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medicine and the profit motive


Sportsman

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As I might have mentioned I recently spent some time in a French hospital. I went in to get my blood sugar stabilised and to control my diabetes.

Whilst I was in I stayed in a very pleasant private room with ensuite bathroom etc although I have to say the food was no great improvement on what I've had elsewhere in hospital.

During the three days I was in I was not only seen and treated by the doctors involved with my diabetes but I also got to see an ophthalmic specialist who checked the retina in both eyes, a cardiac specialist who ran ECGs and other tests, a neurologist who has set up a series of appointments concerned with pain control of my diabetic neuropathy and an orthopaedic specialist who has arranged for me to attend a day hospital three days a week for a range of therapies on my spinal problems.

This is rather more than would have happened in any NHS hospital that I have been in and I wondered why they seemed so keen to treat my other problems. Then of course, it dawned on me, they were charging for it and the more treatment I had the more they could charge.

It might help to explain how treatment is paid for in France. In a public hospital such as this prices are set by the government. Generally speaking the patient pays and then is refunded by the government. They pay 70% of the cost back to you. For long or expensive hospital stays then they just pay the 70% direct to the hospital. As a diabetic I don't have to pay anything as I get all treatment free anyway. Most people will have a form of private medical insurance called a mutuelle or top up policy which pays the outstanding 30% so apart from your Social Security payments and your top-up insurance cost to you as the patient is nothing.

advantage to you as the patient is that the hospital/doctors are motivated and go out of their way to provide you with top-class treatment.

 

In the NHS, apart from your National Insurance contributions and of course an assortment of taxes treatment is free. There is no profit motive for the hospital/doctors to provide any more than the bare minimum they can get away with and to be honest this is very often exactly what they do.

 

There has been much concern recently about privatisation of the health service but is it necessarily such a bad thing?

The combination of private/public seems to work here and in comparison with the UK certainly seems to be just as cost-effective for the patient.

this time last year i was 5 days into a 45 day stay at an NHS hospital. other than 6 days in recovery and high dependancy i had my own room and en suit bathroom all the time i was in. probably saw 3 doctors a day minimum as well as physio's, dieticans and speech therapists every day after my operation.

i would not have gopt better tratment if i went private.

 

it is a post code lottery i think in the NHS. in cambridge we have a very well run hospital in my opinion.

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Dave, I am sure you are right, it is a lottery

 

Before moving to France I had two extended stays in hospitals, both in Aberdeen

It could not have been more different.

The first hospital was fantastic and I couldn't fault the care.

The second (much bigger) hospital was dirty, disorganised and to be honest was a dump. Staff attitudes left much to be desired

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Let's agree to respect each others views, no matter how wrong yours may be.

 

 

Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity

 

 

 

http://www.safetypublishing.co.uk/
http://www.safetypublishing.ie/

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