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

[Star555]

(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.

I still remember this thing with the NHS. A man had a chronic back issue the NHS just said "it will sort itself out" for years on end.

Man goes private and gets the issue diagnosed and sorted very quickly.

I think this is one of the reasons it doesn't make sense to just compare "US to UK". You have to look at your specific situation with your specific medical conditions/risk factors compared with your specific medical insurance plan you're going to be on etc.

And then compare the overall package like maybe you will pay 20% more in insurance premiums but you'll be earning 3x the salary.

I think people sometimes underestimate the salary differential in the US. In tech for example, here they think £40k is a great salary for a senior dev and in parts of the US they talk about £400k packages.

I'd be quite wary of planning a pregnancy in some US states - would they terminate an ectopic pregnancy or leave you to die? That's happened in the States (and a similar scenario in RoI). Can you chose to terminate if the foetus has a non-survivable condition (or serious disability)? Not a given that a US hospital will prioritise keeping the mother alive over continuing a pregnancy at all costs.

Surely in an ectopic I thought the only choice is termination or you both die?

My GP had me admitted to hospital when I had campylobacter that I just couldn't shake off. I only had to stay in for 36 hours though, and that was after I'd had it for 10 days.

I moved from the US for the NHS. I have zero regrets. Until you’ve been through major health emergencies in the US, you can’t appreciate how wonderful the NHS is. I waited 18 months in the US for a biopsy. Thankfully, it wasn’t cancer or I’d probably be dead now.

I have had cancer and had all my treatment on the NHS and I cannot fault it. The care has been fantastic. I get GP appointments quickly - within days or hours. Fastest time has been 45 minutes! You couldn’t pay me to move back to the US. 30 years in an expensive, patchwork healthcare system that only works for the well off, no thanks.

The great thing though about being able to afford private healthcare in the US is that you can still buy it in the UK. But if you can’t or the waiting lists are too long or your insurance won’t pre-authorise a treatment or you have a pre-existing condition, you still have access to NHS care too.

Our prescription charge is £9.90 per item - and many over here even complain when the prescription charge goes up!

And you can pay a one-off annual fee of around £110 if you need a lot of prescribed meds. Also children, pensioners, pregnant women and those on low incomes are exempt, and many medical conditions exempt you from charges, too. I haven't paid prescription charges since my under-active thyroid was diagnosed when I was 40.

@l look @LakieLady don’t forget us over60s— but not yet pensioners! Only 3 things that got my excited on my 60th ( during Covid lockdown) - free meds, free eye tests and ability to get an over 60 third off railcard!!

Surely you would simply move states rather than back to the UK if this was so concerning for you.

@OneAmberFinch Yes, some states, including where I live, have ploughed extra money into maternity services since Roe vs. Wade was overturned as women from other states come here for maternity services.

Again, that’s why it’s so difficult to compare healthcare in the US and UK as it entirely depends where you live in the US.

Exactly this - as other posters suggested you could get private health insurance. But you can't fix an economy undergoing managed decline.

I would stay in the US.

Private gealth insurance and using private GP and hospitals. A&E is always a risk anywhere if you're unconscious and actively dying. As for broken legs, those an be treated at private hospitals. Private sector don't treat certain illnesses (like cancer) but in my experience is private hospital suspects cancer you get NHS appointment quite quickly. Statistically usa and uk ambulance response times are similar.

A

depends on the cancer and policy, I did the entirety of my cancer treatment last year privately

Some more excellent practice here: my sister enquired about screening for a potential heart defect last week. We were expecting she'd wait a few months because she's asymptomatic, and it's just precautionary. She got a phone call last week saying due to cancellations they could see her this week. She phoned up yesterday to make the appointment, and will have the screening today.

I've experienced more of that sort of efficiency with the NHS than it being very slow. But no one talks about the good experiences.

Yeah, true. Didn't want to make the message longer but yes depends on the cancer and treatment plan and size of the private hospital. But suspected cancer was one of the most common things we refered the patients to public sector. Especially smaller hospitals/chains don't have all the equipment.