British Expats - Medical checkup

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bob

yeah, the UK obviously has a massive infant death rate compared to the US :rolleyes:

Ouch. I wasn't saying that the UK is killing babies.

In the UK I went to the GP with severe cramping and pain and was asked 'are your waterworks okay'. To which I said 'yes'. I was sent home. A month later I went back and was told to switch pills. Sent on my way. Went back-told to give it time. No exam, no ultrasound,nothing.

Fast forward a few months. Am here, wake with severe pain, go to doctor for a check and an ultrasound. I have a very large cyst that was near rupture...and I was newly pregnant. My doctor asked the date of my last internal exam and I replied 'never'. She was shocked--here it is reco'd that women have a yearly check-up.

I had surgery the next morning, cyst removed, the baby survived but it was a close call. If the cyst had ruptured I would have, most likely, lost the baby and risked my life.

Yes, I know that I'm fortunate to have good insurance here. However, a simple exam or ultrasound months earlier would have prevented that whole ordeal.

My husband and I paid a lot of money for him to have an OP he needed, after he spent 11 months in a queue/off of work. That was a big hardship, as I was on maternity leave with our first.

As I've said, at least here we know how the system works and we can take precautions to protect ourselves. Yes, it needs work as there are major problems, but the NHS is far from the perfect model. In the UK, the safety net that we thought was there clearly wasn't, all because we lived in the wrong place (even though it was a 'right' place in terms of places to live).

OP should be grateful he gets a yearly check, even if it has to be booked in advance.