Cat versus human a&e

[catmummy22]

My cat was a bit poorly last night so I took her to the out of hours cat hospital. I called them at 8 pm and within 1 hour, I had booked the appointment, had her checked over and was back home.
My friend’s mother also took a turn for the worse last night. They drive to a&e at the same time as I went with my cat, but had to wait to be seen until 4 am. Suspected heart issue so quite serious.

I paid 350 pounds for my cat to be seen. I have pet insurance. I really wish I could pay £350 to be seen if I needed a&e too. I rather pay that than wait a. Ight to be seen.

My AIBU is in the different health care offered to pets versus humans in this country. As a human you can’t even pay your way to be seen in an emergency. Brits seem to think as long as it’s free, it’s good, but is it time to start thinking about charging in the NHS too? I think so!

Nearly had to take my dog to emergency vet last night.
Just the consultation was going to be £300.

I’d be curious to know what treatment your cat received for £300 and equally what treatment your friend’s mother received?
It doesn’t sound like your cat was admitted as an inpatient, given IV fluids or drugs, had investigations etc
All of which I would’ve thought would be the case for a human experiencing an issue with their heart.
I’m not even trying to be snarky, it’s just not a fair comparison for either the vet or the NHS 🤷‍♀️

You could always go to the vets and ask them to treat you as well? They might even throw in a flea treatment free of charge

Which pocket are you in? My friends mother had suspected heart issue. My other friends mother has terminal cancer and often spends nights in a&e wait rooms or on trolleys waiting to be seen in absolute agony. I am scared and I want to be able to access the same care as my cat. I want us all to. Also the people who cannot pay, but figured if I could pay, it
might free up places for people who cannot pay too.

We have an ageing population with inadequate social care.

Exactly this, I think everyone is going to have to pay a little bit more.

I am so sorry you lost your relative but you do realise there is private insurance and people jumping the queue all the time: from joint replacements to cancer treatment. Just because you can’t afford private care doesn’t mean others can’t if they’re willing to pay for it.

My cat had a check up, was sent home with painkillers and antibiotics and was seen again today with follow up appointment. She wasn’t admitted, but if she had been, my payment would be the same ie I would only pay the excess.

If people had to pay for A&E I would guess that attendance would drop like a stone. That said, one of the reasons A&E is always so packed is that its nigh on impossible to see a GP these days

Actually that isn't as funny as you think. Legally vets can treat humans, however, doctors (physicians and surgeons) cannot treat animals.

I work on the basis that vets like animals and people who like animals tend to be kind. I've yet to meet a rude/unkind vet. Helps that money changes hands.

Exactly and my cat has a choice seeing a vet at an hours notice or going to a&e if out of hours. She has such brilliant care. I wish I was a cat.

I live in China and paid the equivalent of £2 to visit a&e on Tuesday. Two hours from arrival, seeing doctor, emergency ultrasound (£20) seeing doctor again, receiving medicine (£3) and leaving.

That's too outing I'm afraid.

But I can guarantee a GP appointment same day and out of hours and the longest me or my family have been in A&E was 3 hours and that included treatment. It took a relative only 3 hours from first calling 111 to being ambulanced in, tests started and admitted into a ward. Obviously pretty poorly, but nothing critical like a great attack/stroke/breath difficulties.

I have a child under the care of about 8 departments across 2 hospitals. There are things I moan about and some could be a lot more efficient, but overall it's been ok.

And yes my cat gets 'better' treatment. But she'd also have been put down by now and if we didn't, we'd be beyond broke as even her very fancy insurance wouldn't touch the sides.

Treatment should be based on need, not wealth.

A vet is a business. They will take your money in exchange for a service. A hospital triages based on need, not on budget.

A&E has a a number of issues -

• tourists and time wasters. We get so many people coming to a&e who should be seen by primary care.
• An ageing infrastructure in many hospitals, which aren’t designed for the flow of the numbers we now see.
• And the absolute biggest issue - a severe lack of beds. Most A&Es at any given time are bottle necked with patients who need to be admitted but there’s nowhere for them to go as all the beds are full of patients who should be discharged but can’t be. These are overwhelmingly the elderly being delayed by social care issues, and mental health patients for whom a tier 4 bed can’t be found. Acute hospitals, meant for illness and injury, are absolutely stuffed to bursting with frail old people who aren’t medically unwell enough for hospital but are being refused by social care, and mental health patients who are physically well but in crisis. It’s catastrophic.

None of those issues would magically be solved by charging a fee to be seen.

😂😂😂

Personally I'm glad you can't pay to jump the queue at A&E. Can you imagine, poor children die while the worried rich pay to be seen first.
A friend of mine is a consultant who does some private work. He says he loves his private patients as its dead easy as there's never anything wrong with them.

Thank you, @PortSalutPlease . Summed up well.

So more like an out of hours gp appointment than A&E.
And yes, you only pay your excess but your original point was about how much the appointment cost without insurance, £350.

A human could access a private OOH GP and antibiotics for £350.

I don’t disagree that there are problems with the NHS but it’s just not a fair comparison.

When we thought we were going to have to rush the dog in for emergency surgery I had a similar thought as my child was in A&E for a badly broken bone last year. I had the passing thought that I was worried about how much the dog was going to cost / what amount our insurance tops out at / how much we could spend over that. I was thinking how lucky that in an emergency situation we just rushed to hospital with no thought of finances. But equally that I would have (obviously) paid the money for my child but felt a big guilty that there would be a ceiling for how much I’d spend on the dog.

totally agree with portsalut above.

Rhymes with ✅️ and 🛏

I already pay in the form of taxes and have done since I was 16. If I have to pay again then I expect to be seen as a priority and not have to wait behind those who have never contributed a thing, Unpopular opinion no doubt but there it is!

How much are the hospital staff paid in China? In the UK, salaries of cleaners start at around £20,000 a year. Consultants up to almost £200,000 in the NHS, or thereabouts.
Can't really compare China with the UK with such a difference in salaries.

My husband had a terrible accident last year, within an hour of this he was in surgery. If needed to be seen quickly, you will be.

The people who cannot pay are always rolled out in these discussions. My point is lots of people CAN pay. People pay a fortune for hair cuts and takeaways, but your NhS must be free. It doesn’t matter if it’s working or not. It’s free. It’s free to spend a night waiting to be seen in a&e…

I come from a European country where we pay a fee of £50 to be seen by GP or a&e. I remember the first time I went to a GP in the UK. I got my prescription and went I pay at the reception. It was free. Madness.

I work in the NHS on the front line, and tbh unless some funding is increased soon (at the moment all that's happening is cost cuts and service cuts, nationwide) then I actually agree that privatising would in many areas, provide safer care.
I disagree in principle, but in reality I'm looking into some form of private healthcare myself, as the state of the NHS at the moment scares me. Scares me shitless actually. The care my elderly parents can expect when they inevitably get more and more health problems. My 2 DC.
As a healthcare professional I've found I've had to push and stamp my feet for even the most basic of care, to be taken seriously and I've had to do the same for my parents. I dread to think how more vulnerable people navigate the system.
It should not be like this.

The answer is to push for more funding, write to your MP, but will it ever happen? I've worked in the NHS all my life and I've never seen anything being expanded or funded further in my area. Everything is just cut, cut, cut.

When it last snowed we found our elderly neighbour wandering around, confused and freezing cold. We called an ambulance which arrived in 40 minutes. He was admitted to an incredible geriatric ward with amazing staff.

Vets are different to drs if a patient is too sick they are put to sleep rather than them spending countless hours working to keep the patient alive pets live shorter lives they are simpler to "fix" for example broken bones that are tricky fixes are removed in cats would you do that to your toddler? No you would expect your dr to repair the leg especially if you were PAYING for the service

Basically unless we are willing to euthanise people and chop of limbs vet based healthcare wouldn't work