I agree-- I have lived in the US, UK and Australia and have to say I am most impressed with the Australian health system.
The UK health system is appalling. When I lived there I tried to get an appointment for a pap test and I was told I would have to wait 8 months. When I was sick it took me 3 days to see a "doctor" - who it turned out was out that day - I saw a nurse who merely handed me a prescription for penicillin without a) assessing what was wrong with me or b) asking if I had any drug allergies! DH's sister had her fist baby in London- in a ward with open rooms (i.e. 12 women per room) and did not see a doctor until she had been in labor for 30-some hours!
My DH is a doctor and worked in the UK system. He thinks the main problem is really the lack of nurses - you have two nurses managing a floor of 35-40 people and they just can't keep up. He was the 1st doctor to see patients after they had been admitted- in some cases they had been there 2 days- because the nursing staff was so overwhelmed that they just couldn't keep up with the patients. And he said the get paid something appalling, like 3 pounds an hour.
In Australia- I have been very impressed with the quality of care and the low cost. I do not qualify for Medicare since I do not have permanent residency, but a year ago I was in a horse riding accident and shattered my arm. I was taken to Gosford Hospital, a public hospital. I was treated as a private patient (since I don't have medicare) but I was very impressed with the standard of care. It was a long weekend and only one operating theatre was open but I only had to wait 4 hours (from the time I was brought to the hospital) for my 1st surgery, and was able to have the second surgery the next day. I had a third surgery at St Luke's Hospital in Sydney and really, at both I had excellent care. The nurses were so good and the surgeons were world-class. And even though I had to pay for it all (I was reimbursed by my US-based private health care) - my total costs so far (Including physical therapy 2x/week for 12 weeks) were only A$13k. I couldn't even imagine how much it would have been in the US... for example my anesthetist (sp?) bill was only A$550 - in the US it would have been at least US$5000. I really think the public/private system in this country works so well- to keep costs down throughout the system and to keep the level of care world-class. |