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!

The co incidence of setting off at exactly the same time.

the difference is the vets doesn’t have oeople queuing in A&E becausr they coukrn’t get a drs appointnent or its not urgent. The volune iof people using the setvice will impact wait times, you don’t have the same thing happen at the veta

you want to oay to skip the queue & override yhe priority levels

Well, you'll need to try to ensure that another Conservative government are elected, or probably Reform. Start campaigning.

I would love to be put to sleep peacefully when the time comes too, but I think it’s a different discussion.

Can you just explain how people paying to be seen by doctors frees up doctor appointments for people who can't pay?
Surely you have the same number of doctors and people paying doesn't create more doctors, it takes them away from NHS work?

So you can pay and people who cant can just what? Die? Your privilege is showing

This
NHS treatment is free for all, irrespective of financial status.
Complete contrast to other countries.
My family in USA pay extortionate amount of money for health insurance.

Yes, and the drive to A&E took the same time as the journey to the vet's. So there could be a clear comparison drawn, as you say - coincidence.

Why? I sm not a conservative or reform person. Just a person who wants people to be able to access the same care as pets and I think it means paying.

Three cheers for the NHS!

Tell you what OP you pay for private healthcare see how fast they shove you at the NHS IF things go really wrong and I have heard that the waiting times are not always faster they just have....more comfy chairs and better food

I don’t know but the model works in my home country. I think people think twice before they head to a&e. When I arrived in the UK I could not believe the things people thought they needed to see a doctor for and I think it’s because it’s free.

Because they are the parties least likely to invest in the NHS, thus creating a paying system. Were you unaware of this?

No this is US model, not European model.

So people in your country "always think twice", but people in the UK routinely go for trivial matters?
Something of a sweeping generalisation.

I am not saying to not invest in the nhs.

I spent decades in A&E. The copay concept will not fix a thing in A&E. The problem is ramping and backlog due to lack of care beds in the community. The wards are full of people waiting for community beds and services so you can’t shift people out if A&E, which leads to huge backlogs. It’s investment in community care that is required. It will get worse and worse with the ageing population.

As for the out of hours vet A&E service, OP is lucky. Whenever we have had to use ours we are there for several hours - no such thing as making an appointment as it is an A&E that is used in the same way as our A&E, unexpected illness/accident, and animals are triaged on arrival and treated according to urgency. We have sat there for 8 odd hours on occasion, and felt lucky about it as our pet is obviously not as bad as others, who have been hit by a car, mauled on an evening walk etc. In fact, it’s a bit more problematic than human A&E in that the vets are also the surgeons, so while they try and have 2-3 on to keep consultations rolling while others are in surgery, sometimes it seems all hands on deck with surgery and everyone else waits. As for the money, last visit was pretty normal in that it was 450 pound equivalent (I am in Aus), and while we have pet insurance, they don’t want to fuck around with that in A&E so make you pay up front, no gap only payment as is usual for vets in business hours, and then you get the joy of making the claim with insurer after. So, if you transfer that to a human A&E situation, it’s just not viable.

As someone who comes from country with paid health care, my god, god forbid!!!!!!!!! People have no idea

and btw you can always go private

You're saying you want a paying system. This goes against the principles of the Left and Centre Left.
So it's Conservative and Reform who would love to implement the paying system, which you suggest.

Which country?

In my country sick people suffer and even die because they “think twice before going“/ wait till it’s too late to go to hospital or doctor or calling ambulance

You are wrong. I am from a Scandinavian country with Scandinavian welfare system. We pay for healthcare so think again.

This is a little nuanced for me, I agree with you that it is faster getting a vet appointment, however not everyone can afford to pay that kind of money, neither for their pet or for a hypothetical pay to use nhs.

However even when paying, you can’t guarantee the quality of the vet you end up seeing. I spent hundreds (both with my insurance and also when the claim limit ran out) on my previous cat’s vet trips, half of those trips very expensive blood tests and overnight stays resulting in me being told there was nothing wrong with my cat, when in fact he had two different types of cancer. If the nhs charges, there is also no guarantee on quality.

Richard Head.... is that you? 😄

You are being unreasonable to expect to get away with saying you should be able to pay for faster treatment. Some people would rather let their own grandmother die on a trolley in a corridor than have the option to pay privately for better care in this country.

But as far as the vet comparison thing goes... It's a bit of a non starter. For example, there isn't the same high demand for emergency cat care as there is for humans, hence the faster treatment.

But wealthier people already do get seen quicker.

Hospitals in more affluent areas have better services, nicer premises (Chelsea and Westminster anyone?!) And the parking charges and lack of accessibility are all barriers to less well off patients.

The NHS pays for performance so GPs in more deprived areas with much more complex patients get less and less resources. GPs with really engaged patients who are able to prioritise their health, attend preventative appointments, pay for physio and opticians and dental care themselves get better performance related income.

People who pay for a one off appointment or scan privately and then get slotted into the waiting list higher up in the NHS.

People who can pay for a dentist don't have to attend a and e with their dental accesses.

The system is already de facto tiered. We should be honest about it.

ETA - I am really sorry for your recent loss too