Rolfe
Adult human female
There are so many lies and misinformation stories currently being fed to American voters about universal healthcare systems, including the NHS in Britain (which is actually four national systems with complete reciprocity), that I thought a few examples of what actually happens in the 21st century to actual patients might be helpful.
Last night, the news was full of a healthcare story. A 26-year-old woman, who is pregnant, was taken to hospital with Mexican flu. (The hospital concerned was Architect's local hospital, so he may have more information.) She deteriorated, and was placed on life support. However, things got worse. [newspaper article]
Why did she have to go to Stockholm? This procedure is very rarely required in adults, so although there is a specialist unit in Glasgow which provides the treatment to children, there are only five beds in the whole of Britain for adults. These are located in Leicester, all together for maximum efficiency. Normally, this is entirely sufficient. However, England has flu coming out of its ears, and these five beds were all occupied last night.
The NHS recognises that this is possible during times of unprecedented demand such as a pandemic, and so there are arrangements in place to share these facilities right across Europe. These arrangements were called on last night, a bed was found in Stockholm (which is actually not all that far, as the NHS air ambulance flies), and the patient was transferred. (The arrangements are reciprocal, so a Swedish patient will end up in Leicester if the situation is reversed.)
(ETA: OK, it's a bit further than I originally thought.)
The name of the patient has not been released. We have no idea if she is a single mother on welfare or a well-off upper-middle-class housewife. It doesn't matter. This is the sort of care Scottish (and British) citizens get as of right from the NHS. It's only in the news because she was sent to Sweden - if she'd simply been flown to Leicester, in England, over 300 miles away, it wouldn't even have been remarked on.
Nobody had to check her insurance cover. Nobody had to give authorisation. Nobody had to ask any "bureaucrat", government or otherwise. The need had been foreseen, a patient was identified who had that need, therefore the system sprang into action. I imagine the NHS may have to reimburse the Swedish health system for this, but that's no concern of the patient's (and if this flu hits Sweden in the same way, the NHS may well get its money back!).
There is flu in the USA too. I imagine there are US patients who have suffered the same extreme reaction and need the same treatment. I imagine the USA also has facilities for extra corporeal membrane oxygenation. Can anyone tell us how access to these facilities is managed in the USA? If an uninsured patient, or a patient with very basic health insurance, were to be in the situation the Scottish woman was in last night, would they get the same standard of care?
The gross lies and misrepresentation of the standard of care provided by the NHS which are currently circulating in the USA are making the news here. People are horrified at the way mistakes and aberrant experiences are being blown up out of context to imply that we don't have decent healthcare.
Please use this thread to discuss this counter-example, and others that may be appropriate.
Rolfe.
Last night, the news was full of a healthcare story. A 26-year-old woman, who is pregnant, was taken to hospital with Mexican flu. (The hospital concerned was Architect's local hospital, so he may have more information.) She deteriorated, and was placed on life support. However, things got worse. [newspaper article]
Why did she have to go to Stockholm? This procedure is very rarely required in adults, so although there is a specialist unit in Glasgow which provides the treatment to children, there are only five beds in the whole of Britain for adults. These are located in Leicester, all together for maximum efficiency. Normally, this is entirely sufficient. However, England has flu coming out of its ears, and these five beds were all occupied last night.
The NHS recognises that this is possible during times of unprecedented demand such as a pandemic, and so there are arrangements in place to share these facilities right across Europe. These arrangements were called on last night, a bed was found in Stockholm (which is actually not all that far, as the NHS air ambulance flies), and the patient was transferred. (The arrangements are reciprocal, so a Swedish patient will end up in Leicester if the situation is reversed.)
(ETA: OK, it's a bit further than I originally thought.)
The name of the patient has not been released. We have no idea if she is a single mother on welfare or a well-off upper-middle-class housewife. It doesn't matter. This is the sort of care Scottish (and British) citizens get as of right from the NHS. It's only in the news because she was sent to Sweden - if she'd simply been flown to Leicester, in England, over 300 miles away, it wouldn't even have been remarked on.
Nobody had to check her insurance cover. Nobody had to give authorisation. Nobody had to ask any "bureaucrat", government or otherwise. The need had been foreseen, a patient was identified who had that need, therefore the system sprang into action. I imagine the NHS may have to reimburse the Swedish health system for this, but that's no concern of the patient's (and if this flu hits Sweden in the same way, the NHS may well get its money back!).
There is flu in the USA too. I imagine there are US patients who have suffered the same extreme reaction and need the same treatment. I imagine the USA also has facilities for extra corporeal membrane oxygenation. Can anyone tell us how access to these facilities is managed in the USA? If an uninsured patient, or a patient with very basic health insurance, were to be in the situation the Scottish woman was in last night, would they get the same standard of care?
The gross lies and misrepresentation of the standard of care provided by the NHS which are currently circulating in the USA are making the news here. People are horrified at the way mistakes and aberrant experiences are being blown up out of context to imply that we don't have decent healthcare.
Please use this thread to discuss this counter-example, and others that may be appropriate.
Rolfe.
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