UK begins rationing of surgeries

[golfguru]

The days of unlimited surgeries on demand are now history.
All non-critical surgeries should be rationed. We can not
afford anything else. Otherwise bankruptcy will be here sooner than later.

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/cataracts-hips-knees-and-tonsils-nhs-begins-rationing-operations-2327268.html

[arcane1]

1. "some patients are being referred for homeopathic treatments instead of conventional treatment"

:wtf: is going on over there??? And why is the NHS being asked to save so much money?

One more country that needs to end their military excursions.

[LeftishBrit]

8. Though the military excursions don't help...

the main thing is that the Tories are ideological cutters for the sake of cutting, aka they believe in the 'small state'. And they use the economic crisis as an excuse. Any government would have cut to some extent, but a sensible one not nearly as much. Thatcher imposed such policies in peacetime (except for the short-lived Falklands war in 1982). Some of them would really like to privatize the NHS and have a system more like yours.

Fortunately, there is far more resistance to the policies now than under Thatcher.

www.keepournhspublic.com

[Sarah Ibarruri]

2. How does that compare to not having any surgery or treatments at all because one has 0 insurance?

I'm referring to the U.S.

While we think that a wonderful health system might be limiting some of the less successful, and iffy surgeries (while still providing treatment), we skip right over the fact that what goes by the name of health care here in the U.S. is pure SHIT, UNAVAILABLE SHIT.

On another note, my brother recently hurt one knee after running a lot (and me warning him that he needed to stop the running and do other types of workouts). Anyway, his doctor wants to do a knee replacement. However, he has 3 friends with the same knee problem: two had knee replacements, and one did not.

One that had a knee replacement, was happy with it, but because foreign objects in the body can get rather sizable infections, he got an infection from hell, was in the hospital to get rid of the infection and the knee replacement, and a new one put in. He can now barely move the knee and is in therapy. Another had a knee replacement, was happy with it until his knee began to hurt, and he had to have a replacement of that one. He is happier than the first.

The third one that had no knee replacement, is waiting to go to Argentina to have stem cell treatment to regrow tissue in the knee rather than have a knee replacement. This is very expensive tho.

[golfguru]

3. Right, in our country surgeries are the first resort, it should be the last

When I had a gall bladder attack, the doctors never told me that there were other options besides surgical removal of gall bladder. I was in the hospital on tuesday for the attack and surgery was done on thursday!

And if you have no insurance as many do here, you have to go bankrupt in order to have a CRITICAL surgery.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

4. And not when you have no insurance. When you have no insurance, you're up the creek and have

no surgery, no treatment, not natural, and not anything. Just no treatment.

Isn't illness the #1 reason for bankruptcy in the U.S.?

[golfguru]

5. yeah that and divorce

I have always had insurance through employers, so I do not know first hand how having no insurance affects critical surgery needs. I thought hospitals can not refuse health services for critical patients.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

6. Yep. Non-profit hospitals are at the end of the road already; for-profit hospitals don't treat the

uninsured.

[MiniMe]

7. You may get treatment, but you still owe the bill

It isn't free