Universal Healthcare (Questions for members who have it)

[B5C]

Some Americans here believe that Universal Healthcare is the worst health system in the world. Long lines, worst quality of care, and etc. I would like to know the truth.

Which nation are you from?
Is there easy access to your doctors?
Are wait times for non life threatening issues horrible?
Are wait times for life threatening issues horrible?
Do you believe your health care is good?
Do you like your current system?
Would you drop your system and go too an American style system?

[Manco]

Which nation are you from?

Belgium

Is there easy access to your doctors?

Yep

Are wait times for non life threatening issues horrible?

Only time I ever had to wait was when I had appendicitis in the middle of the night, the doctor had actually come by in the night but preferred being well rested to do the OP, so he scheduled it for 9AM .

Are wait times for life threatening issues horrible?

Immediately taken care of.

Do you believe your health care was good?

Excellent

Do you like your current system?

It's getting a bit costly so it needs some reforms. (mostly operations that are reimbursed that have no business being reimbursed and hospitals/doctors prescribing expensive medication when there's far cheaper/generic alternatives around)

Would you drop your system and go too an American style system.

Yeah, right after I've had a lobotomy maybe.

[molonthegreat]

Some Americans here believe that Universal Healthcare is the worst health system in the world. Long lines, worst quality of care, and etc. I would like to know the truth.

Well here in Sweden it's:

Is there easy access to your doctors?

If you pay for it yes, other you have to wait for several months.

Are wait times for non life threatening issues horrible?

Yep

Are wait times for life threatening issues horrible?

Nope

Do you believe your health care was good?

Nope, it's not very good at all.

Do you like your current system?

No

Would you drop your system and go too an American style system.

A system which is overregulated and ineffective? No definitely not, I would like to see a system that embraces capitalism so it will be as good as possible and isn't ruined by overregulation.

[Rolling Thunder]

1. The United Kingdom of England and Scotland (plus the territories of Wales and Ireland).
2. I believe so, though I haven't had cause to visit one for well over two years.
3. Measured in weeks and months, usually, unless you have a spectacularly rare condition.
4. Measured in minutes and hours.
5. I'm not dead yet and the average life expectancy in this country is going up to 80+, so everything would seem to be in order.
6. Given that I'm not dead nor particularly unhealthy I'd say it seems to be doing it's job.
7. When the gates of Hell are frozen shut.

[Azog 150]

Which nation are you from?

UK

Is there easy access to your doctors?

Fairly. Sometimes you might have to wait a week though.

Are wait times for non life threatening issues horrible?

Not really sure. I've never had any operations or anything. However, I have been to the emergency room a good few times with broken bones and whatnot and you usually have to wait a good few hours. There is the rare occasion when you might not have to wait very long.

Are wait times for life threatening issues horrible?

Again I'm not too sure. Not that I know of. I have heard that organ transplant waiting lists are very long though.

Do you believe your health care was good?

Yes

Do you like your current system?

Yes, but there is certainly room for improvement.

Would you drop your system and go too an American style system?

No.

[Caelifer_1991]

Which nation are you from?
UK.

Is there easy access to your doctors?
I've had no problems with access to doctors, as far as i remember the maximum time was a couple of days.

Are wait times for non life threatening issues horrible?
Again, for me, it's been a couple of days at most.

Are wait times for life threatening issues horrible?
Wait times for anything life threatening has for me been about as fast as humanly possible, when i had an asthma attack a few years back the only wait that was necessary was for the ambulence to arrive and take me to the hospital - this was in the middle of the night.

Do you believe your health care was good?
All health care that I have received has been exceptional.

Do you like your current system?
Definitely.

Would you drop your system and go too an American style system?
Never, infact I wouldn't replace the UK's healthcare system with any other in the world.

[Blau&Gruen]

Is there easy access to your doctors?

80 m at the end of the block - two stairs

Are wait times for non life threatening issues horrible?

No.

Are wait times for life threatening issues horrible?

No.

Do you believe your health care was good?

It's ok.

Do you like your current system?

No, everyone should have access to affordable health care.

Would you drop your system and go too an American style system?

No, it is not solidaric enough outside of the structures of the armed services.

I think health care is a good like the separation of powers. If you don't have it, it's like having no police, no independent courts, no universal suffrage, no government, no parliaments, no direct democracy, no emancipation, no secular society, no prisons, no environmental policy, no animal rights, no national education, no employees' right, no free market, or no army, etc. All these goods belong together. If you are against one, you are not serious with the rest.

[Tiberios]

Which nation are you from?

Denmark.

Is there easy access to your doctors?

Yes there is. It's not a problem

Are wait times for non life threatening issues horrible?

No, I don't think it is

Are wait times for life threatening issues horrible?

No. Apparently waiting lists are shorter than they have been for years.

Do you believe your health care was good?

Yes.

Do you like your current system?

Yes. It could need some additional money and some reforms, but it is a good system and it works.

Would you drop your system and go too an American style system?

Never.

[Odovacar]

Some Americans here believe that Universal Healthcare is the worst health system in the world. Long lines, worst quality of care, and etc. I would like to know the truth.

Which nation are you from?
Is there easy access to your doctors?
Are wait times for non life threatening issues horrible?
Are wait times for life threatening issues horrible?
Do you believe your health care was good?
Do you like your current system?
Would you drop your system and go too an American style system?

1, Hungary
2, Yes.
3, Not. Sometimes long though, and sometimes you must wait one month for a special treatment like allergy testings, skin problems.
4, No.
5, Not good, but acceptable knowing the poverty and turmoil of today. As my allergy seems to be uncurable right now by doctors I can't be content.
6, I must live with it.
7, No. It would be to expensive. Still many things are done in private, for example, my dentist is a private one. He is a superb dentist, with all kinds of awards from abroad, while the official state sponsored dentists are horrible, brutal, unskilled and dangerous.
In some cases the state can't sponsor important issues, like operations of sickly born children or very special treatments for rare cases. In those cases people generally try to gather money for such treatments.

Healthcare -whether private or state-sponsored-works only in rich or moderate countries truly well.

[Poach]

Quality of care varies wildly in the UK: inner city hospitals, for example, tend to be harder pressed than ones that serve the local towns and villages. My local hospital, Wishaw General, is actually pretty fast at everything. The ones in Glasgow are likely stretched thinner, though, especially A&E.

In terms of seeing a GP it tends to be reasonable. Usually if I need to see a GP for anything I see them within a few days, I don't recall ever having to wait beyond a week. So I suppose my answers to the survey are...


Which nation are you from?

United Kingdom (specifically Scotland)

Is there easy access to your doctors?

Yes. GP waiting lists are a few days at most, but you don't see a GP for anything life threatening.

Are wait times for non life threatening issues horrible?

Depends. Organ transplant lists tend to be quite bad, but the worse you get the higher priority you are. People do die from lack of an available organ but that isn't the fault of the NHS, that is the fault of the Government for not implementing "presumed consent" as opposed to waiting for people to actually volunteer.

For other issues it varies hospital to hospital and issue to issue. All the A&E depts. operate on the Triage system, so where you end up ranked dictates how fast you're seen. I spent 4 hours in A&E once with my gf when her diabeties acted up, but she was seen by a nurse as soon we we were through the door and her condition was assessed as non-threatening so she wasn't a priority. I found it fair, as people were being wheeled through that door in all sorts of states and they needed attention more than she did.

Are wait times for life threatening issues horrible?

No. If you're brought in needing immediate attention to live you get it. As I said, the Triage system is used to assess priorities so if you need to be seen right away you are.

Do you believe your health care was good?

I believe my healthcare is excellent, but I am not a fair example as my family has BUPA private healthcare.

Do you like your current system?

Yes. The NHS is an important institution that provides a fair level (people are forever complaining about it but it does a by-and-large good job under the pressures and constraints it is put under) of care to everyone: the poor deserve decent healthcare as well.

The main problem, as mentioned, is the transplant list but that is a Government policy failure and not an NHS failure. That said, I'd like to see the system reformed somewhat to punish poor lifestyle choices. Someone who ate themselves into a heart condition, for example, doesn't deserve to be a higher priority than someone whose condition was not their fault.


Would you drop your system and go too an American style system?

Certainly not. The American system works well if you have the money to pay for it (which, to be fair, my family does) but it's overtly capitalistic and really isn't something I think should be privatised as the Americans have done.

Sure, I have some issues with the NHS and how they operate, but none of it is the fault of the NHS. The government's policy decisions regarding the NHS are my main points of issue.

[Enemy of the State]

As if there are only 2 systems, the American and the European one. I'd like an actual free market in healthcare.

I'm from Estonia and the system is... tolerable.

[Squiggle]

Which nation are you from?

Canada

Is there easy access to your doctors?

No. Very long wait time in hospitals, very very long wait time for surgeries, and a two year wait time to get new family doctors. Lowest doctor per person ratio out of north america/western europe. Very low quality.

Are wait times for non life threatening issues horrible?

Yes

Are wait times for life threatening issues horrible?

Yes

Do you believe your health care was good?

What? Before Universal healthcare? I dont know it was before I was born. Its certainly crap now.

Do you like your current system?

No

Would you drop your system and go too an American style system?

Yes, I would prefer private healthcare. No, not the American iteration of it, which despite perception is riddled with Government regulation and influence, which is in fact the major reason its bad.

[Mightypeon]

1: Where are you from?
Germany

2:Is access to doctors easy?
Yes, very. You usually have to pay a fee of 10 Euros (once per 3 months) though. If you want to see a specialised doctor without seeing a general doctor first, you have to pay 10 Euros again.
3: Are waiting times for non life threatening diseases horrible?
No, waiting times are quite moderate. You can usually see your General doctor on the same day. Specialists like Allergologists may take a week or so.

4:Are waiting times for life threatening conditions horrible?
Not at all, I got stabbed once, life saving operation was started in a matter of minutes.
There are occassional issues with Organ transplant waiting lists though

5o you believe your health care was good:
Yes, cant complain.

6: Do you like your current system:
Quite beurocratic, has clear room for improvement.

7: Would you switch for an American style system:
Never.

[Denny Crane!]

Some Americans here believe that Universal Healthcare is the worst health system in the world. Long lines, worst quality of care, and etc. I would like to know the truth.

Which nation are you from?
Is there easy access to your doctors?
Are wait times for non life threatening issues horrible?
Are wait times for life threatening issues horrible?
Do you believe your health care was good?
Do you like your current system?
Would you drop your system and go too an American style system?

UK

Not until recently when they made something called walk in centers. Previously I would potentially wait up to two weeks for an appointment - which I'm fairly certain breaks some regulations but now I can go to a walk in center randomly and get seen in minutes by a qualified nurse practitioner and doctors are on hand to.

Waiting time for non life threatening conditions. My mother has been driven to the point of suicide from the symptoms of hyperthryroidism and thyroid toxicosis - at least we think since it could also be a symptom of graves disease, thymus disorders and others. She has waited two years to finally be given a thyroidectomy and the diagnosis and treatment process has been awful. Truly bloody awful despite having access to leaders in the field in my area.

No.

No.

No. The American system is government sponsored monopolies and the whole system sickens me as a gross perversion of business with vested interests raping people through their politicians and I think it is getting worse under Obama.

[Odovacar]

It seems to me that the results of this thread will suggest thesethings
-universal healtcare is good generally
-private healthcare is of hiher quality sometimes
-the problems of universal healthcare couldn't be solved by simply turning it to be private
-private welfare maybe has other prblems than just being exclusive, but acc. to Danny Crane, maybe itQs not private enough to work effectively as such.

[Squiggle]

It seems to me that the results of this thread will suggest thesethings
-universal healtcare is good generally
-private healthcare is of hiher quality sometimes
-the problems of universal healthcare couldn't be solved by simply turning it to be private
-private welfare maybe has other prblems than just being exclusive, but acc. to Danny Crane, maybe itQs not private enough to work effectively as such.

Really? You think anecdotal experiences of like, twenty people max, will suggest anything whatsoever? I dont even trust the intelligence and knowledge of most people in general, so as to assume that any opinion they have, on anything, actually has a basis in reality. Facts and figures prove truth, not a handful of assertions from a handful of people.

[Dr. Croccer]

Which nation are you from?

Netherlands.

Is there easy access to your doctors?

Yes. I can visit my local doctor easily and have great access.

Are wait times for non life threatening issues horrible?

They're very fast. I was able to visit an orthopedist about a minor examination of my foot almost instantly.

Are wait times for life threatening issues horrible?

I don't have any personal experience or statistics so I wouldn't know. I seriously doubt it is though.

Do you believe your health care was good?

Yes. It's one of the better ones globally.

Do you like your current system?

I prefered the old one, which was genuinely state-controlled and cheaper but there's no major problems or differences so I don't really mind.

Would you drop your system and go too an American style system?

No. It's inferior in every way.

[Makrell]

Which nation are you from?
Norway
Is there easy access to your doctors?
Yes
Are wait times for non life threatening issues horrible?
Not at all
Are wait times for life threatening issues horrible?
Nope
Do you believe your health care was good?
Yes!
Do you like your current system?
Yes
Would you drop your system and go too an American style system?
Never americans system seems bad, pur current is very good

[Tom Crooze]

Which nation are you from? Canada
Is there easy access to your doctors? I believe so
Are wait times for non life threatening issues horrible? I varies from season. It's usually a long wait in the winter
Are wait times for life threatening issues horrible? I've never had one, but when I had to go to the hospital with my bro after Christmas, the woman in the stretcher got in rather quickly. Same with the tweeker being escorted by security
Do you believe your health care was good? No, we had an American system before
Do you like your current system? Yes, I enjoy the fact that I don't have to pay for most things
Would you drop your system and go too an American style system? Hell no

[justicar5]

Some Americans here believe that Universal Healthcare is the worst health system in the world. Long lines, worst quality of care, and etc. I would like to know the truth.

1)Which nation are you from?
2)Is there easy access to your doctors?
3)Are wait times for non life threatening issues horrible?
4)Are wait times for life threatening issues horrible?
5)Do you believe your health care was good?
6)Do you like your current system?
7)Would you drop your system and go too an American style system?

1) the UK

2) Yup never had a problem, phone up for an appointment and be seen the same day.

3)Apparently they can be, never had a problem personaly.

4) When my mother was diagnosed with cancer she was in hospital the next day for tests, had surgery 2 days after that and then onto radiotherapy. She is in remission now.

5)Yes, very.

6)Yes I do, considering getting a private dental plan but thats about it.

7) never.