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A comment on UK has best health system in developed world, US analysis concludes. Parent comment

Re:UK has best health system in developed world, US analysis... by arethuza on Saturday July 15, 2017 @06:59AM (#14776067)
A couple of years back my son developed an eye infection that didn't respond to the antibiotic drops our GP prescribed. I took him back a couple of days later and we were referred first to a private ophthalmologist (who we didn't have to pay for) and then to the specialist eye department of the local hospital that same day (associated with the medical school of a world top 20 university) where he was regularly seen twice a week until the condition cleared up.

I know the NHS isn't perfect, and I don't really care whether it is #1 or #10 in some ranking. But what I do know that over the last 20+ years of having a family with multiple serious accidents (rugby, climbing etc.), childbirths etc. they've provided excellent and timely care.

Did I have to wait three weeks to get an MRI scan for a sinus infection that was recurring? Yes I did. Did I care if it was being used for properly ill people in the meantime? No I didn't.

It's not perfect, put it is pretty bloody good.

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Re:UK has best health system in developed world, US analysis... by _dps on Saturday July 15, 2017 @11:45AM (#14777219)
> It's not perfect, put it is pretty bloody good.

Just to round out my thoughts here, I mainly agree! I lived in London for two years and I was always pleased with the NHS overall.

My main point is that, based on my experience in the USA, advocates of moving to an NHS-style system tend to underplay the fact that there is genuinely a different set of costs, and it is not a magical solution.

I spend lots of time in both the USA and in Greece (which has a mostly-NHS-style system), and I have gotten health treatment in both places throughout my life. Both systems have strengths and weaknesses, and I can totally understand someone advocating for an NHS-style system as the best overall set of tradeoffs available. It's just not without some downsides, and I wanted to point out that waiting times can be a real problem.

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