The NHS experience

Been pretty sick for a while now. It was starting to seem like possibly strep throat, due to the excessive coughing, so I decided it may be a good time to try out nationalized healthcare. I registered when I first moved here with the Huntingdon Road surgery, above, an outfit with 5 GP's a few blocks away in an old cottage.

The experience was pretty different compared to the USA. I called in and had no trouble getting an appointment the same day. Going in, there were zero forms to fill out, nobody asked for any ID information or anything, and of course no payment details. It was pretty pain-free, I was in an out in about 5 minutes, and I don't have strep. My feeling is for smaller, routine stuff, the NHS system is going to be much easier than the US insurance system. It's telling that I doubt I would have put up with the trouble at home to go in. Anyway, it was pleasant, although it's not a fair assessment of the whole system.