Forbes: Nearly a quarter of a million British patients have been waiting more than six months to receive planned medical treatment from the National Health Service, according to a recent report from the Royal College of Surgeons. More than 36,000 have been in treatment queues for nine months or more.
Long waits for care are endemic to government-run, single-payer systems like the NHS. Yet some U.S. lawmakers want to import that model from across the pond. That would be a massive blunder.
Consider how long it takes to get care at the emergency room in Britain. Government data show that hospitals in England only saw 84.2% of patients within four hours in February. That’s well below the country’s goal of treating 95% of patients within four hours — a target the NHS hasn’t hit since 2015.
Now, instead of cutting wait times, the NHS is looking to scrap the goal.
Wait times for cancer treatment — where timeliness can be a matter of life and death — are also far too lengthy. According to January NHS England data, almost 25% of cancer patients didn’t start treatment on time despite an urgent referral by their primary care doctor. That’s the worst performance since records began in 2009.
And keep in mind that “on time” for the NHS is already 62 days after referral.
Unsurprisingly, British cancer patients fare worse than those in the United States. Only 81% of breast cancer patients in the United Kingdom live at least five years after diagnosis, compared to 89% in the United States. Just 83% of patients in the United Kingdom live five years after a prostate cancer diagnosis, versus 97% here in America.
The NHS also routinely denies patients access to treatment. More than half of NHS Clinical Commissioning Groups, which plan and commission health services within their local regions, are rationing cataract surgery. They call it a procedure of “limited clinical value.”
It’s hard to see how a surgery that can prevent blindness is of limited clinical value. Delaying surgery can cause patients’ vision to worsen — and thus put them at risk of falls or being unable to conduct basic daily activities. more here
To borrow a line from Gray May at PMQs, “this government has and will increase funding..” to every problem.
On one of the health forums I am on a lady in the UK said that she had to wait 58 weeks to see a dermatologist.
I cannot imagine that Americans would be accepting of that wait time to see a doctor. Yet, their interest and acceptance of socialism is also unimaginable- yet here we are.
and the biggest denier of treatment in the US is …….you guessed it … Medicare, VA care – aka US Government
The trannies don’t seem to have a problem getting their completely unnecessary surgeries though. So the Brits have that going for them.
It’s simple. British rock icon, Mick Jagger, needs a heart valve. He has money. He’s coming to America for the surgery.
The rationing boards know well but never say it: if you force those needing medical treatment to wait long enough, they stop needing medical treatment and instead need an undertaker.
Mic Jagger.
He ain’t waitin on no friend’ waitin’ for good quality medical care…in his Native England…
https://pagesix.com/2019/04/04/mick-jagger-recovering-after-successful-heart-surgery/
He and MANY others we don’t know come here for CARE.
England needs a badass king again to clean things up.
At least they don’t have to pay $800 a month to protect their nest egg.
“Wait times for cancer treatment — where timeliness can be a matter of life and death — are also far too lengthy. ..”
Long delays for cancer treatment, until it was too late for a positive result, was the motivation for the diamond heist from the London Diamond Corp. (LDC) in the 2007 movie, “Flawless”, staring Michael Caine and Demi Moore.
It’s not a new problem in the UK. One not solved for a long time. Enough of a problem they’ve already made a movie about it.
“Mr. Hobbs (Michael Caine) confesses that he has no interest in the diamonds or the money, and wants to ruin the head of the insurance syndicate, (head of the LDC), whose deliberate delay in covering his wife’s medical expenses resulted in her death many years before.”
So yeah, in many cases — long delay = medical care no longer needed, only the undertaker.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flawless_(2007_film) .
America had a conservative President from 81 to 89 He submitted a Medicare budget of zero, nada, null, nothing, $0.00 8 straight years!