Have we done this Daily Wail one yet?

[Sysman]

NHS tells doctors: You must treat all foreigners to protect their human rights... but you can still turn away BRITONS

[escapeUK]

Privatise the whole thing. Id rather PAYG as and when I need their 2nd rate care than pay for everyone else to get it for free.

[doodab]

Privatise the whole thing. Id rather PAYG as and when I need their 2nd rate care than pay for everyone else to get it for free.

Do you think a private A&E is going to treat you without seeing evidence of ability to pay? Do you really think it will be cheaper if you happen to need it?

[escapeUK]

Do you think a private A&E is going to treat you without seeing evidence of ability to pay? Do you really think it will be cheaper if you happen to need it?

Id have ability to pay, so no problem and yes, tell me anything run by the government that isnt a massive waste of money and completely inefficient?

Have been ill recently, I saw a different doctor each time I went in. Each one told me something different, first one I would be better in a couple of days, second one a week later, it could take a few weeks. Third one, 3 weeks later. Oh no, it can take months for this to go. The blood tests took a week to take blood and a week to get a result that showed nothing. Doctor four suggested that maybe I was really depressed and it was all in my mind, strange how someone else at clientco had the exact same symptoms. Doctor five who I saw after I was better said, oh it was probably just a virus. This was the first time the word virus was mentioned.

During this time I wasnt working, so cost me thousands in lost earnings, which I spelt out to Doctor four that if I wanted to not work I just would and not make up a pretend illness. Now it might be that it was a virus that nothing could be done for, and therefore the time off was unavoidable. But one has to wonder if I had actually been paying my cash direct to the practise they might have been a bit more efficient, because as we stand at the moment whatever happens they get the same money regardless.

[doodab]

tell me anything run by the government that isnt a massive waste of money and completely inefficient?

Well, the NHS actually spends less per patient per year than the US mostly private healthcare system while providing better patient outcomes, so that would be quite a good candidate.

But one has to wonder if I had actually been paying my cash direct to the practise they might have been a bit more efficient, because as we stand at the moment whatever happens they get the same money regardless.

Well, as someone who worked in a country with private health care and mandatory health insurance (Germany) I can tell you the answer is no. What actually happens is they either do their job about the same or they do their job about the same while figuring out what spurious tests they can give you and bill you for in order to make more money. What would have happened in your case is that you would have seen 5 doctors, had lots of time off work, and been presented with a bill for a couple of grand at the end of it.

One also wonders why you didn't just go private and pay in this case?

[Mich the Tester]

NHS tells doctors: You must treat all foreigners to protect their human rights... but you can still turn away BRITONS

Where, in the story, does it say they can turn away Britons?

[escapeUK]

Where, in the story, does it say they can turn away Britons?

It says, and this is my experience, that they can turn you away if you dont meet very specific criteria of the area the practise covers.

One also wonders why you didn't just go private and pay in this case?

Hindsight is always 20 20. Strangely enough, I recently met the local private GP at clientco, didnt fill me with confidence.

[BlasterBates]

Where, in the story, does it say they can turn away Britons?

Nowhere.

What they mean is if you're not in the catchment area and you want to make a routine visit (non-emergency) visit then you maybe asked to go to the GP who covers your area. Which incidentally would apply to a foreigner as well.

However it's good for selling newspapers as you can twist the story so it appears that foreigners are given preferential treatment. Gets everybody mad you see, they can all splutter their toast over the breakfast table and shout "bloody foreigners".

[Mich the Tester]

Nowhere.

What they mean is if you're not in the catchment area and you want to make a routine visit (non-emergency) visit then you maybe asked to go to the GP who covers your area. Which incidentally would apply to a foreigner as well.

However it's good for selling newspapers as you can twist the story so it appears that foreigners are given preferential treatment. Gets everybody mad you see, they can all splutter their toast over the breakfast table and shout "bloody foreigners".

It amazes me that the British middle classes choose to buy a rag that just serves to start their day badly.

[vetran]

Id have ability to pay, so no problem and yes,

Good job you don't have terminal cancer or HIV then. That would take the house & the shirt off your back.