I would say naive folk fucked by the system.

In Europe it is kind of similar, but not as bad. My relative has non-lethal cancer. It was diagnosed by private doctor and waiting list for operation is a few months. So he called ambulance and went to public hospital with 'unknown pain'. The very same doctor (who also work in public hospital) diagnosed cancer second time and bumbed him on top of the list, since it is an 'emergency'.

Just in case someone ask about morals: it is very commom here. This guy has bellow average salary, worked 40 years and got medal for rescuing 5 soldiers in combat.

Where is "here" for you ?

Europe has a pretty diverse range of healthcare facilities, varying greatly depending on which country you are in.

Does not really matter, I know similar stories from all over Europe including UK, post-soviet countries and southern states.

It does matter because Europe doesn't have a single homogenous healthcare system so I think it is not as easy to generalise about a "European" system.

There is a very big difference between non-lethal cancer and lethal cancer. "Treating" a late-stage cancer is an order of magnitude more expensive than treating a cancer that was diagnosed early.

Yet there is a waiting list...

All hospitals have to do triage, you just hope they do it on the basis of cost rather than profit.