Tr1boy

Well, it's been 2.5yrs back in the UK now (for those not familiar with my story, a bit of searching here will fill you in).

I've really enjoyed being back here for a ton of reasons. However, after 4 spinal operations, being injured for 15mths, having returned to work on a staggered basis to be told I'll most likely be made redundant by Xmas, then the signs are pointing to pulling up stumps and heading back to Oz

Ironically, Mrs TB is really enjoying life in the UK now, she has had a major turnaround since my 2nd op in March, which coincided with her getting her ILR (she'll be up for citizenship next March). I think she feels like a 'regular person' here now, rather than temporary. However the work scene for her has been a bit sporadic.

I've been through the absolute ringer health wise and gone from being fit and active to not being able to walk, to not knowing if I'll walk again, to finally having the right surgeon, implants and the right solution and aftercare (private through work btw), so I feel now like I have been given a 2nd life as it were.

My only priority now is to make sure Mrs TB is happy, healthy and enjoying a role that suits her and I know she's more comfortable with having a big Korean community not far away in Sydney (not that we've ever lived amongst it).

Work have indicated that there are two heads and one role in our small team in the UK. The person I would be 'competing' against is my colleague that has been standing in for me since my back went bang. She's had a rough old year, losing two good friends, a long term relationship break down, failed IVF and enormous stress at work. She doesn't want to stay but can't afford to leave.

I won't compete with her for the role for a few reasons. It's not the right thing to do after she has supported me, I'm not that fussed about staying at the company, I reckon we'l be heading back anyway. So to make it easier on my Mgr I will probably put my hand up for redundancy and use the money for shipping our stuff to Oz, fix and a nice holiday. Have to make sure redundancy is an option first, but it sounds like, probably just after Xmas.

So our basic plan is, if Mrs TB has not got a suitable role by Feb/Mar, I think that will be it. If she does get a good role then we will relocate in the UK to where that is, as I can get pretty roles near any major area ( our pref is Sth West).

If we head back to Oz, there will be no long lasting regrets from my end as I feel like I have been given my life (sporting and otherwise) back to me. I've had my gift, time to make sure someone else is happy

dunroving

Sorry to hear you are uprooting again, but glad to see you are taking a sanguine approach rather than feeling sorry for yourself. I'm assuming all of the health care has been cheaper here than it would have been in Australia, so at least that's something. My recent experiences with the NHS have reminded me of the significance of that aspect of life in the UK. it's reassuring to know that a health crisis does not also constitute a financial crisis. [just spotted you were treated privately through work, but other than the waiting times, I'm assuming you would have been able to get the same treatment via the NHS?]

Are you back in action, now, or is your triathlon career on hold?

quoll

Well, for your sake I hope Mrs T gets the job of her dreams down in Dorset (or thereabouts!) but I admire your sanguinity. I do understand though, once you have had a taste of getting your real life back it is a bit easier to head off on the next adventure. I know I will have to return to Aus but, as my son is so fond of saying - life is what happens when you are busy making other plans and you never know where your next best opportunity is going to crop up! Good luck whichever way it goes!

Tr1boy

Yeah I'm in a good place with whatever happens

All the operations, consultant follow ups and over 40 sessions of physio have all been done on my private insurance (Aviva/HCML and they been great). All the aftercare apart from that has been with the NHS. In my town we have a small medical ctr with about 8 Drs, but I see the same 2 or 3 and I have to say that the service has been beyond great. I bought a pre payment card for my prescriptions which saved me a heap of money. It has worked out much cheaper than it would have in Oz, because there is no 'gap' here on services like I would have experienced in Oz. The only thing I had to pay here was a £100 excess per policy year, per policy. So in real terms it has cost me £200 only:thumb up: I can't say if I would have been offered all the alternatives on the NHS or whether they would have done all the research and investigations on suitable devices, (my last op was over £30k in operating costs), but I do know that all of the surgeons I have used do NHS work as well.


The bad news is that in all this, we have discovered that my right clavicle which is screwed and plated is actually still broken The original incident was in April 2009 but looks to have come 'unfused'. I did wonder why it was hurting a lot! So it needs re-plating and a bone graft done from my right hip, but that it is from a local shoulder surgeon, I'm going to get a 2nd opinion from my back surgeon next week. I could leave it as the clavicle is not infected, but it hurts when I sleep. If I am made redundant, I shall negotiate an extension of my insurance so I can get it done in January if I want (can't have it done now as I've had too many generals this year).

I'm back in the pool but it's slow going, currently doing about 1:15 100mtrs i am spinning on the turbo using the TT bike (but not in aero position) and have done a couple of tentative road rides on the road bike.

All going in the right direction but not as fast as I'd like. I can walk for up to an hour now. Running has not been ruled out in the future, but if it happens at all it will be very restricted. Short distance tri may be possible but my Ironman days look to be over

The devices in back feel weird, it's like someone has shoved an angry cricket ball in there. The pics I got the surgical team to take are beyond cool though, I look like a big tuna being sliced up.

roaringmouse

I would suggest staying long enough for you wife to apply for citizenship. She could use the checking service a lot of councils operate, which means documents (e.g. passport) don't need to be sent in.

luvmeboys

I just wanted to say congratulations for being a true Gentleman in regards to your treatment of your colleague

Bevm

Sorry you've been through such a lot, Triboy, but I do admire your attitude.

I hope it all works out brilliantly, whichever way it goes.

Bev

cheeky_monkey

Maybe i miss read your post..but you say the top priority is to keep the Mrs happy?? so why not fight for your job?

Tr1boy

You did.

Zen10

My wife and I have used the Australian health care system for many things, including several stays in hospital, operations, child births, and it's never cost us a penny beyond what we pay in Medicare and those contributions are significantly less than the NI ones used to be. I mention it only because it seemed odd to me that you would presume Australia was more expensive for some reason. It's not like the US.

Tr1boy

Sounds like you really have been through it, so hope return to Australia goes well.

Tr1boy

I lived in Oz for 21yrs so I'm 'pretty' familiar with how it works thanks The question I was actually answering was about comparable costs of private health, not comparisons of Medicare vs NHS (but experience with the NHS when I have used it far exceeds most of my experiences Medicare).

You're trying to tell me that you've had all that done on private health in Oz with no gap at all?

Thanks for the best wishes, I'm sure it will go well (at least for one of us)

dunroving

My assumption came from the same place most assumptions come from.

What is the primary method of "paying" for health care in Australia for most people? Is it a free at point of delivery system like the UK?

FYI, NI doesn't pay for health care in the UK (except for a very small proportion), it is one of the many uses made of income tax. So I wouldn't be so sure that the Australian Medicare is less than UK NHS costs. One has to be careful of making assumptions, you know.

Total costs of the NHS in 2011-2012 were £106 bn and in the same period, 29.58 million people were in work. Add to that the 10 million people in retirement and you have 39.58 million people paying income tax (approximately).

If you do the sums, that means on average, people earning (either income or pension) each pay [£106 bn divided by 39.58 million people] = £2678 per year (or £223 per month) paid by earners for health care of the nation. This vaguely sounds like figures I have heard bandied about in the media.

How does this compare to typical monthly Australian Medicare costs?

[Edited to add that for me, health care was less expensive in the US than UK. I think this is another false assumption about the US. As a single person, I had no monthly payments for health care (my employer paid the monthly premium). Even though co-pays and other deductibles were not cheap ($50 for a prescription!), luckily I am generally in good health so I paid between zero and maybe a thousand dollars or so each year on health care costs. The main thing in the US is disparity in health care costs- some people pay hand over fist and others pay very little at all (notwithstanding the fact that one way or another, employer-paid health care costs are all paid by the employee, if only via a lower salary than you'd otherwise get)]

Tr1boy

oops, I realise that Zen10 was not quoting me so apologies for that. Pre coffee logging into BE does nobody any good

sallysimmons

I'd have to disagree that it's a false assumption for 90% of the country although it was obviously true for you. If you didn't contribute to your premiums at all, then you were in a very lucky and unusual situation. I managed benefits for a number of companies and over the years we had to increase the employee contribution several times just to be able to keep benefits at a decent level. (costs were increasing between 10 and 30% every year).

It's not at all unusual for an employee to have to pay 50% of his or her premium although the norm is usually more like 10-20%. And to keep costs manageable, companies have increasingly restricted benefits by doing things like increasing the deductibles, or preventing out-of-network care, or increasing the co-pays for doctors/prescriptions etc. And for those few whose employers still pay the full premium, I'd say enjoy it while it lasts because that will change.

One thing most US employees don't understand is just how expensive their benefits package really is. 10 years ago, at my last company, the costs were 17% of total payroll and I'm sure they're higher now.

dunroving

I was really making the point that it's incorrect to generalise that everyone in the US pays a lot for health care - definitely didn't want to imply that I was typical.

I think people in federal or state government jobs (as I was) are often better off because of the subsidizing of premiums - and for married employees, preferential rates for family coverage. However, as you point out, the increase in costs (from what I read on the US forum) is scary overall and there are horrifying anecdotal examples of how much people have to pay, either for non-subsidized monthly premiums or for costs (even if insured) following a major condition. Overall, the UK is better, mainly because there isn't the extreme variability you get in the US.

I do wonder how long it will be before health care is means-tested. Some social care (e.g., senior care) is offset against personal wealth and I do fear we may be at the beginning of a slippery slope, especially if the economy continues as it is for an extended period and public health problems continue to increase at an exponential rate. As someone who isn't one of the "well off" but is very cautious financially, and am careful with my health, that is a route I would truly resent.