To Chrissy

[Guest guest]

Hi there Chrissy!

I'm so pleased you're feeling better from the psychological point of

view even if the pain etc. is still there. Not long to go now.

In Britain there is the NHS (National Health System). Everything is

free except for prescriptions for which a payment is made. I'm not

sure how much each item costs just now as I have an annual prepaid

certificate which costs about £100 and with that anything and

everything is " free " . Anyway, the cost of medications on

prescription is only a tiny fraction of what the real cost is.

Children, the unemployed, people over 60, students in full-time

education and diabetics (and a couple of other conditions which I

can't remember now) all get prescriptions free anyway.

There are waiting lists for all procedures, of varying lengths

depending on the region, the local facilities and the particular

area of health involved. Of course, if an emergency is known or

suspected, it's dealt with quickly although there will still be

local variations. For example, a lump in the breast would be

referred at once to the hospital. In my area, the waiting list for

gynaecological procedures, even if not urgent, is very short. For

hip replacements the waiting list is notoriously long.

Some people have private insurance as well. Each policy is different

and the benefits depend on how much you pay, obviously. For example,

some policies will pay for a certain number of private consultations

with a specialist of your choice. This will mean you have a more

leisurely feel to the appointment with the specialist and don't have

to wait in a queue at the hospital. You will be seen pretty well

exactly at the time given! You will also probably see him or her

sooner than on the NHS, unless, as I said, it's judged by your GP to

be urgent. Some policies will pay for any hospital treatment or

procedures that cannot be done within six weeks on the NHS. Some

more expensive policies will pay for all treatment anyway. Some

fortunate people have jobs where the employers provide private

insurance.

However, most people in Britain still rely on the NHS alone.

A further complication is that the best hospitals for certain things

are the NHS ones, not private ones. Some docs don't take private

patients, either on principle (they don't believe in private

medicine or " queue-jumping " ) or because their contracts don't allow

them to. Some university professors cannot take private patients;

they may be pledged full time to working in the teaching hospital

attached to their university.

The more serious the condition and the more complicated the

procedure or surgery, the more likely it is that one might wish to

have it performed in a major NHS hospital.

I hope I've given a reasonably accurate picture. I certainly don't

know all the details.

With love,

Fliss