Posted by bulldog2 on May 3, 2008, at 19:26:46
In reply to Re: Angry at pdoc » bleauberry, posted by Quintal on May 3, 2008, at 18:41:43
> >Benadryl? Valerian root extract?
>
> Yes, I have them in my cupboard, and much more besides. They used to help a little, but they're not much good now I'm used to taking zopiclone.
>
> >Socialized medicine in Austria/Germany is basically ok for common things from what I've heard, but when my sister was having trouble with allergies and getting nowhere in the system, she ended up finding a near cure by paying cash to see a holistic specialist outside of the medical system.
>
> I was just thinking I'd rather spend money going to see a herbalist or a homeopath rather than waste £220 on going to see another psychopath, sorry, psychiatrist, just to get the same treatment I'm getting on the NHS.
>
> I really don't understand this resentment towards 'socialized health care' as everyone seems to be putting it. I can only assume there is some sort of political tension in the US right now that is colouring the lens through which you view this topic. Surely every sensible person would want a free universal health care system, even if they were relatively well off, just in case they fell on hard times? As I've said before, the NHS isn't very efficient, but the UK is still a free country with a private healthcare sector - for those who can afford it, and I'm not among them. I think I'd be quite a bit worse off in America with my income level.
>
> I literally have carrier bags overflowing with boxes of meds that I've been given for free. How can I complain about that? The most anyone has to pay is the £6-7 prescription fee if they are in full-time employment (I don't even know what the exact figure is because I don't have to pay). It's free for anyone who is on sick, disabled or over 60. There are no doctor's fees on the NHS. Their wages are paid for by deductions taken from income tax and national insurance, which is taken automatically off everyone's wages. When I worked I didn't mind paying it one bit.
>
> >As someone else said, this thread highlights the downfalls of socialized medicine.
>
> It seems there have always been people waiting for the NHS to crumble. I was reading a report on Medicare a few weeks ago where a doctor claimed the NHS was close to falling, that was in 1988. It's still going strong, but there are always people willing it to fail. That particular doctor was in favour of phasing out Medicare. I don't know what he was planning on replacing it with. Some vague talk of municipal hospitals and charity funds if I remember rightly. The real problem in my case is a very unfortunate clash of personalities. Yes, they have me trapped in a sort of pincer movement, but there is a way out - by asking to be referred back to the pdoc who first saw me in hospital. He is a kind and wise man, the complete opposite of the one I have at the moment.
>
> >You had thanks for socialized medicine for providing your birth, but I believe your birth would have happened one way or the other regardless.
>
> My birth was reported in a medical journal because it was so rare. My mother was one of only a handful of women at that time (and maybe still is) to have given birth after such drastic surgery for Chron's Disease. I think she only had a few feet of small intestine left by the time I was born. Apparently a researcher from New Zealand published a paper about it. I don't think she could have carried me that far if she hadn't been drip fed and had vitamin injections. I was still born prematurely and needed intensive care for a few weeks. A few of my brothers and sisters didn't make it, but my mother was a very determined woman.
>
> It would have cost a bomb in private healthcare, never mind what it cost to keep her in appliances, vitamin drinks, antiseptic, gauze swabs, not to metion the surgery and consultant's fees. With no exaggeration I would hazard a guess that it cost over £1 million in medical fees over the 30 years since my mother first fell ill. She had a very severe condition.
>
> QThere is talk that public health system in Canada is a mess. I think there is resentment when politicians talk of mandatory health care where all would have to be on it. But you're right that everyone should have access to medical care. It's a very complicated issue in the US.
poster:bulldog2
thread:826956
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20080430/msgs/827042.html