4 ms·

I live in the UK. When I get an appointment at my doctor's surgery, I see a doctor, not a nurse. (Unless it's for something that's done by nurses because their

by gjm11 17y ago

I live in the UK. When I get an appointment at my doctor's surgery, I see a doctor, not a nurse. (Unless it's for something that's done by nurses because their skills are more relevant than a doctor's, such as ear syringing.) I've only once been to the doctor and gone away thinking I'd been deprived of treatment or tests that I needed; on that occasion, there didn't turn out to be anything wrong with me, so I'm not going to complain too loudly. If your doctor is prescribing antibiotics for a cold or the flu, then s/he is incompetent and you should not be using this behaviour as evidence that your system is better than ours. Antibiotics do nothing for viral diseases like colds and flu. (Note: for some of my life I have had private medical insurance paid for by my employer. I believe I have made use of it twice. The first time, there turned out to be nothing wrong with me. The second time, I think I did benefit from the private treatment, but I'd actually probably have been best off if I had been seen by a nurse first rather than my doctor.)

ajuc 17y ago
About flu - when you have really serious consequences after a flu it's because some bacteria get a "free ride" on your immunity system compromised by a virus, so antibiotics are sometimes good thing to take when having a flu. Still - I agree, doctors are prescribing them too often. Anyway - Polish emigrants (immigrants from you POV:)) are commonly returning to Poland to go to doctor, and that means it's in some ways better, so two way ticket is worth it. Sometimes they return to go to private doctors because private healthcare is much cheaper in Poland, but they also return to go to regular NFZ, and there must be a reason for that (maybe immigrants in GB are given worse treatment?). Anyway - http://polandian.home.pl/index.php/2008/09/24/english-patients-dying-for-treatment-in-poland/ http://polandian.home.pl/index.php/2008/09/24/english-patien...
- gjm11 17y ago
  I'm not a doctor, so take this with a grain of salt, but it seems to me that it's a Really Bad Idea to take antibiotics when you don't know that you have a bacterial infection and roughly what it is. Sure, it might happen to help if you happen to have just got infected, or to be about to get infected, with bacteria. But it also might happen to be harmful, e.g. if you get infected by something when you're near the end of the course of antibiotics -- seems like a great way to breed antibiotic-resistant bacteria inside your body. Contrary to what your article says, the British system does not take you straight from "see your GP" to "be hospitalized" with nothing in between. If you have, or might have, something wrong with you that requires specialist treatment, your GP will refer you to a specialist. (Who will typically work at a hospital, so you'll see them there, but why does that matter?) If Polish GP-equivalents are typically able to see you the same day as you call them up, that's certainly better than in the UK. (Though if you have something that seems like it may need urgent attention, you will likely get a same-day appointment from your GP in the UK too. For instance, I think every time we've taken our 3-year-old to the doctor we've had an appointment the same day as we called.) I am not trying to argue that the system in the UK is perfect or close to it. But some of these specific criticisms don't match up with my own experience.

by gjm11 17y ago

ajuc 17y ago

About flu - when you have really serious consequences after a flu it's because some bacteria get a "free ride" on your immunity system compromised by a virus, so antibiotics are sometimes good thing to take when having a flu. Still - I agree, doctors are prescribing them too often. Anyway - Polish emigrants (immigrants from you POV:)) are commonly returning to Poland to go to doctor, and that means it's in some ways better, so two way ticket is worth it. Sometimes they return to go to private doctors because private healthcare is much cheaper in Poland, but they also return to go to regular NFZ, and there must be a reason for that (maybe immigrants in GB are given worse treatment?). Anyway - http://polandian.home.pl/index.php/2008/09/24/english-patients-dying-for-treatment-in-poland/ http://polandian.home.pl/index.php/2008/09/24/english-patien...

gjm11 17y ago
I'm not a doctor, so take this with a grain of salt, but it seems to me that it's a Really Bad Idea to take antibiotics when you don't know that you have a bacterial infection and roughly what it is. Sure, it might happen to help if you happen to have just got infected, or to be about to get infected, with bacteria. But it also might happen to be harmful, e.g. if you get infected by something when you're near the end of the course of antibiotics -- seems like a great way to breed antibiotic-resistant bacteria inside your body. Contrary to what your article says, the British system does not take you straight from "see your GP" to "be hospitalized" with nothing in between. If you have, or might have, something wrong with you that requires specialist treatment, your GP will refer you to a specialist. (Who will typically work at a hospital, so you'll see them there, but why does that matter?) If Polish GP-equivalents are typically able to see you the same day as you call them up, that's certainly better than in the UK. (Though if you have something that seems like it may need urgent attention, you will likely get a same-day appointment from your GP in the UK too. For instance, I think every time we've taken our 3-year-old to the doctor we've had an appointment the same day as we called.) I am not trying to argue that the system in the UK is perfect or close to it. But some of these specific criticisms don't match up with my own experience.