Another day at BCU was full of information about the Primary Care System in England, another day of accidental twinning with Ana. (Day of Green)

We are finding more and more similarities and differences between the United States and the United Kingdom. In the UK, the National Health System or NHS provides many benefits to the people here. They do come with some negatives. In comparison with the United States, I do prefer how it is run back home. Although it is rather expensive back home in the States, the accessibility is much easier than here in the United Kingdom. Appointments are hard to come by in the United Kingdom which is very scary for me to think about. I like it when stuff is planned out cohesively so without that reliability it is very unsettling. I do believe that the US should look into ways to incorporate and implement some methods popular here in the UK. Prescriptions are free for many groups of people including, those under 16, over 65, and university students. Maternity leave is also a positive side of their systems here in the United Kingdom. Women get 12 months of paid maternity leave but after 9 months the pay goes from salary down to around 90 pounds a month. This is vastly different then the system in the States. Families are also allowed to break that leaves apart between family members to allow the fathers to stay home as well. 

We also learned a lot about how the system has a Primary Care section. They serve as the front door into the NHS. They provide multiple services for the families who come in to see the many positions there to help. This is where families can go to avoid A&E like they would have to do in the US. There is a backlog though for these families because of the wait times. There are more people than appointments available. If we were to take the accessibility and contact of the US and combine it with the staff structure then we would have a really interesting and strong system available. We should acknowledge that the UK has many positions that are part of primary care that are not considered in that section in the United States. These extra options are being added to the United Kingdom because they are trying to help with this influx of people. Wanting to ease the stress on the Hospitals and secondary systems. With these long lines, people are struggling to get the medical care they need. This creates more stress for GP nurses because people are asking for more and more health checks in their one appointment. Asking for quick tests done because they are struggling to get the help they need. For the compassionate nurses, they do struggle to say no. 

Within the clinics themselves, student nurses can get involved very quickly and help the general practitioners oversee their 17,000 patients. The working hours are very interesting for the nurses as they want to continue into the general practice over other fields. The nurses here are very passionate about their careers and gush about all their favorite parts of the jobs they have. With primary care, a huge positive they see is that they get a strong relationship with the patients and their families. If these families continue to live in the area they can visit with them very often when they come in and will watch the families grow over the years. The camaraderie is very positive as they stick with one another and support each other. 

A discussion of the effects that cost of living and socioeconomic status have on the people searching. This is creating a hugely stressful experience for people. Money is always a problem and even with great free healthcare, not everything is covered for the people living here. Many people also come over to the UK to benefit from the system and leave the country again. With all the positives they have with their system, the negatives are still strong with people taking advantage. 

We had a break for lunch and I tried out some new chips today. They reminded me of chicken-in-a-biscuit crackers but were salt and vinegar flavored. They were so good and shaped like big goldfish. So now I will be craving these when I go back home. After lunch, we broke up into groups to do little escape rooms based on the subjects we discussed in the morning. As an education major, everything was explained so well that I could quickly complete these. We are now preparing to present our research projects. I’m nervous but looking forward to sharing everything we learned!!

UPDATE: post presentation!! I am so proud of my group! We did so good and had such a great time preparing! Everyone in our group did amazing! We have learned so much and did a great time presenting!