janek

I would have thought along the same lines myself, I shudder at the thought of being consulted by a doctor was in the profession for the money, I guess they must exist, hope I don't come across any.....

BEVS

Hence private consultancies running along side public service.

P18PPS

I work for money and will change companies if one is offering me considerably more.

Why would you think it is wrong for a DR to do the same? They have families, mortgages, school fees and a retirement to think of!?!!

jennifer45

There are some professions that 'should' have goals other than mere financial gain,- medicine being one.
I think Janek meant, she abhorred the thought of being treated by a doctor ,who had chosen to join the profession purely for financial reasons.
Please correct me if I am wrong, Janek.

janek

yes Jennifer you have summed it better than I could.
I don't know that many people in the world but I am friends with a paramedic and he told me he had a sort of 'calling' to the position, he used to to another sort of driving job beforehand. Of course he is paid a salary, but its not his sole reason for doing his job, he gets to witness some dreadful things too, I have never experienced one of these 'callings' myself and work in the private sector, but I certainly don't work just for the money, uck I couldn't imagine such a way of life.

I am grateful to people who enter into the health care sector, they are doing work I could never do.
but I also hope they are not there for the money only,
same goes for teaching and law enforcement.

JohnThePom

In my opinion the USA medical system is absolutely dire - in that it's not affordable for many of the people who live there. Sure you can probably get the best qualified specialists in the world, but then you can get that anywhere in the world if you can afford to pay for the privilege and whizz off in your private jet to visit them.

Also, Asia is a big place.

Also, I've heard that NZ attracts some of the best cancer consultants in the world in regard to skin cancer, simply because it's more common.

Also, Medical care wasn't so bad 10 years ago, thankfully most of us don't need leading edge experimental treatment.

RobDon

As you know I am a nurse, and I certainly didnt go into this
profession for the money!!
I didnt exactly get "the calling" but it was something I
was lucky enough to be able to get into and I enjoy.
Salary is not brilliant but I like my job and thats what is important for me.

luvwelly

Agree, in that USA is probably the one country in the western world where people do choose medicine because it is financially lucrative.
In other countries especially EU ones, doctors make a reasonable 'middle class' living but not a massively wealthy one - this is a much healthier state of affairs.
I was certainly not implying medics are in it for the money in NZ, just that NZ has problems retaining them, since wages are so much higher in Australia which is only 4 hours away on a plane and culturally similar/same language. This is in contrast to a UK doctor who likes going on holiday to France but doesn't speak French well enough to work there rather than UK. Also French GPs earn slightly less than UK ones too, so I am told.

P18PPS

I think those who enter health care for the love of the job are truly amazing folk. Personally I think the days where you have the right to expect the best medical care for free are unrealistic and to expect those people who have trained for years to get where they are (and continue to train to stay at the top of their game) for the 'love of a job' is ridiculous. I think anyone who lives in the western world with the trappings that go alongside and say they would not follow the money is kidding themselves (within reason).... this goes for teachers, nurses, DRs - if you can do the same "rewarding" job in the private sector versus the public sector across the road from each other with a higher salary and possibly better working conditions, really apart from those who walk around with halos who is going to choose the job in the public sector?

BEVS

...now your talking plumbing & plumbers.

5 years of UK study and training plus re-examinations + upskills. Then emigrate to NZ and years of exams and practicals to get back to where you were plus...... upskills. Then annual license fees plus.....'upskills'. Private sector not allowed until more exams including one that is bigger all to do with the skill.

But it's all done for the love and $26 bucks an hour .

P18PPS

not quite sure what you're saying!??

mudblood21

I have had some friend who have lived (and in one case sadly not lived) through NHS mess ups. (my friend died as the staff forgot to link him up to his sleep apnea machine overnight).
So when i completely dislocated my elbow miles away from the nearest town in NZ, I was very worried. I cannot fault my treatment, I am aware that some hospitals are better than others, but whangeri were amazing. Back in jafa land, even if my (Irish and applying for permanent residence) physio charges me a $10 surcharge for treatment, I agree with her, that in the NHS I would wait weeks for treatment, and that she would be limited to 15 or 20 mins. I get an hour of quality treatment and it started immediately and I really feel the benefit.
In addition, the ACC scheme means that I can have domestic support - housework, driving and shopping while I am unable to do so due to my leading arm being out of commission, they will even pay my friend to clean my house if I don't want a stranger in. I don't recall anyone in the UK getting that level of support.
A friend of mine was treated for breast cancer following screening, and she says that it starts earlier in NZ than in the UK. My doctor is English and I feel confident in him. I would change like a shot if not= what is more important than the body you live in?

I have heard horror stories of NZ health care and followed others (my late husband included) through some scary UK hospital stories. I don't know which is better. But at the moment I don't think that the NZ is not so bad, and from my limited personal experience I would say it is better.

Pay your money, take your chance......

JohnThePom

Always makes me laugh when people equate the NHS with 'free' medicine. It's free at the point of delivery, but it's not free unless you don't pay tax. The last I heard, NHS doctors get paid plenty - far more than many other professions that are equally demanding. If all the doctors were private perhaps their charges would drop... or.... perhaps they would just throttle the number of people in their industry like lawyers do in order to keep themselves playing golf. Or perhaps they would just practice their BS like many company executives and convince people that they're really worth it when it's obvious they're not.

A lot of professionals train for years and years and retrain and work under stress and long hours and have to console themselves with 'loving the job' rather than getting paid tons of money. Even plumbers. At least doctors have security of employment.

Bitter? Me?

P18PPS

yes!

Kiwiprincess

Change your GP, seek another referral. Even if you have to pay more, do it.

I hope your health issues are more of the "worrying because I don't know" variety than anything else, I really do.

As for healthcare in the UK vs NZ. I think the biggest issue anywhere is being healthily critical and aware of what you can and

A good friend of my friends parents (not as much of a stretch as that sounds - i know them) is currently dying of bowel cancer. He was told on more than one occasion that he had hemorroids. I could list a multitude of serious **** ups due to some previous hospital discharge work I used to do. Oh, there was also an elderly patient left in a bathroom (about a week after another case ended up in the media).

Hell, I ended up in hospital for what I liked to call my brain testing and they didnt lose my file...they lost ME. I was in a completely different ward to what the doctors and nurses thought. In the end I was told I simply had severely debilitating tension headaches. The doctor who eventually looked at me seemed a bit confused as to why the headaches weren't diagnosed as such at the point I was first admitted btw. There was nothing particularly unusual about them. But until that point...worrying.

About 4 months later I found a lump. It was fine. But they lost the damn results and had a hell of time worrying me while I then had to wait for someone to then sort their stuff out and find them. Very worrying.


All those stories were in the UK. And no doubt there are equally horrific stories (by horrific I don't mean when I was lost - the other ones) related to NZ healthcare.

You need to put yourself as priority. If you aren't comfortable with your doctor, change. Push for tests. If you live in an area in which healthcare options are limited, good luck. But bloody hell I get sick of some of the grass is greener stuff I read here. It's not helpful and causes more worry.

I really really hope you are ok and you have the support you need.