An American POV on NHS from inside the UK

In my recent trip home all I heard about was National Healthcare, what "President Obama wants to do..." and how my parents feel about it all. Boy, was that a fun vacation.

During my two week holiday in the US to see family and friends I was asked several questions about this strange and mysterious land I am now living in. "What is the food like?" "How is the weather?" "What is NHS like? I hear it's terrible..."

Normally my friends and family would just stick to the basics of food, weather and culture. However, with the current topic of healthcare being yelled about on the nightly Fox News channel, my friends wanted to know what NHS is like. This makes sense to me. Coming from a country that doesn't like change but loves to brag that they are innovative, I have come to fear "different" and know what their concerns are.

I'm coming to my point, just wait, it's good for the UK too...

Anyway, there is all this talk about how terrible a National Healthcare will be in the US from conservative parties (my parents). And I'm not an expert on it at all but after my first NHS experience, I am happy to say I am all for National Healthcare and NHS did not suck, infact, I loved my first experience with the system.

I called a few days ago just to schedule a meeting with a Nurse to check up on my meds. The receptionist was very nice and got me in for an appointment two days later. No problem. That was simple but I was expecting a catch, like the horrendous wait once I got there or a huge hassle.

Yesterday, I went to the Mowbray Square Medical Center for said appointment. I know I have a bit of a slanted view since the location is brand new and all of the facilities were sparkling and smelled like they had never been used. I checked in for my appointment and waited about 10 minutes, maybe less. There was a LCD monitor that made a tone and flashed my name and who I was to see on it when they were ready for me. I found the nurse's office and had a nice long and comfortable talk about what I needed.

I am one to dread going to the doctor. I will do anything in my power to stay healthy just so I do not have to sit on that paper table with a paper gown trying to cover my running muscles. But this experience was different. The nurse looked me in the eye, gave me full attention, asked several questions but did not make me feel uncomfortable and explained everything to me very clearly. In the end, although I did not have an issue with my medications that I knew of, she found a very valid concern. Apparently the medicine I was on could be fatal with a person who experiences migraine headaches...I experience migraine headaches! But we got that issue sorted and now I can go on with living in the UK.

Here is the bonus: I am from the US where healthcare costs can bankrupt you and I have been conditioned to that type of treatment. This NHS visit did not cost me anything. Not even for the prescription that I picked up afterwards. Ofcourse I am pessimistically ready for a hefty bill in the post but I'm pretty sure that visit was FREE!!!!

So, as far as the National Healthcare for the US goes, I say "fellow Americans, go for it!!!" My experience with NHS was great. I have been fortunate in my experiences but I know I have fellow Americans who have never experienced anything close to it.