My Take On The NHS

This is not a political blog, but I was furious today when reading about this. And the irony is, the people that started this argument, the USA, have no “system”. The people who can afford private health insurance are ‘safe’ as long as they are healthy enough?! If you are already sick, you just don’t qualify.
This is obviously my opinion and is not based on personal experience.
I do however have personal experience with the NHS in Scotland.

My little one year old baby was sick with gastroenteritis and couldn’t keep anything down. (If you don’t know gastro can be very dangerous for babies as they dehydrate rapidly)
I was absolutely beside myself and didn’t know what to do, so I rang the free NHS help line, and they organized a free taxi ride to the emergency department where he was quickly seen to. He was obviously uncomfortable, but not dehydrated so we took our taxi home.
The next day he still couldn’t keep anything down and was visibly worse. I rang the helpline again and this time they organized an emergency response to the house. This wonderful man assessed my boy, calmed me down and advised us to take him to the hospital.
(NB he wasn’t an ambulance, so it was not his job to transport us).
At the Royal Hospital for Sick Kids we were seen quickly, and looked after very well. My little man was admitted for 2 nights with dehydration.
I know there were moments that frustrated me, because I am a mother and I was in a panic. Looking back, I know everyone did their job, and I didn’t have to worry about a medical bill through my letter box.

The small amount of tax we are “forced” to pay is well worth it.
I don’t think twice about taking my boys to the doctor when they are sick, and until they are 16yo any prescriptions they need are free as well.

We’re brand new to this country, and from our first check up in the NHS we’ve been treated equally and fairly.
All I can say is, Don’t knock it ’til you’ve tried it.

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