If there is one thing that boils my blood, it's false advertising. 'Oh, you'll have FREE healthcare in Scotland'... Well, that depends on your definition of free. A tax of 20% on all goods, to start, does not exactly equate to 'free' for me. But, I self admittedly am not very good at math.
So, all I wanted was my annual gynecological exam, a health form filled out for school and some vaccinations needed for vet school. I first scheduled the gyno exam and was told to discuss my paperwork for the vaccinations when I arrived. Since my appointment was still 2 weeks away, I decided to take my paperwork to my doctor's office so they would have it before my appointment. I already knew I would have to pay for some of the vaccines, but I was fine with that since they are not something everybody needs.
The half-page form I needed filled out requests the following information:
Height
Weight
Blood Pressure
Pulse
And, to describe any abnormalities of the following:
Eyes
ENT (Ear, Nose, Throat)
Neck
Heart
Breast
Abdomen
Rectum
Nervous System
Genitalia
Extremities
It requires a signature by a physician.
This is where it gets really interesting. Pay attention. I don't know about the rest of you ladies, but my ob/gyn from the States does a thorough examination in addition to performing a pap smear. Because, yes, I'd really like to know if she finds a lump in my breast that I've missed, an abnormality in my abdomen (like where my ovaries and uterus are located), any swollen lymph nodes, etc. She also would tend to discuss with me relevant issues that may affect my health...my relationships, diet, any major changes in my life, emotional well-being, medications, etc. You know, all the normal stuff, right?
I am informed by the lovely receptionist that I will need a separate appointment to get this form filled out. Why, I ask? I am getting seen by a gynecologist and fairly certain she/he will be able to easily complete this form. Oh no, it is a nurse and she is ONLY doing a pap smear. Like, as in not even checking ANYTHING else. Wow, really? You are going to have a nurse get me in the stirrups, take a swab, and be done with the deal? Not even she is going to take a peek around while I'm all there for her to see? Nope. Not even throw a stethoscope on my chest/lungs to have a listen? Nope. How about a breast exam. No, not done here.
I informed them they have never even done a physical on me and do they not practice preventative medicine here? No, they really don't. I said, 'So, you do not do a physical exam to find a baseline on your new patients'. That answer is No again. They said I could have a complementary 'chat' with the nurse and she would do my height, weight, BP and I could drop off a urine sample. Gee, thanks. Do I get a free cup of coffee with that? I told them that I wanted EVERYTHING checked by a doctor because lo and behold, I am NOT a doctor and would really like someone to listen to my heart, look in my ears and make sure their trained eyes do not see anything out of the ordinary.
They advised me they can help with my request! Alright, I'm now getting somewhere. Yes, I can have all of that and more for a mere £120. That is $200USD to look me over with out even a prick of my skin!!!! After my jaw hit the floor, I said, "So, this really isn't free healthcare, is it?" I had two ladies dealing with my smarty pants by this time and they literally stared at me for 30 seconds before saying, 'Well, our system is different than yours'. You think? I passed on the offer. Not sure what I would have done if they would have said, 'But wait, there's more. For £120 you can have your form filled out and we'll throw in a free colonoscopy. And, if you book your appointment TODAY, we'll give you this handsome 'I survived the NHS (National Healthcare System) t-shirt in either happy, pastel pink or dashing green.'
Moving on to the vaccinations. I am asked to fill out a form so that they may research exactly what I need. Wait a minute....I am GIVING you a form by the vet school as to EXACTLY what I need. And what I really need, is to make an appointment so that we can get started. The 'consultation' fee to do the research is £25, or $42USD and then I get to pay for all of the vaccinations as well...anywhere from £30-40 per shot. Oh, and it will take them a week to 'research' what I need (it's ON THE FORM) and then I could make an appointment, which will take 1-2 weeks to get in. <Bangs head on desk so hard it starts to bleed profusely>. Oh wait, NOW I can go get my 'free' healthcare to get all stitched up. Perfect system.
So yeah, Scotland can take their 'free' healthcare and shove it up into a place that I can't get them to look at on me for less than 200 bucks. I'll pass on the free pap smear. I don't trust you to read the results correctly anyways.
I'm not going to start on my political rant....but, just know that THIS is what happens when the government sticks their nose where they shouldn't. Only the sick are seen here. There is no such thing as preventative care. It's only for the well-to-do. And don't even get me started on dental.
I am soooooo Over-N-Out
Showing posts with label NHS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NHS. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Saturday, November 20, 2010
The Verdict is in....kind of
Enquiring minds want to know about the outcome of my wrist. Wellllll, as it seems to go with scaphoid bones, it's kind of inconclusive at the moment.
Following is a recount of my first experience dealing with socialized medicine. I took a cab to the hospital with a 'minor injuries' department within their Emergency Room because I was told it may be quicker than going to the hospital nearest me which was all emergencies. I go to the reception and mind you, I have never been sent a hospitalization card from NHS (National Health Service), a confirmation that I'm registered...nothing. My GP had confirmed I was registered, but it still felt weird to check into a hospital without a card and identification of some sort. Nope, just date of birth, name and address given verbally and boom...I was in. The funny part about being in the minor injuries check-in, was there was a sign that basically said all emergencies that came in could be triaged ahead of me....hhhhmmmm. I thought the reason for having a minor injury department was....oh, never mind.
I brought a book to study and of course this meant I never had time to open it, which was good. I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly I was handled. So, I am first seen by a nurse. Her name badge says 'physiotherapist'. I'm fine with this at this point because I'm sure I'm going to give her my history and then tell her what happened and she's going to send me to x-ray. And, hopefully, I will be seen by a doctor after that to discuss the results. After some poking and prodding, she agreed that I had the clinical signs of a scaphoid fracture and sent me back to the waiting room to wait for the x-ray tech. X-ray tech came and got me shortly thereafter and seemed to position my wrist properly for getting good films of the scaphoid. If the tech doesn't know what they are doing, you won't get a good enough look at the bone, because it can be overshadowed by others.
Here's where it gets a bit iffy for me. The tech tells me I can go back to the waiting room. I ask her if an orthopaedic surgeon is going to look at it, or a radiologist, or......?? She says they send it up (digitally) to the radiologist. Ok fine.
I have barely sat down, when my nurse comes and gets me. She has the xrays pulled up on her monitor and tells me everything looks good. Now.....unless the radiologist was sitting at his computer the moment those xrays were sent to him and was available to view them immediately, they were not seen by a doctor. This, I have a problem with. The nurse continued to point out on the xray how the bone looked good and there did not appear to be a fracture. But, she said I do have the clinical signs, so we need to treat it as such. She told me that since I had just injured it on Sunday (this was Wed), there could have been some re-absorption making it hard to see a fracture. Her 'treatment' was for me to keep my splint on for another 10 days (she told me my splint was better than what she could offer me, so I should use my own) and to come back. If I still had symptoms, it was likely there was a fracture since any soft tissue injury should be better by then. So, I go back next Friday. As I was leaving, I asked if I could get a copy of my x-rays to take with me (to send to my surgeon in VA) and she said 'no, they are all on the computer these days and we can't just copy them'. Ok, well that's strange because just last May, I had x-rays taken and they were put on a CD for me to take to my doctor. But, I didn't argue and moved on.
I was not comfortable with the level of personnel I saw based on my past history and the fact that I need sound and proper medical care for this issue. I know that the worst case scenario is that it's fractured and I am in a splint, so nothing is different there. I am just wondering if any of my other wrist bones were looked at? I mean, I realize I know my body and made a convincing argument, but maybe they should have done just some regular pictures of my wrist to look at the whole thing? I dunno, I guess I left not feeling confident in the care I received, as nice and professional as everyone was. Heck, it was hard for my surgeon to see the fracture in May and he's been doing wrists and hands for like 30 some years. Only when it had healed and he could compare the two, was he confident he had read the first x-ray correctly.
So, yesterday I called my ortho's office in VA and spoke with a staff member. I asked her if he could look at the x-rays (if they will give me a copy) and she said absolutely. She told me to get them on a CD, he will review and consult with me on the phone. I called the hospital today and asked someone how I could get my films. She said all departments were closed and to call medical records back on Monday. I feel pretty good about my odds of getting a copy now.
There you have it. The whole story. So, I'm still in the splint which is what I would have expected anyways and thankfully it's my left hand. Also thankfully, I'm not still lifting weights or training in the fighting arts or I'd be extremely frustrated at this point. See, there is some good that comes out of not working out :)
That's it for now. I'll post about my cattle handling experience this weekend.
Hope everyone has a great weekend.
Over-N-Out
Following is a recount of my first experience dealing with socialized medicine. I took a cab to the hospital with a 'minor injuries' department within their Emergency Room because I was told it may be quicker than going to the hospital nearest me which was all emergencies. I go to the reception and mind you, I have never been sent a hospitalization card from NHS (National Health Service), a confirmation that I'm registered...nothing. My GP had confirmed I was registered, but it still felt weird to check into a hospital without a card and identification of some sort. Nope, just date of birth, name and address given verbally and boom...I was in. The funny part about being in the minor injuries check-in, was there was a sign that basically said all emergencies that came in could be triaged ahead of me....hhhhmmmm. I thought the reason for having a minor injury department was....oh, never mind.
I brought a book to study and of course this meant I never had time to open it, which was good. I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly I was handled. So, I am first seen by a nurse. Her name badge says 'physiotherapist'. I'm fine with this at this point because I'm sure I'm going to give her my history and then tell her what happened and she's going to send me to x-ray. And, hopefully, I will be seen by a doctor after that to discuss the results. After some poking and prodding, she agreed that I had the clinical signs of a scaphoid fracture and sent me back to the waiting room to wait for the x-ray tech. X-ray tech came and got me shortly thereafter and seemed to position my wrist properly for getting good films of the scaphoid. If the tech doesn't know what they are doing, you won't get a good enough look at the bone, because it can be overshadowed by others.
Here's where it gets a bit iffy for me. The tech tells me I can go back to the waiting room. I ask her if an orthopaedic surgeon is going to look at it, or a radiologist, or......?? She says they send it up (digitally) to the radiologist. Ok fine.
I have barely sat down, when my nurse comes and gets me. She has the xrays pulled up on her monitor and tells me everything looks good. Now.....unless the radiologist was sitting at his computer the moment those xrays were sent to him and was available to view them immediately, they were not seen by a doctor. This, I have a problem with. The nurse continued to point out on the xray how the bone looked good and there did not appear to be a fracture. But, she said I do have the clinical signs, so we need to treat it as such. She told me that since I had just injured it on Sunday (this was Wed), there could have been some re-absorption making it hard to see a fracture. Her 'treatment' was for me to keep my splint on for another 10 days (she told me my splint was better than what she could offer me, so I should use my own) and to come back. If I still had symptoms, it was likely there was a fracture since any soft tissue injury should be better by then. So, I go back next Friday. As I was leaving, I asked if I could get a copy of my x-rays to take with me (to send to my surgeon in VA) and she said 'no, they are all on the computer these days and we can't just copy them'. Ok, well that's strange because just last May, I had x-rays taken and they were put on a CD for me to take to my doctor. But, I didn't argue and moved on.
I was not comfortable with the level of personnel I saw based on my past history and the fact that I need sound and proper medical care for this issue. I know that the worst case scenario is that it's fractured and I am in a splint, so nothing is different there. I am just wondering if any of my other wrist bones were looked at? I mean, I realize I know my body and made a convincing argument, but maybe they should have done just some regular pictures of my wrist to look at the whole thing? I dunno, I guess I left not feeling confident in the care I received, as nice and professional as everyone was. Heck, it was hard for my surgeon to see the fracture in May and he's been doing wrists and hands for like 30 some years. Only when it had healed and he could compare the two, was he confident he had read the first x-ray correctly.
So, yesterday I called my ortho's office in VA and spoke with a staff member. I asked her if he could look at the x-rays (if they will give me a copy) and she said absolutely. She told me to get them on a CD, he will review and consult with me on the phone. I called the hospital today and asked someone how I could get my films. She said all departments were closed and to call medical records back on Monday. I feel pretty good about my odds of getting a copy now.
There you have it. The whole story. So, I'm still in the splint which is what I would have expected anyways and thankfully it's my left hand. Also thankfully, I'm not still lifting weights or training in the fighting arts or I'd be extremely frustrated at this point. See, there is some good that comes out of not working out :)
That's it for now. I'll post about my cattle handling experience this weekend.
Hope everyone has a great weekend.
Over-N-Out
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