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Scotland's healthcare system doesn't suck!

I expect it will be £16.50 then.

I'm not sure what it would cost if I had it done privately by a more local dentist, but more than that.

Thinks.... The trip to the dentist will be 60 miles (30 each way). At 40p a mile, that's £24. So, about £40 all told. Yes, still probably less than going locally, as a private patient. However, it's all relatively small change, I just prefer to see my regular dentist.

Rolfe.
 
Rolfe said:
Gaaaaahhhhh!!!!!

It's just as well that I typed that comment about the crown falling out last night. Just after it happened, before I even typed the post, I slipped it back into place. Partly because it felt better, and partly because I know it's important to keep the crown cavity clear and not let it start to "heal up" before the thing is replaced.

It's still there. I ate my supper and it was still there. I slept all night and it was still there. I ate my breakfast and it was still there. I just had my coffee, and it's still there.

I had completely forgotten all about it! And I could well have gone on forgetting all about it until it did it again. Maybe tonight, who knows.

Anyway, I just grabbed the phone and called the dentist, and the receptionist said, it's Karen you usually see, isn't it? I said yes, but I really didn't mind who I saw on this occasion, just anyone who could fit me in.

11 o'clock tomorrow morning, with Karen.

This is on the NHS, but you still have to pay something. Don't know which US term it would be, co-pay or deductible or something. It won't be much.
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That would likely be a copay. A deductible is where you have to pay the first X ammount, like on my car where the first $500 in dammage is not covered by insurance.

I could have called up any dentist at all (Karen is actually some distance away, because I didn't change dentists when I moved house two years ago) and they would have done it privately at a rather higher fee, but I chose to travel to my own dentist for continuity of care.

Rolfe.[/QUOTE]
 
It's called an "excess" for insurance related matters. Dunno if there's a specific term for it here.

My dentist isn't NHS, alas, but she is very good and comparatively cheap so I don't lose any sleep over it.

And yes, that's me back from the hospital already.
 
£8.44. Though where she pulled that figure from I don't know.

Put the crown back, discussed renewing it if it started to come out on a regular basis, and ground down the filling that was rough.

Done and dusted.

Just for the record, next time someone tells you that the Brits have to "stand in line" for months to see an NHS dentist.

My regular checkup is scheduled for 11th September also, but this was an extra, unscheduled stop.

Rolfe.
 
I'm glad to hear it went well.

Australia's version of the NHS doesn't cover dentistry although this is being debated at the moment which is why I asked about it. My private health insurance has covered all the work I have ever needed and only once have I made a co-payment.

Unfortunately my private health insurance premiums are also paying for:

Acupuncture, Alexander Technique, aromatherapy, Bowen Therapy,Feldenkrais, herbalist, homeopathy, iridology, kinesiology, naturopathy, reflexology, and Shiatsu
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Rolfe said:
Oh, I'll pay for this, but it's a small job. I'll post the price as well. :D

Rolfe.
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I am one of the few left with an NHS dentist and my waiting times are terrible. Not had emergency stuff for a while though.

Doctors and hospital no problems but not dentists.
 
Waiting times for NHS dentists are often so long because there's so few of them left that they're hopelessly oversubscribed. I practically had to wait for someone to die before signing up to my last one.

Well... I say "wait"...

My village is lucky enough to have a new NHS dentist though, and that presents no problem because so few people live here. But it really is one aspect of the NHS that needs an overhaul.
 
I originally posted this in the Surrogate Rant: Euthanasia Counseling thread:

My father split when I was ten years old, and my mom was left with raising three kids. Dad wasn't far off, really, but it was an every second weekend sort of thing, until he started another family.

Mom was born without side vision, something that wasn't discovered until she was in her forties. Everyone, including her, just assumed she was clumsy. When you're born without something like that, you don't really know that you don't have it - you have nothing to compare it to. Because of this she did really bad in school, and was branded stupid. She got pregnant with me right after high school, and spent the next 20 years raising kids on her own. We were never rich, but our government took care of us, made sure we had a house, food and clothes. But that's a topic for a different thread.

Mom's bad sight is a hereditary disease that shows up every other generation, and gets worse the older she is. It started getting really bad in her forties, and now she's practically blind. Luckily, she found herself a good husband that has been very understanding and really takes care of her. But financially, it could've been really bad. Luckily, I live in a country that thinks people shouldn't suffer for medical conditions that they can't control, and has supported her in every way, even going as far as offering her a guide dog - something she so far has declined, as she still sees a bit.

Then in her late forties she got colon cancer. That was a great ordeal for the family. The tumor was quite large, but she got immediate medical care the second it was discovered, and she lived through it. Then, a year later, it was discovered that the tumor was back, and once again she got immediate medical care.

A few years ago my (half-)brother crashed into a tree with a sled, and broke his face. He got immediate medical care. A few years before that, my 16 year old sister got pregnant and needed an abortion. The same sister has always suffered from terrible migraines, and has several times been admitted to the hospital for them. No waiting list, we called and said we were worried, and she got immediate medical care. She got immediate medical care. And a few years before that again, I got an infection in my testicles that made one of them swell up to the size of a tennis ball. I got immediate medical attention.

Those are just the major highlights of my family's medical history. We were never a well to do family, yet this at least was never a problem.

I can give you the total sum for all our medical bills: Zero.

And you know what? We Norwegians like it that way! From the parties furthest to the left, real socialists, to the parties furthest on the right, none of them want to change this. None of them. Not only do they all accept that free medical care has been a great boon for the country, but the vast vast majority of the population wouldn't even dream of having it any other way.

I'm a liberal of the classic kind, the dictionary definition of a liberal. I want small government, as few laws and regulations as possible, a market driven economy and the lower the taxes are the better it is. But there are some fundamental things I think the government should supply its citizens, and medical care is one of them. No one should have to live in misery and pain, even die prematurely, just because they can't afford medical care.

I shudder to think what kind of life my mother would have had in the USA.
 
Me three! I've got nothing to match that story, but most of my cousins are older than me, and family gatherings seem to be a constant exchange of stories of joint replacements and diabetes management and glaucoma management. All free.

Or, not free.

We pay for it with our taxes. And the point about taxes that the Americans seem to hate is the "from each according to his means, to each according to his need" part. Though frankly, if this is valid for any aspect of human life, it's healthcare.

But think of it another way. "From each when he has the means, and to him when he has the need." Of course it's not that simple, some people go through life healthy and then get hit by a bus, some are born with expensive problems. But by and large, it does tend to work like that. We pay in when we're prosperous, which is often when we're healthy, but because we're prosperous it's not a burden. Then when we're sick, and maybe not so prosperous, well, we've paid our dues, we've made our proper contribution to the funding of the system, and we can access it without having to worry about payments at what is really the worst time in your life to have to worry about that sort of thing. And really, if we end up not needing to take much from the system, who's worrying? Who is actually upset about not being sick?

This is really why people like it. But right-wing Americans seem so obsessed with some illusory concept of "freedom" that they think is denied in that system, that they simply will not even look at the benefits. But look at what they have to put up with? They can pay in for years while they are healthy, and then when they need something, hey, to bad you're not covered. (Look at Ducky's experience for a start.)

As I said to BaC in another thread when he was wittering on about his "freedoms" - as regards healthcare, I have a whole bunch of freedoms you don't even dream about.

Rolfe.
 
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I haven't heard any further news since the second day, when they said she was "still gravely ill but getting the best possible treatment." However, they sounded guardedly optimistic, and they did say she would probably have to stay in Sweden for at least a couple of weeks.

ETA: I found this from yesterday, but I'm not clear whether it's new, or whether they're just quoting the earlier bulletin.

Ms Pentleton, who is having her blood circulated through a machine, is described as "stable, but critical".
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Rolfe.
 
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richardm said:
Waiting times for NHS dentists are often so long because there's so few of them left that they're hopelessly oversubscribed. I practically had to wait for someone to die before signing up to my last one.

Well... I say "wait"...

My village is lucky enough to have a new NHS dentist though, and that presents no problem because so few people live here. But it really is one aspect of the NHS that needs an overhaul.
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Yes, they really screwed up when they made it uneconomic for the dentists to take on NHS work, and they could make a much better income in private practice. And since very little dental treatment is critical (and when it is, you can go to a hospital), then there isn't the same ethical imperative to provide care.

Of course, this is a prime example of how universal healthcare is still capitalist. The dentists are free to run their businesses as they choose, and it's up to the government to make it worth their while to work for the NHS. If it wants to, that is.

Ironically, I think the more prosperous the area you're in, the harder it is to find an NHS dentist. If most people are quite well-to-do, they'll pay, and the dentists know that and act accordingly. On the other hand, anyone practising in a poorer area really needs NHS work to keep the practice going.

When I came back from living in England, I was immediately taken back on with the practice I'd been with before I left, 25 years earlier, and which was still treating my mother. I happened to lose a filling a month or so after I moved back, and I was in there and treated within two days, and back on their NHS list even though I said we were planning to move out of the county in the next few months.

So, it's only 30 miles, and I know when I'm on to a good thing.

Rolfe.
 
Rolfe said:
But think of it another way. "From each when he has the means, and to him when he has the need." Of course it's not that simple, some people go through life healthy and then get hit by a bus, some are born with expensive problems. But by and large, it does tend to work like that. We pay in when we're prosperous, which is often when we're healthy, but because we're prosperous it's not a burden. Then when we're sick, and maybe not so prosperous, well, we've paid our dues, we've made our proper contribution to the funding of the system, and we can access it without having to worry about payments at what is really the worst time in your life to have to worry about that sort of thing. And really, if we end up not needing to take much from the system, who's worrying? Who is actually upset about not being sick?
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And healthy people contribute to the UHC system of your choice ;), so it's really in the interest of everyone to keep people healthy or help them regaining their health to become contributors again.
 
Yesterday, one of the inserts inmy daily paper was a 12-page tabloid booklet called "Health News", published by the Greater Glasgow and Clyde NHS region. It informs people about the sort of work the NHS is doing, and highlights a number of good news stories.

I suppose the nay-sayers will just call it propaganda, but it does provide insght into the level of service available in the system. The booklet itself is well laid out and illustrated. I was hoping for a pdf online, but no such luck, all I could find was as Word document with what seems to be a draft of the text only, probably incomplete, and with typos.

Still, it's here is anyone's interested.

library.nhsggc.org.uk/.../nhsggc_healthnews_2009_08-09_text.doc

Damn, I don't think that will work. Google "all too often the daily miracles"

Rolfe.
 
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Type 1 diabetes maybe caused by virus?
And maybe a vaccine on the way?
Why not, it works for uterus cancer, and ulcers is a bug.
 
Oh, you got it then. It's a shame there isn't a pdf, the final document is much better with cool graphics and pictures of the patients.

It's an interesting counter to Beerina's repeated, ignorant assertion that universal healthcare stifles research. That's just the showcase parts of what's going on in one region of Scotland's NHS, which is itself only a tenth of the size of England's.

Rolfe.
 
I went to see my GP on Wednesday 23rd July, and she suggested a referral to a physio, and said she would write a letter and I should wait to hear from them. I had a phone call yesterday, my physio appointment has been arranged for Monday 4th August. I'm sure opponents of UHC keep asserting that we in the UK have long waiting times, especially for non-urgent treatment, but that's not my experience.
 
Agatha said:
I had a phone call yesterday, my physio appointment has been arranged for Monday 4th August. I'm sure opponents of UHC keep asserting that we in the UK have long waiting times, especially for non-urgent treatment, but that's not my experience.
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Really? Then why do you have to wait until 2014 for a physio appointment? :p
 
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