LostBrit99

I understand what you are saying. I have heard many horror stories too but I expect there are some good ones. My friend lives in Devon and sadly she is full of horror stories of the NHS because her daughter suffers very bad asthma attacks. The last time she dialed 999 for an ambulance the firemen turned up half an hour later and no ambulance.

chris955

Yes most peoples experiences of the NHS would no doubt be positive but unfortunately a bad story is always more 'newsworthy'.

cyrian

As a retired healthcare professional it is from personal experience.
In the SE of England, it is not 80% but move further north and 80% can be conservative.
In addition, because people grudge paying for prescriptions, many just complete the exemption and don't pay. In the unlikely event that they get caught then they are just asked to pay the initial unpaid charges.
They have nothing to lose.

The £104 represents one prescription per month or 2 every 2nd month.
While that doesn't help for the occasional antibiotic, anyone on medicine for blood-pressure control or cholesterol control or other chronic illness will easily pass this amount.
In addition, over 60s don't pay; under 16s don't pay; students don't pay; pregnant women don't pay for 2 years; diabetics don't pay; epileptics don't pay etc etc. Their exemption is not just for their diabetic medication or their epileptic medication, it is for all medication.
People on certain Social Security payments are exempt.
Cancer sufferers are not exempt.
They have to pay or buy a season ticket for the prescription charges.
In some deprived inner city areas the exemption rate can be as high as 95% - source personal experience.

old.sparkles

I think cancer sufferers are exempt in some circumstances - not read all the info here Free or Reduced Cost Prescriptions | Health | Patient.co.uk but it does suggest an exemption.

If the rate of exemptions are as high as suggested, then England may as well scrap prescription charges as well.

lgabriel73

if you look at the costs you have to pay in the US for health insurance and for prescriptions the NHS is a bargain. Also having health insurance in the US doesn't mean that the service is any better than with the US. Each doctor is different and each hospital is different just like in the UK. I've had good experiences and bad experiences in the US. Paying £8.05 a month for a prescription is a good deal in my opinion, plus certain meds you may not pay for at all.

old.sparkles

The £8.05 charge is per item on a prescription. If you have more than 4 items on a prescription at any time, it would be worth getting a 3 month pre-paid certificate before getting the prescription filled. If you routinely need prescriptions than go for the 12 month prepaid cert, the cost of which is just under £9 a month.

I'm not sure where the additional funding comes from for the UK - Taxes or NI contribution. I do know how much I paid in my last year in the UK which combined added to nearly a third of total income - and I had private medical insurance with my employer. Obviously if you are a pensioner you will not be paying anything so compared to the US it would be a bargain.

CarltonCrabbe

One thing many expats dont look forward to is paying UK tax again. Compared to popular tax-free expat destinations like Dubai, Qatar, Abu Dhabi and Bahrain, its a big shock. 45% top rate of income tax, 28% capital gains tax. One way of adjusting to life back in the UK is to start to live on less and less of your income in the 2 years before you move back home.

cyrian

NHS funding comes from general taxation.
That is all taxation income including income tax; NI and other taxation.
The £8.05 charge does not reflect the cost of the medication.
For example 28 Atenolol 100mg tablets costs £1.05 and the pharmacist gets paid 90p. This is publically available information.
The Government retains the £8.05.
Many generic (unbranded) drugs cost less than £8.05 in the UK.
The costs of the drugs in the USA are usually much greater.

spouse of scouse

[QUOTE=DebzinUS;11363928]

My dad died in June at home. The care he received in the hospital setting before he was discharged home was nothing short of appalling. There was no coordination of care. He was not involved in any way in the decision making process, including whether he should be resuscitated in the event of a cardiac/respiratory arrest. He was discharged home with district nurses, palliative care and a GP who was clueless. The district nurses continued to show up days after he had died. I had to start a stat line on my own father and administer morphine as the nursing staff told me they couldn't guarantee that they could come to the house when he needed a dose. The district nurses literally dumped the supplies on the door step along with a prescription for Morphine and Versed. Not one person asked, or even seemed to care, if I was actually qualified to administer these drugs. I am an RN, but they didn't know that. maybe that's my problem, I can recognize sub standard care when I see it. QUOTE]

Deb, I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for the loss of your Dad. I can't imagine how hard it would have been for you to have to provide that level of nursing care for your Dad, amidst the grief you must have been feeling.

I hope your family friend with melanoma has finally been seen and treated. Melanoma is a word that strikes fear into the hearts of us Aussies, it's far too common and affects people of all ages.

I think it's important that people highlight experiences such as Deb's. Doing so isn't saying that the entire NHS system is flawed, nor is it being 'disloyal' to your country and its institutions. Instead, it's a necessary level of accountability. If something isn't working and no one complains about it - then how can it be fixed?

London1947

Are these time stamps correct?? you posting at 3:58am today?

Grayling

......and many of the drugs available on prescription, in the UK, would cost hundreds if not thousands of pounds but are available for the same prescription charge.....swings and roundabouts.

Grayling

....what are you trying to suggest?

spouse of scouse

Is there a set limit to how much you pay per prescription in the UK? I ask because in Oz, the usual price for a PBS (Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme) prescription is around AU$35. Every Australian is eligible for the PBS. But there are some drugs that the government won't put on the PBS, a couple of examples are Lyrica, a medication for nerve pain, and another one that's an anti-nausea drug. These prescriptions can be up to AU$100 a pop. If you have private health insurance, you may get some of the cost of these drugs back.

Grayling

The prescription charge covers all prescriptions......for the same cost unless the drug is not approved.

For example Rifaximin (a fairly widely used antibiotic) is available on prescription in the UK but costs over $400 per course in Australia

spouse of scouse

Hooley Dooley! Can't knock that