't lots of people needing treatment, you still need to pay for the bricks in the hospital, to kit out theatres, pay salaries for staff and buy the fleet of ambulances- an A&E needs to be ready all the time.

As you move along the line, with taxed population increasing, the contribution per person falls to a more affordable level. The A&E is used fully and the extra costs are not as high as the extra contributions- the staff is already there and the place is kitted out.

Obviously this is more metaphorical than literal but you get my point.

Original poster
scuzy · 21/01/2011 12:19

lol "getting arsey" ... charming.

OP posts:
YeButerfleogeEffete · 21/01/2011 12:19

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

not1not2 · 21/01/2011 12:19

healthcare in thenUk isn't free it's about 11% of your wages last time I looked! Hmm

drivingmisscrazy · 21/01/2011 12:21

sirzy A+E is a one-off cost unless you are admitted in which case it is free. Emergency care is free too. Hospital stays are either free (but you may be dead before you actually get anywhere near a hospital the waits and referrals take so long), or covered by private health insurance (subsidised by the state) in which case you get fast-track care, often in the same public hospital that your poorer neighbour is waiting months to get into Blush Angry

I do have private health insurance for my family even though I disagree with it - but I don't think I have a right to make them sacrificial lambs either. It's a nightmare.

With kids I think acute care is often pretty good, but anything chronic is a disaster.

GPs charge a lot and don't deliver much - anything other than ADs or ABs and they refer you on to a consultant (if you are not on a medical card) who then charges you ?150 - in my case, to write a prescription for movical, FGS.

YeButerfleogeEffete · 21/01/2011 12:30

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Sirzy · 21/01/2011 12:31

Drivingmisscrazy thanks. I'm glad I live here then!

narkypuffin · 21/01/2011 12:37

It's the private birth thing that's always puzzled me about Irish healthcare. Maybe it's just the people I know, but they seem to pay a hell of a lot to some OBGYN, for a consultant monitored birth that's not really necessary and not get a better standard of care than you hear about when people are criticising NHS midwives.

drivingmisscrazy · 21/01/2011 12:40

narky yes, it is odd isn't it? my take on this has always been that the midwives are fine, and if you need consultant led care you will get it anyway - and to a very good standard. I'm afraid it's yet another health insurance scam...

BuzzLightBeer · 21/01/2011 13:00

Not everyone goes private or even semi private. Everyone is entitled to free maternity care, I've had 3, including 2 in Midwife led units.

Also someone said its free if you get admitted. Its not, theres a bed charge per night of ?70. There are also charges for public patients for various day procedures. If you walk into A&E with a broken arm, its ?110 to be seen. Even for children.

drivingmisscrazy · 21/01/2011 13:13

buzz that was me Blush - that's what I'd thought, but clearly I am wrong- thanks for the correction, unwelcome news though it is