Pharmaceuticals in England

 

            While England is notorious for it’s free healthcare systems, they are no joke!! Healthcare is everywhere. Within 15 minutes of the hotel we stayed at for a portion of the trip, there were a dozen obvious healthcare facilities. Some of those were dentists, hospitals, quick care, and others just medicinal shops similar to pharmacies--- referred to as chemists. I think that having such a variety of medicine and doctors in dense amounts across the region allows for people to stay healthy. It was quite amazing to me to see that people have been constantly smoking and vaping. I seriously have not been able to walk more than 30 feet without smoke in my face. I find it very interesting, do people smoke more because they know that they will be ok if something happens to their lungs? They trust that the government will care for them if they are in need of chemo and other types of lung cancer therapies?

 Nonetheless, the abundance of options to people also helps with the population density. Though I didn’t see many ambulances, because the streets are so packed and people always drive so closely, it is extremely hard for them to get anywhere fast. I am wondering if the abundance of health facilities not only helps with job stability but also security in the free healthcare system.

 

 

While I cannot say what healthcare is like throughout the rest of the United Kingdom, specifically in northern areas like Ireland, Scotland and Wales, I can say that Grantham and London perfectly reflected this example of abundant and available healthcare. While Grantham is hundreds of times smaller than London, even being at Harlaxton was proof of the abundance of healthcare. Not only did Harlaxton have an on-site nurse during the full-time school year, Grantham also has a hospital and separate health clinic. Meanwhile, London has health clinics and other medical professionals around every corner! If you think there’s a lot of dentists in the treasure valley, think again!

While I did not ever get a chance to visit any of these medical centers (which not having a reason to is actually a stroke of luck), it is clear that there are some stark differences between those in the United States and Great Britian. For starters, it seems to me that while emissions are much stricter here, the insurance industry doesn’t have nearly the same hold on citizens in Britian. Additionally, there has been a major lack of obvious big pharma work. To read more about the issues of big pharma in the United States, follow the link. Because this can be a sensitive subject, I am leaving it purposely out of this blog and allowing you as the reader to discover your own opinions. I am currently doing my own research into the links between big pharma and insurance companies as this is the major difference between the United States and Great Britian’s healthcare. Other differences include things like appointment availability (much more flexible), choice of doctors (entire families using one doctor versus individual doctors), and of course more.

I think that I would prefer to live in the London region just because of the range of specialists available. It seems that while smaller towns like Grantham have several options, specialists are only found in the larger cities. While I am not someone who needs a specialist right now, you never know about the future!! I’d prefer to build up my life in a place where that is already available to me rather than in a place where I have to chance moving across the country later in my life.