Why don't we have ACTUAL universal healthcare like the rest of Europe?

I know plenty of people who went to A&E and ended up staying in hospital for a week or more. They didn't pay anything more then 100 Euro for their treatment.

That's pretty alright and nowhere near American costs.

Nonsense tbh. We spend as much per capita for the HSE as the Brits do for the NHS. Considering the difference in cost, speed and quality there is plenty of room for improvement with what we're currently spending.

The NHS is also a basket case, but it’s impossible to criticise.

Blaming the taxpayer is blaming the people on the trolley.

Wut? I'm not blaming the taxpayer. The taxpayer pays enough, as is obvious since we spend as much as the Brits on their NHS.

3 week wait for me to give my GP 60 quid. Took someone else I know a couple of weeks to get an appointment. Not to go to the appointment, just to get a date for an appointment because she was removed from her GPs books and none of the practices in town would take on new patients til she got a bit of luck.

Waiting a couple of weeks for an appointment that'll be free, with possibly free drugs if needed, free consultant if needed (might have to wait 6 months like it's the end of the world) and no worry about cost of any further treatment... vs couple of weeks to hand over 60 quid, maybe another 30 (let's lowball) for prescription, hope ya don't need a consultant or that's another 200.

Yeah, I think I know which is "better".

And let's be feckin honest here, charge a tenner for a GP visit to medical card holders and GP waiting lists here would evaporate.

I've never had to wait more than 3 days to see a GP, and my most recent visit was a month ago. Specialist services are another matter, especially since Covid. Following a scan recently, I found myself needing a specialist consultation - not for something life-threatening, but for something that would be unpleasant and sore and that would interfere with my day-to-day life. I was offered a private consultation in seven weeks, or a public appointment next September. I took the private appointment, but at least I can afford to pay the money. I am also aware of someone else whose GP was concerned he might have a serious respiratory condition - or a potentially devastating and fatal one, which he wanted to test for and hopefully rule out. The GP found the person a private appointment in the Beacon in about 2 weeks, but could not source a public appointment anywhere in the system for a year, despite the nature of the illness. Anyone who thinks either of the situations described above is in any way acceptable is utterly deluded.

As to the money, I just took a look at two publications, one British and one Irish, to compare their government health spending in 2019 (to avoid the distortions of the pandemic). UK spending was £2,647 per person. I don't have the prevailing exchange rates for 2019, but at today's exchange rate that's €3,140 per person. The Irish equivalent was €3,712. I appreciate that I could be making a methodological booboo somewhere since I looked this stuff up in a rush - but if it's right it means:

• Irish taxpayers are spending 18% more per head than their British counterparts
• But on top of that we still we have to pay for health stuff that they don't
• And 45% of us are also paying for private medical insurance, compared to about 13% of the UK's population

A mate of mine once described our system in a nutshell as paying too much money to too few people. I've no idea if that's actually the case - because it's so hard to get actual data to work with - but it's a plausible explanation.

https://assets.gov.ie/45117/6a4f970018d6477bac38f4539f80e927.pdf

OK, let's look at the public health system in both countries.

Prescriptions: Mostly free in UK. Mostly certainly not in Ireland. Prescription and non-prescription drugs cost a fuckton more here as well.

GP: Free vs 60 quid.

Consultants: Free v 200 quid.

Minor surgery following on: Free v €1-€2k?

Waiting lists. It's been making the news in the UK that waiting lists are over a year. 3 years isn't uncommon here. Again, despite the fact that fully half of the population have private insurance.

All of the above to despite half of our population having insurance separately.

Oh and dentists, Christ it'd be nice to just pay what they pay.

I have no gra for GPs but I agree with the basic minimum charge of 10 euro per visit. The free for under 6s really pushed them to the farthest edges of care and they might as well have pulled down the shutters. One free visit per year might have been a more reasonable solution for parents with lots of kids. It is a case of being self employed and under the same circumstances Pharmacists wouldn't be dictated to and fought for the prescription fee's in order to sustain their own business interests. These day's you go to a GP's and you're a customer, not a patient but I think it would be better for everyone if they were regarded as such and furnished for provision of their services. The care might improve and more options for care become available.

I know I should probably read the Slainte care programme (I'm just not getting paid to) but the German model is definitely one to look at and could be implemented here. A lot of other points have been made throughout the thread in relation to the NHS provision of care and it does cover a number of areas that are very lacking in our own, we don't have dental care at the moment (or at least very limited) and obviously provision of mental health services is stark. It is time to put the focus back on the public though and start providing them with the care that is needed.