A true story related to the NHS for you.
I'm a 76 year old pensioner who lives alone, and have generally had very good physical health throughout my life. However. In mid November 2024, I collapsed during the night when I had to get up to go to the toilet. I called the UK emergency number, 999, and asked for the Ambulance Service. I explained my situation and symptoms to the operator who told that an Ambulance was on it's way. It arrived within 10 minutes. After the Paramedics had examined me they took me to the Accident and Emergency Department of my local hospital, where, after being examined by a Doctor and a blood transfusion started, I was admitted to an urgent care ward.  A few hours later after more examinations and tests, I was taken to the Operating Theatre where I was treated for a bleeding artery in my stomach. I was told later that I was at that point probably within 2 hours of bleeding to death (I was loosing blood faster then it could be transfused into me)  I was discharged from hospital a week later. During my time in hospital I received more than 12 units of whole blood, plus Iron transfusions, plasma and drugs to control and prevent a recurrence of the bleeding. I have prescription medication for this which I will have to take for the rest of my life.  The cost of all this, plus the several tests I underwent which included Endoscopy and CAT scans was,  to me, Zero. (I will point out that I had a 50 year working life during which time I paid into the system through my taxes and National Insurance contributions) I suspect that if I had been living in the USA, had I received treatment at all, It would have left me with a huge bill that would hang over me for the rest of my life, but most likely I would have died, since being the age I am and not being wealthy, I would not have received help in time. The NHS is not perfect, but I would choose it over the US system any day. When you really need help, it is there for you.

Here's a story that ties together your interests in Australia and the UK and NHS. I'm Australian, and Australia has a 'reciprocal healthcare' arrangement with the UK, meaning that our respective citizens get access to the other nation's public healthcare systems as though we were citizens more or less where there is immediate need. We both have tax-based universal healthcare.

My parents, Australians, were holidaying ('on vacation') in the UK, and my mother fell ill. She went to a hospital in London thinking she had a chest infection, and found out that not only did she have a chest infection, she had a chest infection that was persistent because her immune system more-or-less didn't exist. She was diagnosed with advanced blood cancer that had largely gone unnoticed because she was so fit and healthy in terms of her lifestyle (eats well, and has worked as a very active emergency paramedic for years - she had been feeling 'run down' but just thought she was working too hard).

The hospital decided she was too ill to fly home, so she was admitted to hospital in London and received blood transfusions, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, plasma exchanges, and many other things over a period of 6 weeks before she was deemed well enough to fly home with observation. The total bill for all of that for my parents was $0, other than the nurse on the plane to monitor her on the way back to Australia, which her travel insurance covered.

Once my mother got home, she underwent intensive chemotherapy, a stem cell extraction and transplant procedure, and is now in remission. The bill for that was also $0. Of course my parents pay taxes in Australia, but they don't pay all that much more than many Americans do - beyond travel insurance, no health insurance was necessary for any of this.

It's what our taxes pay for instead of Forever Wars - keeping people alive instead of killing them.

I was diagnosed with cancer last year. I've had surgeries,  chemo, radiotherapy,  trips in ambulances etc. No bill. Nada. Also free prescriptions so no bills for my medication.  Its not perfect but I'm now in remission and not bankrupt.  Thank you NHS ❤

The chemists in the UK are able to prescribe for common ailments to relieve strain on GPs

I’m 70 and all my prescriptions are free. My son is an insulin dependent diabetic. He is not charged for his prescriptions, podiatrist, eye checks, laser treatment on his eyes and he has a designated diabetic specialist nurse who he sees every few months to chat and check on his progress and wellbeing. All under the umbrella of the NHS.
Yes we have paid into it with our taxes during our working life and it covers people who cannot work. I’m good with that🥰

The USA is the biggest lie factory on the planet.

A joke in the UK is you could fit the whole plot of Breaking Bad in an ad-break.

I live in a small town in England. I order repeat prescriptions (every two months) online and the meds are delivered to me next day...sometimes later the same day. All with no cost.

My very best nhs experience was when my mum was dying. She was given the choice of staying in hospital or going to a hospice or going home. She wanted to go home. It was organised for the next day. By the time the ambulance got her home our lounge was set up with a hospital bed( with electric mattress) a commode, and 2 carers ( a married couple who had immigrated from Spain. They came to the house 4 times per day 7am, midday, 5pm and 10pm. They stayed for an hour each time. They made her comfy and changed her night gown and bed linen when ever it was needed. They liaised with mums GP and the end of life nurses( the nurses also came daily to assess mums pain meds)
This continued seamlessly for 10 days til mum died. It meant that I could just be her daughter and I didn’t have to worry about the nursing and caring.
The day after she died all the equipment and bed was collected. We didn’t need to worry about sorting that out. Because the dr knew that mum just had a few days left , the end of care team stepped in and it was perfect and didn’t cost mum any money out of pocket . She had paid her taxes when younger and was able to get what she needed in her last few days . Perfect

Ah - the usual brainwashing with disinformation in the US.

My husband and I took my dad to the emergency department when he had a bleed on the brain and was showing stroke symptoms (hubby was a blood and transplant blue light driver at the time and dispatch let him use his vehicle instead of calling an ambulance). The moment we said the word ‘stroke’ a nurse’s head popped up and he was rushed through the busy waiting area to the stroke team and then to get a CT scan. When it’s something that needs urgent treatment they are on it immediately.

Why are Americans  still not aware of a better way of doing healthcare. You have been ripped off for decades and still they do nothing about it, still vote for people not interested in changing things,  Still allowing big pharma to rip you off. still voting for people that have no interest in helping you

At my GP's practice in England, if you see the Doctor and they issue a prescription, they will send it electronically to your preferred Pharmacy immediately (our preferred pharmacy is in the same building as the doctor's practice) and if they have it in stock you can pick it up within about 10 minutes. For repeat prescriptions you order them - either online or by dropping a request on paper at the reception desk at the doctor's - and then you can pick it up within 48 hours.
My repeat prescriptions are in fact set up for a year at a time, and so I only have to reorder them when the repeat is running out. And, although I live in England, because I am over 60 years old, I get free prescriptions.

If you call up your GP for a 'same day' appointment for something urgent (an infection or whatever) the response might well be for the Doctor to call you later in the morning to discuss your symptoms in more detail, and then they will decide whether advice is sufficient, they need to issue a prescription for you to collect later in the day, or ask you to actually attend the surgery (what we call their office- not an operating theatre) for an in person examination. This saves a lot of time and effort on everyone's part.

Two years ago I tripped and broke my hip.. I had an ambulance ride to A&E and was admitted to hospital. I had surgery the next day and had a pin in my thigh. Anyway, three months, two different hospitals, two 150 mile ambulance rides, very many excellent meals, cups of tea, drugs and physiotherapy later I was sent home. I then had a nurse come round to give me antibiotics drips every day and I was given an experimental, bone healing, electronic gizmo. All of this was at no charge. God bless our NHS. As a side note, one of the hospitals was a specialist private hospital in Oxford, 150.miles from my home. That, too, was free of charge.

My step son, visiting from Ireland (not Northern Ireland, so not part of the NHS) had an asthma attack, having forgotten his meds.  We decided he needed help and called 999.  The paramedics arrived, assessed him. Applied meds through a nubliser from the ambulance, tested his breathing periodically to check his sats....leaving only once they were satisfied he was safe.  They called through an appointment with an out of hours doctor for a prescriptionso he could go get an inhaler from and out of hours pharmacy.  They also told him that had he gone to any pharmacy with any empty inhaler and they would replace it free of charge.

I live in London, 5 miles from the city centre and am registered with a local health centre. My experience of Doctor's appointments is that they are timed and I am seen either at the time given or no more than within 15 minutes of the given time.  Usually for none urgent appointments one is available within  a couple of weeks of making the request. Consultations are completely private, with each of the Doctors in the practice  having there own consultation rooms. As to pharmacies, I  and my wife have repeat prescriptions so refills can be requested online and we nominate a convenient pharmacy to fill them.  On the rare occasion a medication isn't available from stock they will order from a wholesaler who will supply it in 24 hours.  One thing I need to correct is healthcare is free in the UK statement, it isn't, if your in work in addition to income tax you pay  National Insurance which funds the Health Service. What is free is ambulances and the care received at the point it is needed. Healthcare is considered a right in the UK and an effective health service actually saves the country money in the long run with health conditions being diagnosed early before serious harm and costs are incurred.

I think the problem with wait times in American doctors offices is that because you have to pay for the appointment, everyone wants to get their money's worth out of it, so they'll try and get as many things seen to as possible.

If we have a problem, we phone 111 and speak to a health advisor, they can arrange an appointment for you, to speak to a doctor, or, if needed get you a temporary  prescription if you run out.

My experience of a long delay is with a knee replacement. It was not an accident or emergency, so it was categorised as “elective”. My appointment to see the surgeon to be assessed, ct scans, etc, was in July, after about 2 weeks of wait, and eventually had the operation on 1st December. That is what we mean by long delays. Anything urgent is much quicker.