143/365 : Otitis Media

8:00am : Call Surgery, busy signal, hang up, redial... repeat...

8:20am : Get thru to the surgery and ask for an appointment, am told I can come in at 11:30.

11:20am : Get to the surgery (only a couple blocks down from my house). I arrived a little early because I had remembered they still had our address as Andy's parents so I wanted to fill out a change of address form.

11:55am : Asked to go back to the doctor's office. Was shocked to find that he was already in there waiting for me. This never happens in the US, there you usually end up spending more time waiting back in the room then out in the waiting area.

He looks at my throat, up my nose, in my ears and feels around my neck and tells me that I have an ear infection (otitis media) and the starting of strep throat. He gives me a prescription for antibiotics and tells me while I am getting the prescription filled to ask the chemist for a good chesty cough syrup. He fills out a little paper for me to take to work on Monday to excuse me missing work today. He also tells me that if I do not feel better at the end of the course of antibiotics to come back in.

12:00pm : Walking out of the surgery and across the road to the Chemist.

I give them my prescription and as instructed ask for a chesty cough syrup. She tells me that for my prescription and the cough syrup it will be £10.30, I pay and am asked to just wait to the side.

12:05pm : I am given my prescriptions and I am on my way back home.

So seriously... what in the world is the United States so scared about when people suggest a National Health Service? I was sick, I was able to get into the doctor on the same day I called, I was given antibiotics to stop my illness and it look at how fast it all was. Oh and do not forget the most important part.. it only cost me £10.30!

Back in September '07 I was feeling ill and I went to a clinic in the States and for the appointment I had to pay $180 and then for my prescriptions another $25. That was a total of $205 and this was with me having a pretty decent health insurance which was costing me $75 a pay check (which was every two weeks). Man those insurance companies, doctors and pharmaceutical companies must be rolling in the money back in the States. Plus I had to wait something like an hour out in the waiting room and then another hour back in the room where the doctor sees you. Then of course when you drop off a prescription it takes them hours to actually fill it!

Everybody that gave me crap in the US about how the NHS is horrible and how could I even dream about moving to the UK... can stick it! Today was an absolute dream and I am so thankful that I do not have to worry about going to the doctor when I do not feel well and knowing that I do not have to auction off a kidney in order to afford it!