My (brief) experience with NHS
With all of this discussion raging on in the US about whether health care is a right or a Nazi-esque socialist plot, a lot has been thrown about concerning examples of socialized medicine, such as Canada or the UK.
Today I got to see first hand what the NHS is like. I've been home sick with some odd flu for the last few days, and my office recommended that I go to the doctor to make sure it's not swine flu. So I went to the walk-in clinic at the Royal London Hospital, right near my flat.
Time from entering until leaving the building: less than 20 minutes.
Upon walking in, they asked me for my name, date of birth, postal code, and address. Nothing further. I then gave my symptoms and joined a quite full waiting room. Expecting it would take at least 45 minutes, I sat down to read my book. I noticed that people were frequently called and people frequently left. About 10 minutes after sitting down, my name was called and I met the nurse.
Obviously, since it wasn't swine flu, and since it was clearly viral, there was nothing they could do for me, and told me straight up. Consultation: 3 minutes with a nurse.
I must say, A+ for speediness at a walk-in clinic during lunch-hour. And since it's a flu - it's not like they gave me insufficient treatment - they told me to take paracetamol, drink lots of fluids, and the like.
So far so good. I'm liking the socialized medicine. Still, let's hope I don't have too many further opportunities to test out the NHS.
Today I got to see first hand what the NHS is like. I've been home sick with some odd flu for the last few days, and my office recommended that I go to the doctor to make sure it's not swine flu. So I went to the walk-in clinic at the Royal London Hospital, right near my flat.
Time from entering until leaving the building: less than 20 minutes.
Upon walking in, they asked me for my name, date of birth, postal code, and address. Nothing further. I then gave my symptoms and joined a quite full waiting room. Expecting it would take at least 45 minutes, I sat down to read my book. I noticed that people were frequently called and people frequently left. About 10 minutes after sitting down, my name was called and I met the nurse.
Obviously, since it wasn't swine flu, and since it was clearly viral, there was nothing they could do for me, and told me straight up. Consultation: 3 minutes with a nurse.
I must say, A+ for speediness at a walk-in clinic during lunch-hour. And since it's a flu - it's not like they gave me insufficient treatment - they told me to take paracetamol, drink lots of fluids, and the like.
So far so good. I'm liking the socialized medicine. Still, let's hope I don't have too many further opportunities to test out the NHS.
posted by Nixie at 10:52 AM
4 comments
