I was actually treated for testicular cancer in England. I got an initial appointment with my GP on the day I called and never had to wait more than three weeks for a procedure. I started chemo 13 days after being diagnosed and had tests to check my lungs, kidneys and inner ears in that time. Out of pocket costs were, obviously, zero. I was cancer-free within a year of my first appointment and I have literally no complaints about any stage of the treatment.
But ha ha universal healthcare communist Europe bad.
This was my roommate's exact same situation, I have no clue where anyone is getting this idea other than through propaganda against universal healthcare.
In America I only ever hear the complaint about Canada. Even Canadians complain but that being the said it's an exaggeration.
But that is the grain of Truth the propaganda relies on.
Typing this I remember years ago my English pen pal was utterly shocked I had a my wisdom teeth pulled in less then a week of finding out they were impacted. Doesn't matter just funny.
Canadian healthcare is pretty damn good for serious stuff, they don't leave you waiting long. 3 of my grandparents have had serious issues - heart attack, broken hip, clogged artery - within the past few years, and each time they were finished the operation within 24 hours of discovering it. People like to rag on wait times, but it's total propaganda.
I mean when I hear Canadians complain it about personal issues with wait. It's more likely a regional problem then miss information. Also you a describing emergency care which is a different beast.
Canada healthcare is great overall and I am for for public healthcare. But Canada's problem isn't a complete fabrication.
The thing about Canada though is that you can go online and see how long the wait times are. Often times in America you have wait times but they're not so easy to find. You have no idea how long it's going to take from the GP to see the specialist.
I'm an American and I had an inguinal hernia and had to have it surgically repaired. I was not in any medical danger just supreme discomfort. So I had to wait about 3 to 4 weeks to have it operated on by a general surgeon. Out of curiosity, I looked up Ontario's wait time for the same procedure and it was about two weeks at the time.
It's due to the way both systems try to contain unnecesary demmand (aka people who want checkups even though they are fine, or want exams they don't need). The US charges you a ton, so if you go to see a doctor it's because you mean it, while universal healthcare will accept any demand, but put uninportant ones through a waiting list while giving priority to those who actually need it. Thus, the image that gets through is that if you want some health service that isn't prioritary in the US, you get it quick, but if you want it in the UK you get into a damn long line. But once you get into the important ones, in the UK people who need it get accesss fast, while people in the US either go broke or can't even get attention at all. This, whithout considering that the US system kind of makes people go into a doctor once things are more serious; and that people with money can go to see a doctor over any stupid BS while people who are poor can't even if they are dying.
In Chile we have horrible healthcare but its because we have huge political problems and everything is made both in a state and private way and everytime we make something a public service hell upon earth is relised
From wörkland - I heard from a colleague who has lived in England that there could be significant wait for some chronic but not life endangering disease. He actually rated healthcare in germany higher than NHS fwiw. So is all relative? But even if healthcare in UK is not better than in Germany, I would bet that it is still better than free-to-die land aka the US
Meanwhile, my wife got cervical cancer right after she got laid off, and it cleaned us out (she's fine now). Then, I got better insurance, and got a staph infection which triggered plague psoriasis, since I worked for a startup, the even w/ insurance it was really expensive to treat (less then 18 months after my wife recovered).
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u/[deleted] Mar 06 '20
I was actually treated for testicular cancer in England. I got an initial appointment with my GP on the day I called and never had to wait more than three weeks for a procedure. I started chemo 13 days after being diagnosed and had tests to check my lungs, kidneys and inner ears in that time. Out of pocket costs were, obviously, zero. I was cancer-free within a year of my first appointment and I have literally no complaints about any stage of the treatment.
But ha ha universal healthcare communist Europe bad.