Doctors & the NHS..

The medical system here in the UK takes a lot of getting used to, specially if you come here from India. If you can afford to pay for your health care, India is a great option (quite similar to the US). You can decide to see a doctor at the drop of a hat, get to see a specialist, see them at your convenience etc if you can afford to pay. Growing up, I lived in a self-contained township which had doctor's clinics dotted all over our colony and a hospital too . We got good medical attention and probably the only thing which I can complain about was the long waiting times at an appointment. This only got better as I got older because my sister is a doctor. Our waiting times drastically reduced to practically nothing at all and we could just walk in without an appointment because we would be seeing her friends. I have to admit we would abuse this at times too - for instance I would see an ENT specialist for a cold, a dermatologist for a simple skin rash.. you get my drift ? Also she was always around at the other end of the phone for advice.

So coming to the UK was a big shock for me. You cannot visit the doctor on weekends, after-office hours, wait months and months to see a specialist.. the list is endless. In my initial years in the UK when I lived in Wales, I used to work away from home during the week so the only time I could see a doctor was a weekend, when they would be closed, so I would have to plan much in advance for a simple visit. When I moved to London, things got slightly better as the surgery works longer hours here and also because I worked in the same city. But my experience with the London doctors has been appalling.

I went to a doctor once with classic malaria-like symptoms - fever, chills, alternate shivering and sweating.. and get this just after I got back from South Africa. I specifically told the doctor this and all she said was do a test and come back after a week... When i called my sister in India and relayed the information, she was furious as malaria can get potentially fatal. I waited for a few more hours in the hope that it would disappear and when it did not, Calculus was quite worried. He insisted that we go to the accident and emergency department of our nearest hospital and drove me there in the middle of the night. The doctor had one look at me and prescribed me quinine. and I got better within a few hours.

Thankfully, I had a largely trouble-free pregnancy and so did not go to the doctor much. My pregnany-related asthma was largely under control with medicines sent by my sister from India. I had so much explaining to do to my parents and sister about how we dont see any doctors, if things are smooth in a normal pregnancy. Midwives deal with routine pregnancies and though this took a bit of getting used to initially, I think it works well. I am still not fully convinced of the efficacy of the system here, yet I think the way they deal with pregnancies and children is quite good. Routine pregnancies are dealt with completely by midwives and you dont see a doctor at all. The little one's routine progress is monitored by a health visitor. All concerns, questions are addressed by the health visitor and the little one has not yet been seen by a pediatrician.. She was seen once by a doctor when she was 2 months old. This was not a specialist, either. .I think this works quite well, freeing up the doctor's time for more serious illnesses. It has taken a really long time for me to be even remotely comfortable with this "attitude change" that is required.

A colleague of mine has recently moved over here from the US with a 3 year old son and yesterday when she was complaining about how you cannot be seen by a pediatrician, I found myself explaining the "attitude change" required. I felt like I had heard a voice from my past, repeating all the concerns I once had......