Hey Y'all,

This has been bugging me for quite sometime and I'd like ask about it. As many of you know I watch trauma shows almost daily on the Discovery Life channel and many of them feature hospitals and situations in foreign countries. One of my favorites is based in London, called Emergency 24/7. The show follows a team of medics around the UK and the doctors at a Level-1 trauma hospital. (receiving the worst and most critical patients) Now as an American who had chronically ill parents I called 911 here so frequently I was on a first name basis with the medics.

What is irking me is the difference in the American medics and British medics. At most what I've seen the medics do is put in an IV and administer sucrose to my mother (she was diabetic and her sugar would drop to dangerous levels occasionally) and with my father I only had to call them once really when he was working on his car int he summer and started having a mild heat exhaustion and kind of dazed out on me.
Now this is the difference I've seen. With the British medics, when some emergency pops up, they dispatch the ambulance like you'd expect, but they ALSO dispatch something like a field doctor. They go out in a helicopter and are real, actual DOCTORS. And in the field I've seen them do actual surgical procedures and place breathing tubes, tubes to drain blood, and even administer Ketamine, which is an anesthetic...in the field before they even put them on the gurney. I've NEVER seen anything like that here. It amazes me.
Normally you can't even get the damn doctor to visit in the hospital, let alone go out in the field to work! One lady had a cardiac arrest and they even sent around a special cardiac doctor into the field to help. (A heart attack took my father almost a year ago. I wonder if a cardiologist had ridden along to the nursing home if he might still be here...)

American medics seem to just aim for stabilization, if possible.
British medics seem to actually start the healing process when they arrive.

That's just my observation but I think it would be better if we could have more medical teams like that on the road in America.  :(

and it's free...

and it's free...


Actually, it's paid with people's taxes. There's a reason why it's so expensive to live in the UK. After paying all your bills, you'll hardly have any spending money, if none at all.

Actually, it's paid with people's taxes. There's a reason why it's so expensive to live in the UK. After paying all your bills, you'll hardly have any spending money, if none at all.


I just keep thinking of all the times I had medics in this house and how maybe things would have been different. I wish somehow some way funds could be allotted for care. But I know once Hitler, Jr, I'm sorry Trump, goes into office he'll probably stick all of the sick on an unmarked island somewhere.

You should definitely write to your state legislator about this. Please tell me someone had a defibrillator when you called for your dad?

Actually, it's paid with people's taxes. There's a reason why it's so expensive to live in the UK. After paying all your bills, you'll hardly have any spending money, if none at all.


The taxes are higher but it's not some post-apocalyptic scenario you're portraying it to be lol.

I know that Canada's and the US's taxes are pretty much the same if we're talking income tax. I paid maybe ~10% of about the ~$30k I earned at the stint I had out of high-school. (I don't include payroll taxes because you get those paid back later). The sales tax over here is 13% and that might be the main difference. I'm more than happy to pay it though; my sister had cancer and money was the last thing we worried about. I'd take that peace of mind.

I just keep thinking of all the times I had medics in this house and how maybe things would have been different. I wish somehow some way funds could be allotted for care. But I know once Hitler, Jr, I'm sorry Trump, goes into office he'll probably stick all of the sick on an unmarked island somewhere.


It really seems more like irresponsibility on the medics part. You need to take note that not all paramedics are like that, most aren't.

Actually, it's paid with people's taxes. There's a reason why it's so expensive to live in the UK. After paying all your bills, you'll hardly have any spending money, if none at all.


That is so not true.

Because the tax systems are different it is tricky to do direct comparisons.  However having lived in the Eastern US and living in the UK I know that we were pretty much the same in terms of income.

Hey Y'all,

This has been bugging me for quite sometime and I'd like ask about it. As many of you know I watch trauma shows almost daily on the Discovery Life channel and many of them feature hospitals and situations in foreign countries. One of my favorites is based in London, called Emergency 24/7. The show follows a team of medics around the UK and the doctors at a Level-1 trauma hospital. (receiving the worst and most critical patients) Now as an American who had chronically ill parents I called 911 here so frequently I was on a first name basis with the medics.

What is irking me is the difference in the American medics and British medics. At most what I've seen the medics do is put in an IV and administer sucrose to my mother (she was diabetic and her sugar would drop to dangerous levels occasionally) and with my father I only had to call them once really when he was working on his car int he summer and started having a mild heat exhaustion and kind of dazed out on me.
Now this is the difference I've seen. With the British medics, when some emergency pops up, they dispatch the ambulance like you'd expect, but they ALSO dispatch something like a field doctor. They go out in a helicopter and are real, actual DOCTORS. And in the field I've seen them do actual surgical procedures and place breathing tubes, tubes to drain blood, and even administer Ketamine, which is an anesthetic...in the field before they even put them on the gurney. I've NEVER seen anything like that here. It amazes me.
Normally you can't even get the damn doctor to visit in the hospital, let alone go out in the field to work! One lady had a cardiac arrest and they even sent around a special cardiac doctor into the field to help. (A heart attack took my father almost a year ago. I wonder if a cardiologist had ridden along to the nursing home if he might still be here...)

American medics seem to just aim for stabilization, if possible.
British medics seem to actually start the healing process when they arrive.

That's just my observation but I think it would be better if we could have more medical teams like that on the road in America.  :(

It's probably more of a business here, than there. I don't think it should cost so much to keep ones life, where it is.

Actually, it's paid with people's taxes. There's a reason why it's so expensive to live in the UK. After paying all your bills, you'll hardly have any spending money, if none at all.
Paid in the National Insurance, not Income Tax

http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/nhs-american-doctor-privitisation-i-have-a-message-a7207706.html

An American doctors view of the NHS in the UK.