To be proud of the NHS

[littlebillie]

I feel we need a thunder clap on MN for the NHS of how good it is and the individuals who make this their vocation.

I can think of many personal examples of the NHS showing brilliance kindness and compassion,

I just want to say thank you

I've been having a lot of contact with the NHS recently and I'm very grateful for it. On the whole I've come across devoted staff but it is creaking under pressure. All the sensational news reports about A&Es being over capacity are absolutely true.

Without the NHS and it's ongoing care, particularly Great Ormond Street's ongoing care, I wouldn't have a son.

For their presence I am at the complete mercy every day and thank my stars for every single doctor and nurse there.

Not really. It’s a right bloody mess. Respect of course to those working within it but I’ve had a lot of awful experiences with it and would have loved to have paid for better care. Unfortunately my private health insurance is limited in what it can offer. The whole system needs reforming.

We're not "lucky" to have the NHS. It costs taxpayers a shit-tonne of money. Moreover it provides care that is inferior to many western nations. "Free at the point of use" sounds great, but in practise it's abused and wasteful. The fact that the NHS can be so readily accessed by those from around the world also undermines public support for it.

Personally I would much prefer an insurance / fee paying system and I feel the quality of care would improve as a result.

The NHS is brilliant in that it's great it's free at the point of use but that's where my appreciation ends. I hate the religion that is the NHS here in the uk and any criticism of it and you may as well be Satan.

I honestly would prefer it if the funding were cut and pumped into social care

Nope. It's OK. That's it.

The NHS is fantastic but it's let down by poor funding. In the last year I've had some pretty poor experiences under the NHS, not due to staff being incompetent or not caring but because they simply do not have enough time to do what they need to do.

Thanks to the NHS my husband is alive today, so a big thank you to the NHS for all your hard work and dedication.

We treat it like a state religion. That is concerning.

I find the vast majority of people who 'prefer an insurance based system' both have excess money and also no experience of an actual insurance based system.

I'm from the UK, currently doing a healthcare research project in the USA. I promise you, you don't want this system.

Not only are there copays every time you see a doctor (ranging from $5 to $100+), there is a monthly premium, which can easily be over $500, that's before including your family.

On top of that, there's co-insurance. So, say you have an ultrasound, it was $1000. You pay a copay for the right to see them in the first place, then also a percentage of that $1000, which can be from 5-50%.

And that is assuming you've met your deductible - usually thousands of dollars, which you yourself have to pay before insurance will pay anything. And that is on top of those monthly premiums of hundreds.

And all this before I've even gotten to prescriptions. It is your insurance company which gets to decide which medication you can take - not your doctor. Unless you also have hundreds of dollars a month to spend on them. Some medications, even with insurance, have a copay of $100. even life saving medications such as insulin.

I assure you, unless you have a current monthly surplus in your budget of a couple thousand, you don't want an insurance based system.

All the sensational news reports about A&Es being over capacity are absolutely true

Yes - my stepsister died because the A&E she went to was too busy to spot that she very obviously had sepsis.

I'm glad other people have had better experiences, but it scares me that my loved ones are relying on this system to keep them alive.

To add, my DH and I have a good insurance plan. It costs us $500, and has a deductible of $5000. Neither of us are sick often enough to meet that, so we pay $6000 a year (assuming we are still here in a year) in premiums, but then also pay the full cost whenever we see a doctor or have any treatment/bloods/tests up to that $5000 deductible. The insurance will basically never pay anything for us, but we have to pay it just in case something serious happens.

I have experienced almost nothing but excellent treatment from the NHS. They prescribe, susidise and monitor the drugs that keep me running neary normally despite side effects. Two years ago when dp speeded me into hospital with what looked like meningitis they had me out of the waiting room and on a drip within 15 minutes. Most of the staff are phenomenal.

Never forgotten the lovely student nurse who came in a few minutes early every day to brush and replait my then waist length hair because I kept getting the IV tube tangled up in it and had photophobia so was having to wear an eye mask and couldn't' see. It may sound a tiny thing but it made me feel so cared for at a time I was really scared. I bet she makes a great nurse now :)

I love the nhs in fact I've just sent a thank you note for the outstanding care I received during and after major surgery. They saved my husbands life 5 years ago when he developed sepsis and my dads when his appendix ruptured. I live in Scotland and think our service isn't as stretched here as we have never had to wait if we've been to A & E or for docs appointments. If I lived in the south of England I'd pay for private medical cover as I think it's a different story there.

My mum was one of the first big the country to get penicillin on the NHS I would be here today without it

Scatter so how much are you thinking for the premium service £5-200 per week? are you a basic middle or premium?

You're A&e trip may cost £10k but you were seen an hour earlier on the NHS.

You forgot your insurance card and you are in a car crash well it's the basic care for you or well your cancer treatment is more expensive than you thought, good luck with bicarbonate of soda.

NHS we love you

Thelastsaola because the NHS is completely free!

Really? News to me. With a budget of £130 billion per annum, funded out of general taxation, all of us who contribute to that taxation are paying for it. Depending on the amount of tax you pay thats tens, hundreds, thousands per month.

You should be proud of the NHS. To me the NHS is free. I lived in the UK for 2 years and I was in awe of the NHS.

Here in Ireland, You pay Tax to fund the HSE, You also pay 60euro for a GP visit, 100euro for an A&E, then admission is 100 per night with a maximum charge of 10 nights per year and that is for the ordinary Joe Soap. Unless you are unemployed or a single pareny you will not be eligible for a medical card.

So many people let their health go, most cancers in this country are diagnosed in A&E. I had a breast lump the wait was two years. I had to pay my gp for a letter, to then pay for a private scan. I think you are very lucky with the NHS.

The only fault with GPS on the NHS is they are always packed with minor illness because it is free.

This idolising of the NHS is why it will get a lot worse before it gets better.

I doubt the OP and some of the other thunderclappers will accept any other type of reform without resorting to whataboutism of evil tories and turning into the US healthcare model.

We all need to accept that whilst the NHS is good, its not as good as some of our European neighbours, if we want it to continue we need to stop using it as a political football, throwing more money is a can kicking exercise and spending less per gdp than others means we could follow the insurance model which will not mean we are going down the US route.

I work in the NHS. It’s absolutely marvellous and we are so lucky to have it. So many people dedicating their lives to helping others. The majority of people i work with really do care, and give it their all. If it was properly staffed if can be a great employer as well. Our trust offers excellent benefits. I have come from the private sector (various ones) and still can’t beleive how much sick pay I get, maternity pay, annual leave etc. (Although this is needed given the current working condiations).

Obviously there are many many flaws and the financial situation and the shortage of nurses are bringing it to its knees. But the government is responsible for this, not the NHS as an institution.

overall it’s somehting that I am so grateful for. I can’t imagine the absolute soul destroying agony of having a sick child and not being able to pay for a doctor. Imagine helplessly watching your own child, upon child die of childhood illness for want of basic medication. This was the reality for millions upon millions in this country until we had the NHS. Or less dramatically even just imagine having tonsillitis/ ear infection etc and having to choose between buying antibiotics or the weekly food shop. That would be a reality for lots of people.

Proud of the NHS? Sadly I'm struggling. I lost a family member twelve weeks ago due to misdiagnosis and denial of sepsis despite all the pleading we did. Hospital has admitted the mistake and 'lessons have been learnt'.
This morning I lost another family because yet again the NHS denied that they were ill and in pain. End of life path twice in three months, no I'm not sure I am proud. I am, however, changed forever.

Well u mean as a forgeiner I look on in horror. It is apalling. Not sure why you all have such a hard on for shit health care even if it us 'free' but different strokes right.

I'm a huge supporter of the NHS and think its critical care is fantastic. My friend's little boy had meningitis recently and is recovering very well. Likewise my parents in law have both made full recoveries from cancer thanks to the excellent care they've received - including reconstructive surgery.

But the other side is that it can be pretty shocking on patient communication for chronic illness and waiting times for the same are ridiculous. I was referred by my GP in Jan for suspected ms, had my mri 6 weeks ago and the report still isn't back. My initial consultation with the neurologist is another three weeks away. The communication has been non existent.

It’s been great for me ... but currently it’s shit. I know it’s creaking at the seams etc. but frankly some people who work in it are soulless. It’s inexcusable. They are traitors to their many dedicated colleagues.The treatment my elderly father has had has been disgraceful at times and if he didn’t have me to fight for him he’d be dead.

They are amazing. I'm pretty convinced DS1 and probably me as well would have died during his birth. He then has had several major operations and regular eye/hearing checks and glasses on the NHS. I will always appreciate what has been done for us.