50c saves my life & why I will not return to UK for healthcare.

The National Health Service has been ridiculed, kicked and criticized for as long as I can remember and most times, in the UK, for good reason. The vision and idea are sound. Who does not want free health care. The problem is managing a system economically whilst providing an efficient service. In the UK a simple blood sample takes minutes but the results can take up to two weeks. Prescription charges are horrendous. Waiting for a hip replacement is over a year. And so on and on…

WHAT AM I GOING ON ABOUT HERE?

Simply this. Cyprus is part of the National Health Service of the UK. However, any similarities  between the two end right there.  Management here have devised and are running a great service that is affordable and efficient.  When I arrived here I waited just two weeks before receiving my resident card. A week later I had my health card and went to register with my local hospital. As a diabetic I was asked to take a blood test and then sent to have an X ray. The blood sample was taken at 8.30 and at 2.00 I went back to collect the results. I was given my own prescription book which I keep and this the doctor fills out when medication is required. Two days later I was sent to see the cardiologist for an ultrasound. Unfortunately he found I had an enlarged heart. The thing is, all this was caught early and I had two more blood tests in a week. Imaging doing all this in the UK in a week?

Here’s the procedure that runs smoothly. I register to see a doctor and pay E6.00. The clerk gives me my own folder with my medical record. After seeing the doctor I return to the clerk and show her my prescription or blood test request sheet. Each test and each medication costs 50c. The clerk affixes 50c stamps on the script and I walk ten paces to the hospital pharmacy. They neatly pack the meds in a nice carrier bag with a smile while I practice saying thank you in Greek.  So I have 10 pills, two insulin s, needles, free x ray, free ultrasound, and consultation with the doctor and all for E12.50. The medication supplied is for two months. No one, especially  OAP’s and children from less well off families on this island go without medication.

The money collected goes to pay the staff and the ambulance service. Tax pays for the rest of the service.  If the National Health Service concentrated more on well thought out policies as Cyprus has instead of cost cutting care for the aged and what they term as non essential nursing staff maybe a lot more patients would be alive today instead of dying while waiting for a heart or other major operations. It is not the medical staff who should shoulder the blame but the clip board carrying idiots who command high salaries for steering the NHS into the mess its in.

SUMMER – yes it is nearly here after nearly two whole months of winter. My pool is now clean and the loungers are ready to be placed strategically around to catch maximum sun. I have purchased three large fans and am looking forward to spending a few nights sleeping poolside under the stars. There will of course be a bottle of white chilling in the pool for those sleepless nights when tapping away on the computer will accompany the heehawing of a couple of donkeys down the road. Road trips are going to be pretty extensive this year. We are going to Troodos mountains, Kyrenia, Bellapais, Nicosia and a couple of wineries to taste the wonderful wine produced here. I can’t wait to enjoy our first summer here and look forward to a few days strolling the beaches.

Love you all and wish you were here.  Raymond