Melby Posted June 23, 2017 Share Posted June 23, 2017 Hello! I'm based in Australia and have we have health insurance here we pay $3600 a year for a family. I was wondering how much it is in the UK and does it work the same? We sort of have to have it here or you will go on a waiting list in the public system for years and years. Is it the same in the UK? Do you even have health insurance or is your NHS system work fine? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 23, 2017 Share Posted June 23, 2017 If you are ordinarily resident of the UK then you should be entitled to NHS care. As to how good that is in the area you reside in depends. Some areas are creaking more than others. But you should be able to register with a GP (unlike Aus you can't rock up to any GP you fancy, you need to register in the area you live) and hopefully can get in with an NHS dentist. Depending on your wants/needs, you may want to take out private cover also. We had it for a number of years but opted to end it. Then paid privately when needing/wanting to and not wanting to wait 18 months in the public system to get it sorted sort of thing. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Health_Service Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VERYSTORMY Posted June 23, 2017 Share Posted June 23, 2017 Very few people have private insurance in the UK. As a percentage compared to Aus, the market is tiny and those that do, it is usually just a perk that some employers offer - I have it through my work. Wait times aren't as bad as made out, at least not in my experience of three different areas of the UK. For example, I went to my GP just after Christmas with a mole that was itching and I was concerned about. I was seen by a consultant at the hospital the same day. She didn't think it was serious, but thought it should be removed for safety sake and they would contact me with an appointment. The appointment letter arrived a couple of days later and for an appointment the following week. When we lived in Windsor, I had a bad leg. Went to the GP and he made an appointment to see a specialist. Again, was seen the same day. One of the guys at work has a bad knee as a result of years of running long distances. He went to his GP, was refered to a specialist whom he saw a couple of weeks later and then a couple of weeks after that, was seen by the surgeon and is expected to be having a knee replacement in the next 8 weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BacktoDemocracy Posted June 25, 2017 Share Posted June 25, 2017 On 6/23/2017 at 09:01, VERYSTORMY said: Very few people have private insurance in the UK. As a percentage compared to Aus, the market is tiny and those that do, it is usually just a perk that some employers offer - I have it through my work. Wait times aren't as bad as made out, at least not in my experience of three different areas of the UK. For example, I went to my GP just after Christmas with a mole that was itching and I was concerned about. I was seen by a consultant at the hospital the same day. She didn't think it was serious, but thought it should be removed for safety sake and they would contact me with an appointment. The appointment letter arrived a couple of days later and for an appointment the following week. When we lived in Windsor, I had a bad leg. Went to the GP and he made an appointment to see a specialist. Again, was seen the same day. One of the guys at work has a bad knee as a result of years of running long distances. He went to his GP, was refered to a specialist whom he saw a couple of weeks later and then a couple of weeks after that, was seen by the surgeon and is expected to be having a knee replacement in the next 8 weeks. You live in a low population area of Scotland, the situation in many parts of the UK is very different, been to my surgery this past 2 weeks , didn't see a doctor saw a nurse practitioner, poor diagnosis, treated for an infection when problem is vascular, possible DVT which only came to light due to subsequent emergency GP doctor diagnosis, but have to wait till Monday for tests as no scans carried out at weekend due to cost savings. My exwife had a fairly complex but routine op in London, the surgeon punctured the bowel without realising it for 36 hours and then did an emergency op to repair it after she developed sepsis and she was on life support for a week with no real info on her chances, because, we found out the surgeon was out of the country, she is still in ICU and will take 3-6 months recovery in hospital The NHS is dissolving in front of my eyes . 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ Posted June 25, 2017 Share Posted June 25, 2017 It definately depends on what area you live in, my family still live in Scotland and it can take sometimes 2 weeks to get an appointment just to see the GP! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VERYSTORMY Posted June 25, 2017 Share Posted June 25, 2017 6 hours ago, BacktoDemocracy said: You live in a low population area of Scotland, the situation in many parts of the UK is very different, been to my surgery this past 2 weeks , didn't see a doctor saw a nurse practitioner, poor diagnosis, treated for an infection when problem is vascular, possible DVT which only came to light due to subsequent emergency GP doctor diagnosis, but have to wait till Monday for tests as no scans carried out at weekend due to cost savings. My exwife had a fairly complex but routine op in London, the surgeon punctured the bowel without realising it for 36 hours and then did an emergency op to repair it after she developed sepsis and she was on life support for a week with no real info on her chances, because, we found out the surgeon was out of the country, she is still in ICU and will take 3-6 months recovery in hospital The NHS is dissolving in front of my eyes . My examples include south east England and Newcastle. I will add my dad who has multiple health issues including social care requirement - he has dementia but chosen to live at home alone - has received amazing care. My sister in law is a physio and leads the team for three of the most deprived areas of London and has just been given an awars for leading the most advanced physio program in Europe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BacktoDemocracy Posted June 25, 2017 Share Posted June 25, 2017 1 hour ago, VERYSTORMY said: My examples include south east England and Newcastle. I will add my dad who has multiple health issues including social care requirement - he has dementia but chosen to live at home alone - has received amazing care. My sister in law is a physio and leads the team for three of the most deprived areas of London and has just been given an awars for leading the most advanced physio program in Europe. I do sometimes feel that there is absolutely nothing wrong anywhere in the UK according to your assessment. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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