Today, we got to sleep in a little bit, which already made this morning so much better! We got a lot of information on the idea of free healthcare in the UK and what that really looks like for the population when in need of a medical service.
We started off listening to a presentation by Sue and Shelly, who talked to us about their training hub that is dedicated to ensuring that patients receive quality care from appropriately trained healthcare professionals. We’ve got to take a deep dive into general practice and how the NHS really plays a part in how people receive care. One of the biggest takeaways I learned was that although everyone in the UK receives free healthcare, people may still have to wait a long time to even be seen or taken in for an appointment. So even if everyone has free healthcare, people can be waiting for hours, months, or years to be taken care of. If someone’s condition could become progressively worse without being seen, you have to think about whether free, accessible healthcare is efficient and reliable. The same thing goes for the US healthcare system. So, although we do have to pay a good amount of money for healthcare, we are assured that we will be seen by a doctor or healthcare provider within the next day or the same week. But even if our healthcare is more reliable, it’s not accessible for everyone, as people who live under or just above the poverty line won’t be able to pay for private healthcare. Their presentation really opened my eyes to health system issues both in the US and the UK, and the pros and cons of each.
Another part of the UK healthcare system that I thought was really interesting was the prescription charges. We learned that working-age adults have to pay for their prescriptions, and that each prescribed item was 9.90 pounds. I also like that individuals who may have long-term conditions like diabetes, arthritis, or asthma were exempt from paying prescription charges, and people who just need medication regularly had options for 3-month or 12-month pre-pay choices. It definitely takes the burden of medication costs off these long-term conditioned patients and ensures that people who need medication regularly don’t run out of their medication. We see in the US how people who are on medication, who may not have enough money to buy more, will take their medication every other day or not take the full prescribed amount in order to preserve and make their medication last longer. This isn’t a good option, as the drug would not have its full effects and wouldn’t have any benefit to the individual taking it.
Later in the day, we got to hear from Chief Nurse Nikkie, who had such an inspiring story, and really showed us the importance of going after what you want in life and achieving your goals, which was so valuable to hear about. To end the day, we all had a dinner with the nursing students from BCU who visited Pitt last year. It was great to pick their brain and connect with them on all things Nursing!
