[lit-ideas] Re: UK cancer survival rates worst in Western Europe
- From: "Simon Ward" <sedward@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 11 May 2007 00:12:06 +0100
David: "I have a first hand knowledge of both these systems, and the system in
British Columbia and I'm not happy with any of them. The British and B.C.
system is good at primary care, but would I want to be under the care of a
specialist in a hospital in Portland or in London?"
Not sure how recently David was experiencing the UK health care system, but if
it was more than a decade ago, he might notice some changes thast I might be
able to illustrate with some anecdotes.
In 1995, my mother passed away as a result of liver cancer (it was secondary).
For six months or so after the first symptoms came on she was under the care of
a General Practitioner who was unable to make a correct diagnosis. Various
drugs were prescribed while my mother, unable to eat much at all, wasted away.
By the time she was admitted to hospital, at which point the correct diagnosis
was made, it was too late.
In the last year, Ros, my other half, went to our local health centre (a GPs
practice - primary care) seeking advice for her back ache, pain that she had
been suffering from for years. The GP decided to refer Ros to a specialist at
the local hospital. An appointment was made in a matter of weeks. The
specialist decided on X-rays, an MRI and a CT scan just to be sure. Within a
month or so, Ros received a diagnosis (hairline crack in a vertebra). There's
not much that can be done, but we know to be careful. (I'm tempted to put an
exclamation mark there).
Neither my mother nor Ros had to pay a penny. Medical care, whether it was
diagnosis or treatment, was free at the point of delivery. Clearly, however,
the effectiveness of that delivery (in these two cases) has improved. My mother
might still have died under the current NHS, liver cancer has particularly low
survival rates, but I feel sure she would have been diagnosed earlier, that she
would have received better care and would not have been in so much pain.
We're good at complaining in the UK, but we're also very proud and protective
of our NHS. Sure there are problems and cases go wrong and in a few cases,
people die as a result, but if you conducted a referendum on whether to get rid
of the NHS and replace it with a system of private, insurance-led healthcare
companies, the result, I'm sure, would be vastly in favour of the NHS.
David again: "Keep eating the roughage."
It soaks up the beer.
Simon
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