People from Canada or England please answer about your health care system?

I am from England, and have always received good levels of treatment on the NHS.

The NHS has a lot of very dedicated staff and some very good hospitals, especially the major teaching hospitals.

As for waiting times, there are minimum targets, such as the new 2 week target for seeing a Cancer Specialist.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8122798.stm

The NHS has also gone through a period of rapid modernisation in recent years, with many hospitals rebuilt or extensively refurbished.

Judge for yourself, here's a few NHS Trusts -

http://www.oxfordradcliffe.nhs.uk/aboutus/hospital...

http://www.newcastle-hospitals.org.uk/hospitals/tr...

http://www.royalmarsden.nhs.uk/RMH/privatecare/pri...

http://www.christie.nhs.uk/new_developments/defaul...

http://www.cuh.org.uk/addenbrookes/addenbrookes_in...

http://www.rnoh.nhs.uk/

http://www.stmarkshospital.org.uk/

http://www.papworthhospital.nhs.uk/content.php?/ab...

http://www.uhb.nhs.uk/NewHospital/index.html

http://www.ctc.nhs.uk/

http://www.royalfree.org.uk/default.aspx?top_nav_i...

http://www.noc.nhs.uk/default.aspx

http://www.porthosp.nhs.uk/building-works.html

http://www.bartsandthelondon.nhs.uk/aboutus/

http://www.kch.nhs.uk/services/liver/

http://www.imperial.nhs.uk/index.htm

http://www.uclh.nhs.uk/

http://www.buckinghamshirehospitals.nhs.uk/copy-ab...

http://www.airambulanceassociation.co.uk/

In Canada, everyone and that means unemployed and those on welfare also pay the same amount for health insurance, excluding executives, managers and union members where company's pay their health insurance

Plus 1/3 of Canadians also have private healthcare insurance.

According to the Fraser Institute, treatment time from initial referral by a GP through consultation with a specialist to final treatment, across all specialties and all procedures (emergency, non-urgent, and elective), averaged 17.7 weeks in 2005.[31][32] However, the Fraser Institute's report is greatly at odds with the Canadian government's own 2007 report.[33]

One of the major complaints about the Canadian health care system is waiting times, whether for a specialist, major elective surgery, such as hip replacement, imaging procedures such as MRI or Cystoscopy, or specialized treatments, such as radiation for breast cancer. Studies by the Commonwealth Fund found that 57% of Canadians reported waiting 4 weeks or more to see a specialist; 24% of Canadians waited 4 hours or more in the emergency room.[25]

A March 2, 2004, article in the Canadian Medical Association Journal stated, "Saskatchewan is under fire for having the longest waiting time in the country for a diagnostic MRI—a whopping 22 months." [26]

You can ask a hundred people and get an hundred different answers. If your problem is not life threatening you will be made to wait. If it is life threatening you will be looked after rather quickly.

Go to any emergency room in Canada and you will see things that are unbelievable. Children with colds. Adults with a cut finger some

guy with a black eye. These are just some of the things that make heath care what it is. People misusing the system. We in Canada

can go to any Doctor we choose and any specialist we are referred to. I am 82 and have absolutely no complaints but your (U.S) system will be run by the government as to what, who, and why.

The NHS is not for England but for all of the United Kingdom, Please say you know what the United Kingdom is ? Scotland,England,Wales and Northern Ireland.

The NHS is good for the people of the United Kingdom, If we did not have it then I am sure some people would not have Health Care at all and people would be in some trouble, I dont think the United States should step in to Universal Health care yet as your population grows and your economy delclines it will be a big price for your Government.

Actually, it is not a system similar to that in the UK and Canada. It is similar to the systems in the Netherlands and Switzerland. Yes we do like our system, or we would have voted for change. Your article is accurate but more importantly, that person in the ER once discharged would get care afterwards. Statins, beta blockers, ACE inhibitors (or AR2B receptor blockers) and if they changed jobs, or became self employed would still be covered for all aspects of health.

Suspected cancers are seen within two weeks. This year, I know of a man seen by his family doctor at home (that does not happen in the USA), sent for a chest x-ray. Seen again that day once the chest x-ray showed suspected cancer and was referred to see a chest specialist. Within 48 hours, they had a whole body CT and the next week they were seen for radiotherapy. And he did not have private health insurance. And with his strong family history of cancer, no insurance company would touch him to cover him for cancer if he was in the USA.

I am always amazed how many Americans seem not to be aware about the issues with healthcare relying on FOX and other sources to spread misinformation about the healthcare system of the USA and those abroad.

First of all, Obama wants to make insurance more available to all and change the system so that it is cheaper [1]. He also wants change so that the insurance companies find it harder to get out of paying for treatment. The system he is proposing looks similar to that which works in Holland and Switzerland where private companies are involved in providing insurance [2].

Second, of course universal health-cover sucks. That is why we in Western Europe have it. We think, hmm, our healthcare system sucks. I know, lets keep it. I guess that is the same with Japan and Canada as well.

Third, Obama campaigned on reforming the healthcare system. He said he wanted to make insurance more available and he was elected by the American people to do this [3].

FACT - the US has higher death rates for kids both for kids aged under one and those under five than western European countries with universal health coverage [4,5].

FACT – American insurance companies push up prices and work to stop paying out claims on those they cover [6].

FACT - the USA spends more on healthcare PER PERSON than any other nation on the planet [7].

That means that a dead American four year old would have had a better chance of life if they were born in Canada, France, Cuba, Germany, Japan etc, all of which have universal health coverage.

Last of all if you do not like the policies that Obama was elected to bring in, he can always be voted out of office in 2012.

The NHS in Britain really isn't bad. You know that if you ever get ill or hurt you will be taken care of.

It may not be up to private standards but it is a good failsafe. No-one dying because they aren't rich enough.

Private here though isn't exactly expensive.

I love the NHS, it is by far the best thing here and everyone I know agrees with me. Sure it's inefficient but it covers everyone in the entire country regardless of who you are and is free at point of delivery. Don't listen to all this crap about it restricting your freedom, you either get treated or you don't.

I am Canadian and I think our system is great. I have always received great care and have not had to wait for care.

Mine sucks (I'm in England).

The NHS is too far in debt to treat you and we common people can't afford private treatment. It's not much good I'm a fraid :/

U.S will not have a Canadian style health care system. Have you been paying attention to president Obama?