Tyneside General Hospital

When we were in England, my wife needed unexpectedly to see a doctor.  I asked at the desk of the Roker Hotel how we should go about getting to see a doctor.  The woman at the desk told us to dial 999, which we did.  We were connected to a woman who asked us a series of questions about our problem, determined that we need to see a doctor right away, and made an appointment for us at Tyne side General Hospital.  She said to be there before 11am.  It was about 8:30am.  We called a cab and were there in about 25 minutes.  Going in, the desk was already aware of our appointment.  It was not much different from an emergency room in the US., but less crowded, smaller, and more plain than we have here.  Within 20 minutes we were seen by a nurse who took vital signs, scheduled tests, and took our information. We were very worried that we would not be able to use our insurance.  We had gone to Mass General in Boston once for a similar incident and had been charged over $10,000. for an overnight with supervision,  Our insurance had temporarily lapsed.  At Tyneside they told us there would be no charge unless we had to be admitted.  We had blood tests done, saw a doctor, were given a diagnosis.  The issue was not as serious as we thought.  And there was no charge.
   
It was clear they had no system set up for taking money or insurance information.  That there was no charge was remarkable to us, but what was most remarkable was the efficiency and speed that we were moved through the system.  It was an emergency room with no waiting.  In America, if you cannot see your doctor right away, you go to an emergency room without an appointment and wait, usually for hours, and then are slowly moved through the system.  It is usually an all day or all night process.  We were out of Tyneside General in time to catch up with the rest of our party at the Sunderland Glass Museum in the early afternoon.

I have heard warnings about the British system; that one had to wait months for an operation or for a hearing aid.  There must be some disaffection with the system, although we were not aware of what it was during our visit.  We did see posters around the hospital admonishing patients not to abuse the doctors and nurses.  I am not sure what that was about; but it implies that doctors do not have the same unassailable social status they have in the US, and, the one we saw, seemed equally as competent and professional.  From my own limited first hand experience, I think I would choose their system over ours.