05-02-2006, 06:03 AM
( a subject dear to my old heart , and not as I require a quadruple bypass just yet )
- the waiting list , for non-emergency operations in U.K. stood at 792.000 as in December 2005 ;
- the government's target , for 2008 , is that no one should wait longer than 18 weeks for an operation ;
- 81% of 3.000 British public , polled by Brit.National Centre for Social research , wants shorter waits than this
( yet-to-be achieved , i.e. "when" or "if" ) target ;
- under the European Community Law E112 rule , any EU-citizen suffering "undue delays" in receiving treatment in their home country , is entitled to have the operation in another member state ;
- to test this , a 74-yrs' old mrs Yvonne Watts of Bedfordshire chose not to wait for months and months for a new hip , but had one "done" in Abeville , France , costing her Euro 5.200 ( GBP 3.600 approx. ) ; since the NHS trust refused authorising her treatment abroad , she has broght an action for reimbursement to European Court of Justice in Luxembourg , whose landmark ruling is due in the next few weeks ;
- if positive , this might have huge implications for NHS resources , as many more patients can hop on Eurostar and be finished with over-long waiting periods , and rid of their their misery , in some nicer hospital or clinic , abroad ...;
- cardiac surgery in Belgium is widely regarded as the best in all Europe ; a heart bypass costs around Euro10.000 ( GBP 6.900 ) , whereas in Germany it can cost 50-80% more !
- one serious reason , why there is an ever-inceasing number of "health tourists " here : in the last 12 months , 100.000 patients in British hospitals got infected there ( MRSA etc. ) of which : over 5.000 died .
- for reasonably-priced , 1st class dentistry , Hungary is THE place , even after accounting for the travel expenses !
- the waiting list , for non-emergency operations in U.K. stood at 792.000 as in December 2005 ;
- the government's target , for 2008 , is that no one should wait longer than 18 weeks for an operation ;
- 81% of 3.000 British public , polled by Brit.National Centre for Social research , wants shorter waits than this
( yet-to-be achieved , i.e. "when" or "if" ) target ;
- under the European Community Law E112 rule , any EU-citizen suffering "undue delays" in receiving treatment in their home country , is entitled to have the operation in another member state ;
- to test this , a 74-yrs' old mrs Yvonne Watts of Bedfordshire chose not to wait for months and months for a new hip , but had one "done" in Abeville , France , costing her Euro 5.200 ( GBP 3.600 approx. ) ; since the NHS trust refused authorising her treatment abroad , she has broght an action for reimbursement to European Court of Justice in Luxembourg , whose landmark ruling is due in the next few weeks ;
- if positive , this might have huge implications for NHS resources , as many more patients can hop on Eurostar and be finished with over-long waiting periods , and rid of their their misery , in some nicer hospital or clinic , abroad ...;
- cardiac surgery in Belgium is widely regarded as the best in all Europe ; a heart bypass costs around Euro10.000 ( GBP 6.900 ) , whereas in Germany it can cost 50-80% more !
- one serious reason , why there is an ever-inceasing number of "health tourists " here : in the last 12 months , 100.000 patients in British hospitals got infected there ( MRSA etc. ) of which : over 5.000 died .
- for reasonably-priced , 1st class dentistry , Hungary is THE place , even after accounting for the travel expenses !