rabsody

Yes, the private schools in Australia are well subsidised. It was one of the things Rudd took Howard to task on. However, the fee you are quoted is the fee you will pay, you won't get any tax rebate or any subsidy on top of that, it's all calculated before you get to that point (i.e. you would be paying a fair whack more if it was not for this subsidy).

http://cms.curriculum.edu.au/anr2005/ch3_nongov.htm If I understand it correctly, it appears private schools receive between 13.7%-70% subsidy from the federal and state govts.

Elvira

<<<sigh>>>

We live in the US. When my husband had an acute attack of kidney stones, he was seen at our local ER immediately.

Pity they couldn't actually treat him........... because our insurance insisted that he be transferred to one of "their" hospitals........ 45 minutes away.

He then waited ALL DAY on a gurney for a bed at said hospital to become available.

By the time he finally got there, the MRI unit was shut for the night, so all he got was some pain relief.

We have what is generally considered to be very good insurance, by the way. You may have heard that there is no such thing as universal healthcare in the US, so I guess we have to be grateful we are not part of the 16% of uninsured.

Brits have NO IDEA how lucky they are.

NikiL

Medical care is an issue that is highly debatable in the UK. It depends on where you live as to what medication you receive. There is a case going through at the moment where a woman with cancer has offered to pay for her own life extending medication as the health care provider has refused to pay for a drug as its is too expensive, and she has been told that if she pays the £4k a month cost, she must pay the full £15k per month for her treatment. NICE has decided that the drug which would extend her life is too expensive. There are many, many examples of people who, if they lived in Scotland or Wales, would receive certain drugs, however if you live in England you will not. I knew a woman who had MS and was given a drug when she lived in Germany which helped control her MS, but it was decided that in the UK it was too expensive. Within 6 months of moving back to the UK she had a major relapse, and ended up spending 8 months in hospital, and needed a major refit of her home when she left and 14 hour nursing care (which would have cost a lot more than the £18k pa costs of the drug keeping her out of hospital). 3 years later she was dead.

My best friends mother contracted MRSA in her kidney in hospital 4 years ago during hospital treatment. The hospital will not treat her MRSA until it causes her problems, i.e. until she falls extremely ill. They will not give a reason for this.

Lucky with healthcare is a relative viewpoint.

Englishmum

Referring to the title of this thread, "Do You Worry About Raising Your Kids in the UK?" I can honestly say that it is less worrisome than the fear of a major medical problem they may encounter here in the USA.

Here is yet another news story which has hit the headlines today....a health insurance company is being sued by the parents of a 17 year old girl because it didn't want to pay for a liver transplant. It reversed the decision when a demonstration was held by 150 nurses and her fellow school pupils and was getting negative publicity....but the decision was made too late and she was too ill for the op and died:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22357873/


I urge everyone to watch the DVD of Michael Moore's "Sicko" where he compares the US healthcare system to that of Canada, the UK and France. For all its faults, no parent in the UK need ever worry that their child will be refused treatment because the health insurance company won't agree to it.

brits1

Same here....they don't call our local High school the "The Tree Hugging School" for nothing (they even ahave a quiet room for pupils who are feeling stressed!!!)!!!!! my friend also had to wait in A & E for 3 hours with a fracture...then go over to Freo. Hospital because this other hospital does not offere a fracture clinic....Freo Hospital Frac. clinic was another lon wait...today after a week of coming and going my friend now needs an Op as the fracture was so bad...hopefully she may have to Op today!!! now these are not the hospitals fault and by no means the Doc's fault...thats life.....happens the world over.....so life here is not all it's cracked up to be either!!!!!

St.Georges Girl

It isn't that's true and it is know different to the UK re-drugs. In fact, Australia are way behind a number of westernised countries in allowing the use of certain drugs. I was on a very strong drug for almost 5 months for a virus I'd contracted that attacked the muscles. The drug was known to cause side effects such as huge weight gain, dizziness, nausea and loss of memory and it was taking it's toll on me, when I read about another drug that had very little in the way of side effects. I asked my doctor about them and he did some homework. Finally he rang me and said that they were available on prescription in the UK & France if I wanted to go home for awhile, but they weren't on the Medicare list here because they were too expensive. Infact, most pharmacy drugs here are alot dearer than back home.

Fleaflyfloflum

I have the very same issue with one of my medications. That is why i bought 6mths supply back with me. I am not sure what i am going to do when i run out. It wasnt until i went back to the UK recently and saw my UK specialist that he told me i had been on the wrong meds. I was amazed at how much better i felt with these new ones, but if Australia doesnt start allowing them soon i am buggered basically. I wont keel over and die, but i wont feel as fit and well as i do now.

BadgeIsBack

About whinging etc - I think very few people move (to Australia) for political motives, (and even if they say so - a lot of it is hot air) they move for hedonistic ones.

I don't think the UK has gone down hill.Bits of it are bloody exy - just like bits of Australia. Do what you can.

Teresa

Hi Tracey

Have sent you a pm....................we are back and absolutely no regrets here in UK, after living in Perth for 3 years.

Education....significantly better here in UK in my opinion...........we go out all time, whatever the weather, have a different opinion now I have been away, opens your eyes and makes you realise it wasn't all that bad afterall.....

Poo and needles exist worldwide unfortunately, those that think they don't need to educate themselves but luckily enough haven't encountered any here so far.....................

I have younger children but have many friends with teenagers and they have had no problems with above, again depends on where you live but knowing you, you will choose somewhere that has your standards, like mine...........and my god I'm never dropping them again lol................................feels fab to be in the land of the living again!!!!!!!!

St.Georges Girl

Hi Teresa, where are you in the UK and where were you in Perth, if you don't mind me asking?

Mallory

Michael Moore is a bit of a Sicko though.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/com...cle2753620.ece

TraceyW

Have pm'd you right back girl!!! I am still in shock

username 34

have to say schooling was a big reason for us leaving the UK. Our catchment area was bad news - there are actually no decent primary schools in the area we were in despite the fact the housing was affluent.

Here bizarrely is the same thing - I would never send either of the boys to the government primary school. Our oldest attends the private primary as we get that with our job, and our youngest actually goes to the government pre-shcool which is excellent and totally at odds with the government primary.

We were worried about the peer pressure influence in the UK - I just dreaded the boys turning into the architypal greasy haired, sitting at the back, am I bovvered youth - which just seems to be so "cool" in the UK.

It is strange that to reach the top of the school social ladder in a UK school basically means being a rude, hardnut who is a scholastic failure .... but really popular!

At the same time I look with fear to the US schools who pigeon hole the students so badly - the cheerleaders, the geeks, the jocks, the popular girls, the goths, the druggies, etc etc .... we see it on the TV constantly and from the US people I know here they say its very true - you are extremely pressurised to belong to one group or another.

shit - who knows, I just hope that with a mixture of careful school selection, the ability to enroll in private schools if we need that option, and the influence we will hopefully have on their behaviour I just hope to god my boys turn out alright .... and I beleive that for us that means away from the town we were living in in the UK.

Teresa

Hi

Just outside Southampton and was in Butler, did I have a long conversation with you on phone once (ebay) ....have I got the right person? brain gets damaged in the sun and having children lol

LouiseD

Judging by some of the comments on this thread I'm guessing that there must be some truth in the rumours that GCSEs and A Levels are getting easier.

With all the violence, drugs and disruption going on in our schools how else would we explain how our kids manage to achieve record results, because they sure as hell can't get any work done - they're all too busy stabbing each other, stoned out of their minds or being frisked by the resident school policeman