Do people stand in lines for hours for medical care in your country?

[dogsbody70]

Originally Posted by SSJup81

I'd rather wait 5 hours for treatment (unless it's life threatening) instead of not going to the hospital at all because I can't afford it because I have no insurance, due to being rejected because of a "pre-existing condition". I'm really glad I'm in Japan right now. At least when I'm sick, I can go to the doctor and not debate on whether or not I should go if I'm not feeling well because of cost, like back home. Already had to file for bankruptcy one time back home because of healthcare issues. I'm glad I'm in a place right now where bankruptcy wouldn't even be an issue.

thats good to know, I am unsure about facilities for such as yourself.

Is Japan similar to UK with its national health service?

No doubt Nyrororin has already explained but I forget.

Myjapaneses friend here in UK-- student-- has had to use our services and not had to pay-- although she DOES pay taxes. she has a damaged wrist which was set about 18 months ago but it needs to be seen to again.

Because of worry about passing her exams here in UK she has not been back to the hospital--- but is thinking of getting it done when she returns to JAPAN although she will only be there for about ten days.

[MuRaSaKiiNkI]

Originally Posted by MMM

How awful to live in a country where thousands of citizens who don't have access to dental care are forced to spend the night waiting in line in sub-freezing temperatures so volunteer doctors and dentists can help. Normally the US would send aid to help places like that, but it was Portland, Oregon last night, and sending aid would be considered socialist medicine...

Although, most dental hygiene is the process of brushing and flossing every day, three times a day. My mother's a dental assistant, and in my opinion, if everyone just took better care of their teeth, except for straightening and other major issues like getting wisdom teeth pulled, there would be no need for dentists. Just a side thought.

Yes, American national health care is non-existent, and our medical insurance system is very corrupt, but Americans are not ignorant and we aren't going to stand for it much longer. I believe the main detrimental force against America's progression towards national health care is our warped dislike of "socialism," or rather "communist-socialism", forging communism and socialism synonyms. It's this kind of thinking that hurts our government in trying to discover new and better ways to create national health care.

However, it is not that "awful," yet anyway. There are plenty of free clinics in America, and even though people do have to wait in line, it's better than nothing. Health-Nutrition-Education, America's three major pillars of well-being are very unsteady right now, but I believe America will learn and develop (finally) good habits of eating right, taking care of our bodies, and learning what we need to maintain healthy lives. Then, hopefully people won't have to be sent to the hospital except for emergencies.

The scary thing is, the health insurance agencies know about this flaw, so they exploit Americans needing health care by jacking up prices and eliminating competition. I hear more and more commercials on TV discussing faulty drugs, and it's scary. What do we have our Food and Drug Association for, if not to take care of harmful drugs and foods before they reach the consumer market? It's crazy. And American food is most, if not all, processed and filled with corn syrup, corn starch, and chemicals no one can pronounce... So it's difficult to maintain healthy habits even if you try. America needs to crack down not only on health care but also on basic food and drugs, so our government protects us like they SHOULD be doing! -That's what most Americans believe.

[tvfan]

definetly the case in Montreal, Quebec, Canada

last awful experience was a pregnant girl that was having spasms and bleeding. She waited 6 hours. Afterwards the baby was lost. The nurse said "may have been saved if they would have seen you sooner"...

Kinda cruel

[missprincess]

Originally Posted by dogsbody70

why do you say that. I am very sorry to hear what happened with your dad.

I can't give a reason of course. I hope your dad is alright now.


Also its worrying re strokes. we are told that instant treatment is necessary. I suspect it often is lack of staff and even equipment. or even beds.

There often can be so many patients that it must be so difficult to cope with them all as swiftly as they really need.

Nurses and doctors are humans just like us. If a nurse is overworked having to cover staff that are not there they must be under a lot of stress.

You would need to speak to nurses or doctors to maybe see it from their viewpoint.


when it is our loved one it is hard to deal with when we don't know what is going on.


from what I hear, since there have been changes for junior doctors-- who used to work terribly long hours-- they now work less hours-- which seems to mean that in emergencies there are not enough doctors to deal with everything.


Also maybe it depends what area you live in-- whether there is extra demand for hospital treatment in some areas. after all we have a lot of immigrants and their families.

when I take my animals to the vet I do get good attention-- but I also have to pay for that treatment. we tend to take so much for granted.

sorry im replying late, my dad is better now thank GOD,
thanks alot for asking
but whilst we were at the hospital i remember the man across the bed from my father was shivering so severly from a fever that his bed was physically shaking and the nurse was literally standing infront of him and ignoring him, so the man on the bed next door (who had had an operation) stood up with his IV still attached and went and got an extra blanket - and me and the him both covered this poor man (btw the nurse was totally ignoring us this whole time), so we went and spoke to 3 different nurses outside of the ward before they gave him proper medical attention
seeing things like that really P'ss me off! no matter how tierd or busy u are, things like that shud never be ignored, they woudlnt do that to their own family members so why do it to someone elses?

[Sangetsu]

It's funny how much people criticize things which they know so little about. I have visited a few dental offices in Japan and have been shocked by the poor quality of dentistry here. I've been to many places, but the quality of Japanese dentistry is not much betterr than you would expect to find in India or Central America. Sure, basic treatments are covered by the national healthcare program, but the resulting dental work is awful to look at.

I ended up finding an America dentist in Tokyo who does good work. Of course his treatments are not covered by national healthcare, and neither are his treatments cheap.

I wish people would stop blaming governments for not providing services which people should be able to provide for themselves. One of the reasons intelligent people study hard in school is so that they can earn enough money to pay for things like their own insurance or their own dental care. America has free primary education, and the best universities in the world, it is a country where it is almost painfully easy to succeed. Yet there are many who fall through the cracks. Some of these people are victims of bad luck, but most have only to blame themselves for the bad decisions they have made in their lives.

When I lived in America I made sure I had good insurance. When I chose an employer, I made sure that they offered medical and dental coverage. I qualified myself to work for such an employer by getting a good education and having a good work history and good credit.

When I suffered from hardships (and there were more than a few) I didn't blame anyone but myself. I understood that my problems were MY problems, and therefore my responsibility. Solving these problems and overcoming the hardships in my life made me smarter and stronger. In a society where the government protects everybody from such hardships, how would people learn responsibility? We would all turn out to be weak-minded and weak-spirited people who would never learn to take care of ourselves, like the French.

[MMM]

It is interesting, Sangetsu. In my old stomping grounds where I visit yearly there are (obviously) several dental clinics. From what I knew many had poor reputations, but "what are you going to do?"

Then in the last year or so a new dentist moved into town. His office, literally, looks like the deck of a spaceship. All bright and white. His clinic uses the newest in technology. Now all of my friends have broken off with their regular dentists and go to his office. I got to peek in, and he (and his colleagues) are using tech that I have never seen before, certainly not in America. Lasers instead of drills... pretty cool stuff.

I agree that people should take responsibility for their own actions, but like you said, sometimes we meet with bad luck and need a helping hand. Isn't that what the government is there for in the first place? If the government can't help those that need help, then what is it's use?

I understand libertarian ideals, but does it help you or hurt you if families are freezing in their cars as they have no place to go? Does it help you or hurt you if children are dropping out of school to pick vegetables in order to make money to scratch by? Is it better or worse for you if houses on your block are going into foreclosure?

The America of 50 and 60 years ago was truly a place of "neighborhoods". That is gone now, and is why we see these kinds of attitudes, where people don't want to be bothered with even their next door neighbor. "I'll watch your house if you watch mine" is becoming an attitude of the past. I like that isn't as true in many parts of Japan and rural America. But it is sad it is a growing trend.