NHS vs Elsewhere

[Noicant]

If you have experienced both NHS care and care in other countries AIBU to ask whether your experience was better in the UK or abroad? Feel free to elaborate. This is not a thread bashing NHS staff and it’s not a political thread.

For me definitely abroad, I mainly have endocrinology problems - treatment was prompt, I saw a specialist who was able to explain my results in detail and explain dosages and how it may affect other aspects of my health. I did have to pay an excess but one I was happy with.

YANBU - treatment abroad was better
YABU- treatment in the UK was better

I’ve had extensive experience of medical care in Belgium and the Netherlands, limited experience in France and Italy. The Netherlands are very similar to the UK in their approach in my opinion and personally, I think it’s pretty piss poor overall. Belgium was similar to France and Italy, they all adopt a much more preventative approach and you can see a GP/dentist/specialist fairly promptly at minimal cost. I went back to my Belgian dentist for years before I could find an NHS dentist because the cost of the Eurostar + “private” dental care in Belgium was still cheaper than the cost here. Similarly, when I was pregnant, my appointment with a Belgian OB GYN was €24 (full cost, Belgians would get 2/3 refunded), a private scan here (no OBGYN consultation) cost me £150. And the doc in Belgium checked for much more than they did here where I found care to be borderline negligent.

Should have said the €24 was for OBGYN and scan

@RosesAndHellebores I’m sorry to hear about your experiences, ours have wildly differed. That is an issue that needs to be addressed across the country. Private insurance here at the moment is inexpensive but if we made healthcare fully private with no NHS then we would probably be paying +£500 per person per month plus lots of extras.
The NHS is not perfect by any means but it is so much better then what you get in the US. Mental Health and Care Homes are two areas that are woefully underfunded and a disaster. It would be much more effective if preventive care was given more funding and GPs had more time to take a wholistic overview of your medical needs.
However, between 2000-2010 we had amazing cover from the NHS. My MIL got DVT when travelling to Australia. On her return she had tests done and was told to have her children tested. My DH was tested and diagnosed with 2 silent killer blood disorders that are very simple to manage but he would have never known about them. Insurance would cost a bomb now in spite of the fact that managing them is v cheap and easy and the issue is a problem when they are undiagnosed. He has 2-4 appts a year with Haematology Consultant and is healthy. I have a gene that predisposes me to COPD. Had a test as emphysema is killer on my mother’s side of the family. Again insurance for me would be unaffordable but knowing I have the gene means that I take good care of my lungs, mange colds and infections carefully, exercise to keep lung function strong and am very likely to be the first generation to not be killed by emphysema. I gave birth and while not a luxury treatment it was well managed and had good care. a few years later DD was given grommets. She was later diagnosed with Tourette’s and General Anxiety Disorder. For the first 6 years she received great support but then this tailed off significantly.
In the US (10 years) I had some excellent care but at an incredibly high cost and PITA managing of claims and care providers. The same for Switzerland (10 yrs), where a family of 4 pays £2000 a month for regular insurance plus costs for prescriptions etc.

@poetryandwine that is a really good deal you have; unfortunately not available for all and when you change jobs you need to find another option. When I was there it was very expensive. My brother is now in the US and pays a bomb for his family insurance costs. If you lose your job or are not covered by your employer then you are in a really &!@% position. There’s little safety net for the poor/disadvantaged. But if you are wealthy and can pay for great insurance (or have a great HMO like you) then the medical care is great, speedy and with options. I feel

I agree with you , @MMMMMaria . I am settled in the UK now, really torn between my love of the NHS in theory and my despair at what it has become.

My experience of American HMOs is that they function like mini, privately funded versions of the NHS. Ours may have overtreated slightly, but I think not much. Great preventative care. A properly funded HMO shows what the NHS could be, and the comparison hurts. Of course my $1800 was the lesser part of the cost of my family’s health care. The rest was paid by my employer (who owned the HMO, so funny money).

Medicaid is too variable. As a PP said, in progressive states it can be excellent, in some others it is minimal. And the squeezed middle class who are self employed, etc like your DB and responsible enough to maintain insurance can be really screwed.

Abroad better UK worst in all