Yes, we have National Health dentists but dentistry is also in crisis. There are not enough NH dentists and many leave and go private for more money. It is very hard to get a National Health dentist now. I have been private for several years because my practice lost all its NH dentists. I could put my name on a list. At the moment I dont go as often as I should, the price of a check up and polish is extortionate, but there is some work I would like done if I can afford it.

Dentists and opticians (eye care) are free for children and students. Opticians do not come under the National Health. You have to pay for it and there are many to choose from. Glasses and contacts are very expensive, if you want the nice ones!

This is great information and much appreciated!! What about dental, corrective eye care, and prescriptions? Also, do you know what percentage of wages go toward NHS? Does the percentage depend on income level?

Set up in 1948 the NHS is the largest public funded health care service. It aims to provide good healthcare to all regardless of wealth. It is completely free. Sounds good doesn’t it? But there are flaws and problems. We all pay National Insurance tax out of our wages to pay for it. You can choose to pay for private health care but you still pay the NI contributions regardless.

All foreign tourists/workers/immigrants can have treatment on the NHS for free as soon as they set foot on our soil. On the one had it is comforting to know that you dont have to worry about paying for anything and that you are entitled to any care, even expensive long term care. The problems arise from too many people needing the service and not enough money generated to deal with it all. This can lead to long waiting lists, lower quality of care, and a zip code lottery whereby each local authority has its own budget and your care can depend on whereabouts in Britain you actually live and what that particular authority is willing to pay for.

I think you may be appalled at some of the quality of care. There are very long waiting lists, even for cancer sufferers and women only get screened for breast cancer from age 50 every 3 years! My father-in-law paid for us all to have private health care but it cana be a bit of a con. For instance, you see a specialist quickly enough, but then they tell you it would be better to have you operation on the NHS (they dont want to pay up for some ops) so you wonder why you’re paying money into it. If you’re rich you can get the best care but most people can only afford basic private care which has many loopholes. In the current recession we can no longer pay for the private so rely on the NHS.

The problem is too many Eurpoeans come here to get the free health care. Too many British citizens do not/will not work (the benefit system is too cushy) so they don’t contribute but take the free health care. They system is cracking up which is a shame as the basic principles are good.

In mainland Europe most countries have private health care. I think Germany and Austria have some system like ours. British citizens carry a free European Health Insurance card so that if we go abroad on holiday we can get free health care if needed.

Hope this has been useful to you.

Thanks for the info.

If someone in Canada was in a bad car accident with severe head trauma, what portion would be considered emergency and what portion would the person have to pay out of pocket if they didn’t have additional insurance? For instance, would rehabilitation services be covered under the emergency umbrella too?

Most medium-sized to large employers offer group insurance that covers additional services (e.g. nutritionist, massage therapist, chiro, naturopath, etc.), prescriptions and dental. Eye care is rarely covered. If you’re self-employed and want additional health insurance, it’s not cheap. However, maternity leave is available in all provinces, I believe. In Quebec, off the top of my head, it’s 6 months mat leave with full pay and an additional 3 to 6 with partial pay for parental leave (that can be taken by either parent). Your employer has to allow it and you have the same job when you come back. This is available to self-employed workers as well.

Kaye