I am reading about very long waits for ambulance, emergency procedures, access to specialists etc. Are there big problems?
Oh my goodness, Lon, it would take me days to tell you all that's happening with our NHS.... In a couple of sentences, at point of service it's very good... but waiting for that service, is pretty bad... yes very long waiting lists to see the general practitioner. (currently 4 weeks at my GP's office).., consultants, and for operations and procedures... Severe lack of Doctors and nurses , and junior doctors working sometimes 30 hours without a break ...and all underfunded by the govt, .. I've not had to use an Ambulance knock on wood, but I read in the media what everyone else reads.. people waiting sometimes, hours for an ambulance to arrive..horror stories of people being kept in corridors on stretchers for up to 12 hours before a bed can be found for them (the latter I've witnessed on several occasions).... Currently I've been waiting 8 months to see a specialist consultant at a London hospital, despite 2 requests 6 months apart by my initial consultant doctor right in the middle of treatment... so I'm forced to continue taking medication that was prescribed for me almost a year ago, even though it may be the wrong one, because I can't get to see the specialist.. Nest week I have to have an MRI on my knee... I've been ''fortunate'' with this one I've only had to wait 3 months... albeit that I've been having physiotherapy on it every week for months, and walk with a cane, and or wear a patella brace every day... However, there are very much worse tales to tell from other parts of the country, particularly the areas where they've had huge influxes of immigrants, ..... we're comparatively lucky here in this area compared to some...
Thank you for your response Holly. It confirms some of the things I have been reading. As you probably know, many of our politicians are touting the NHS as an example of what the U.S. needs. Canada from what I hear, is having similar problems as NHS.
Inicidentally, I should have stated that the physio I've been receiving, has not been provided by the NHS , I pay privately and out of pocket for that!!
I remember when Canada nationalized healthcare fully. We had doctors streaming over the border and the nurses came over in busloads, many times being sponsored by hospitals in the U.S. We were grateful for the competent, well-trained medical personnel. One doctor I remember that I met in Georgia, immigrated with his wife (both physicians) because he claimed he couldn't earn enough to live on. He came from Calgary , Alberta to south Georgia and badly missed the change of seasons, especially the snow. I think they have stabilized now, and folks have learned to live with what they get, although I believe the Canadians had to raise everyone's pay significantly in order to keep any of the doctors they were training.
@Don Alaska Perhaps the U.S. and Canada SHOULD merge after all, into one giant slug of porridge! Frank
LOL>..I could be wrong but I have a feeling that, at that suggestion, one of those countries would be running the opposite way...and it won't be the USA...
There were/are those who advocate for that merger, as Canada is divided much like the U.S. as far a philosophies go. The populations on eastern and western (coastal) Canada think much like the two coasts of the U.S., and tend to dominate media and national politics. Of course Quebec is an outlier and woudl then be a separate country, while the Maritimes probably side more with the independence-minded Alberta folks. The equivalent of our east coast would be Ontario. B.C. is split north-south as well, with the north being more like Alaska and the south more like Seattle (similar to Washington state's east-west divide). Both countries are something of a political mess at the moment, but Canada has a tradition that is more Liberal than that of the U.S. from its founding. This merger would create 2,3, or 4 nations out of the current 2.