How amazing is the NHS

I think in this country that many of us take the NHS for granted and I hear a lot of moaning from people about the NHS (me included on occasion).  I hear that waiting times are too long for referrals, you can’t get in to see your GP, drs don’t know anything, they don’t freely give out prescriptions etc etc.  But have you ever considered what it would be like without the NHS?  What if we had to pay for our healthcare or what if it just wasn’t there at all?

As a parent of a child with ichthyosis we use the services that the NHS provides a lot.  A LOT.  We would be lost without it and we would definitely be financially significantly worse off.  Just off the top on my head from birth to now, we have seen in relation to ichthyosis:

• ·       Midwives
• ·       Paediatric doctors – lots of them
• ·       Neonatal nurses
• ·       Community midwives
• ·       Community childrens nurses
• ·       Health visitors
• ·       Dermatology nurse specialists – community and in hospital
• ·       Dermatology consultants
• ·       Geneticists
• ·       Physiotherapists
• ·       ENT specialists
• ·       Dieticians
• ·       Occupational therapists
• ·       Ophthalmologist
• ·       Cranio-facial consultant
• ·       GP
• ·       Practice nurses at GP surgery
• ·       Post Natal mental health support

I may have missed some off the list.  We see many of these professional multiple times a year at various locations, for free.  Have you ever stopped to think how much the cost to the NHS is for each of these appointments?  For example, missing a dietitian appointment at hospital would cost the hospital £102 – I know because my hospital tells me that when they send a text reminder in the hope that less people will be a no show.

We have a list of prescription items for Alfie as long as your leg (probably around 50 different items ranging from creams to dressings to pain relief and nutritional supplements.  Prescriptions for children are free and covered by the NHS but when Alfie is older he will most likely have to pay for his prescriptions as some of us do.  Currently standing at £8.60 per prescription item and needing around 10-15 items a month, this adds up.   The NHS has a monthly prescription pre-payment scheme for £104 per year and if you have over 12 regular prescription items a year then it is financially worth your while getting one of these cards.

But what if we didn’t have the NHS?  What if the UK adopted a healthcare system like the USA where you have insurance to cover your medical bills?  But what if, like in the USA, some pre-existing medical conditions are not covered by your insurance or your insurance won’t cover the amount you need on a monthly basis?  As an example, one of the creams Alfie uses retails at around £12 for a 500ml bottle, we use 3 of those per month alongside around 4 other creams in equal amounts plus all of the other things we need.  That would add up to a significant amount for us (and later Alfie).

We can’t always get in to see the consultant or the GP when we would prefer to but we have always been able to get a telephone appointment or contact via email to get advice.  We have issues with getting certain items on prescription previously but I have found that a simple conversation with our GP explaining ichthyosis in the first instance has helped (and backed up by dermatology letter if necessary) and we no longer have any problems.  I know we have been lucky with our medical team and others are not as fortunate.  I hear stories of other families having to fight with doctors regarding access to creams etc which really isn’t on. 

Yes the NHS is far from perfect and there is a lot of wasted resources but I for one am so thankful that we have this system in the UK and we should all be a little bit more grateful for the service it provides for us.  We should all do our best to not abuse the system and to make sure that it is protected for our children and future generations.

Big thumbs up for the NHS from team Lancashire!!