durham_lad

Great to hear all these good reports from actual folks using the NHS, my sister and good friends in our home town all have have had great experiences this last few years with the NHS. We are so looking forward to getting back and registered.

Novocastrian

Well Victor, I hope the grumpiness will also get better soon. Hashtag NHSrocks.

Editha

Since I got back to the UK fifteen months ago, my experiences of the NHS have also been positive.

But reading this thread, I think someone should point out that the NHS is in fact facing a cash crisis. It is running the largest deficit in its history and The Kings Fund (an objective source) warns that some hospitals may run out of money to pay staff within the next twelve months.

In addition, there is an even bigger crisis in funding for social care, which is likely to result in up to 50% of care homes closing down. This will have a knock on effect on the NHS, since they will have nowhere to discharge elderly patients.

amideislas

€200 per month is typical of what continental Europeans at the low-mid end of the income ladder would pay for health insurance (excepting those demonstrably skint). And that says something positive about the NHS. Despite being "free", the actual cost of NHS coverage is about £100 per month per inhabitant, which is actually quite a good value when compared to most of the world.

Unfortunately, the NHS is unsustainable at current levels. And as it is [perceptibly] "free", naturally it is subject to widespread abuse. Have a sniffle? Can't get a gp appointment today? Go to A&E. It has been estimated that as much as a quarter of NHS expenditures can be linked to unneccessary consumption of services, because it's "free". Why not?

However convenient it might be, it is also unsustainable, so I suspect the NHS will eventually be forced to operate more like most other public health systems, and charge some token amount for services, if for no other reason, than simply to make it less attractive to abuse. Naturally, not without suffering widespread protest over the possibility of having to pay a couple quid for a GP visit, a visit to A&E for a non-emergency, or a prescription.

Novocastrian

Estimated by who? Do you have a link?

amideislas

HOW MUCH DO WE USE THE NHS? Centre for policy studies

Fifth of NHS A&E visits are unnecessary and cost the taxpayer
Figures show 19.1% of visits (3.6 million) to A&E are for minor issues that could be dealt with elsewhere

Unnecessary A&E visits cost hospitals millions each year
One out of every four people who goes to A&E in the North West does not need to be there

‘Unnecessary’ trips to A&E in Cambridgeshire cost NHS millions - new figures reveal
A quarter of patients who attended accident and emergency departments in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough during 2014/15 could have cared for themselves or used alternative services, according to new figures.

More than 30,000 emergency ambulance calls are unnecessary – Deputy Minister
More than 30,000 999 calls for an emergency ambulance in Wales during the last year have been for minor illness like toothache, sore throats, coughs and colds, Deputy Health Minister Vaughan Gething today said.

To save the NHS, why not charge those who abuse it?

There are plenty more examples of NHS "abuse of convenience", but I thought this might be enough for starters.

Gillymonkey

We got back at the end of Sept. Our experience has also been positive. I have two under two and was advised I had to have a physical to register the babies, unfortunately their were no appointments for the physical for 3 weeks but I appreciated that the practice manager called to reassure me that if the babies became ill in that time they'd be seen immediately, apparently the practice have a same day policy for sick children . Once we were properly registered we were set up with a health visitor who visited us at home to go over the boys records. She's now getting their immunisation records aligned with the Nhs immunisation plan and is calling me this week to make appointments for the shots both boys are due. I love it that the Nhs staff have taken ownership and set it upon themselves to help get us organised. From experience in the US I had to do a lot of running round.

Novocastrian

Please note that all of those "statistics" refer to A&E services, not to the NHS as a whole, whereas none of the positive endorsements on this thread refer to A&E.

amideislas

Well, I'd hope comments would be positive.

I don't believe there's anywhere else on the planet where you can call an ambulance to get treatment for a sore throat, and not have to pay something for it. Saves a trip to boots to buy lozenges that cost 3 or 4 quid. Penny saved is a penny earned!

scot47

"Unsustainable at current levels" Why do you say that ? I would sooner that my taxes go on NHS than many other follies of Westminster.
What money is spent on is a political decision - as is all the propaganda about "Austerity".