Wednesday
Mar042009
Health Care ... Why Can't the USA Accomplish This ?
Wednesday, March 4, 2009 at 8:17AM
Here's a blog post from Dave Snowden that I have copied in full (I don't think he'll mind me spreading the word). If he does mind I'll reformat the post with a teaser and point to his post.
It outlines the response and service from a system that Americans would call socialism, in action.
As a point of balance, there is a comment to the post by a UK that outlines a different series of experience. The point re: "free at the point of entry" remains.
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It outlines the response and service from a system that Americans would call socialism, in action.
As a point of balance, there is a comment to the post by a UK that outlines a different series of experience. The point re: "free at the point of entry" remains.
.
Free at the point of entry
Last night I had to call out an ambulance and the spend from 1800 to 0200 in the Accident and Emergency Unit of Great Western Hospital in Swindon. It wasn't for me before you ask and I'm not going to go into the details. Suffice to say that everything looks OK at the moment.
However I think its worth noting that the paramedics arrived within four minutes (and we live in a rural location). The 999 service kept me on the telephone until the paramedics arrived in case I needed to be given remote instructions for resuscitation. Blood tests, and ECG and other tests later we left the hospital in the early hours of the morning with a booking for more detailed investigations later. We had overdosed drug addicts and a police case in along with other tragedies of varying degrees of magnitude. The staff were unfailing polite, helpful and scrupulous in their attention to detail, despite being tired. Over the last decade I have spent more time in hospitals with different relatives that I care to think about, but that pattern of staff behaviour has never faltered, never fallen short.
Critically I have no bill, no money to pay.
I didn't sit in the hospital worrying about a fast discharge or maybe compromising on tests for financial reasons. Free at the point of entry health provision is a basic test of civilisation and humanity in any society.
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Reader Comments (9)
Hear, hear.
The free at the point of need is something we take for granted. The NHS is undoubtedly administratively bloated but the service really comes into its own when needed. And is superb at the sharp end.
Like Dave, we had a family member rushed to hospital with a mild heart attack two days ago. He is, his son reports, now 'sound as a pound'. I know this because he has started to fill up my email inbox with jokes this afternoon :-)
I wrote recently on my blog about my moral heoes, which as it happens are NHS nurses. And teachers. Who is paying them bonuses to do their jobs consistently well, when they are tired, over worked and short-staffed?
Thanks, Anne-Marie.
Yeah, you've got to wonder ... million dollar / pound bonuses for thieves in the financial / insurance / commercial domains and ongoing attempts to weaken unions with nurses, teachers and other societal-infrastructure / service roles.
We live in societies with skewed values and priorities, methinks.
you've got to wonder.And is superb at the sharp end.Thanks
The ambulance arrived in your area in just four minutes? That's pretty great. I mean, you live in a rural area. I'm also amazed by the hospital service. Nurses and doctors in every hospital should all be like that.
Steve Kerr
www.ohealthlounge.co.nz'>www.ohealthlounge.co.nz/' target=_blank>http://www.ohealthlounge.co.nz">www.ohealthlounge.co.nz/
The ambulance arrived in your area in just four minutes? That's pretty great. I mean, you live in a rural area. I'm also amazed by the hospital service. Nurses and doctors in every hospital should all be like that.
Steve Kerr
www.ohealthlounge.co.nz
It outlines the response and service from a system that Americans would call socialism, in action.
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