Monday 21 February 2011

Finnish healthcare

Previously I complained about the healthcare system here, but I have now changed my mind completely. Today I had an appointment with a doctor, for a problem I have had before in England, and the treatment I received here was far superior to what was available in England.
I'm not saying that the doctors in England were uncaring or did a bad job; I had no reason to complain at the time and I still do not think they did anything bad. The difference is that the Finnish medical staff and procedures seem to be much more thorough than in England. When the same problem came up in England, although I was treated very well, my appointment consisted of a bit of chat, a prescription, and that's about it. The doctor I met today examined me much more thoroughly, both physically and through talking, gave me a prescription and also immediately referred me to the clinic next door for blood and urine tests to make sure everything was ok. All the staff I saw today had to speak to me in English, and although I know that many doctors working in England are from other countries (my last GP was Turkish), they are surely much more used to speaking English than the staff in Finland, seeing as they live in an English speaking country, and yet everybody today worked very hard to ensure I understood everything and knew exactly what was going on. I also like the fact that in England if you take a urine sample you usually have to wander around finding someone to give it to, which is a bit embarrassing, but here the toilet in the clinic has a cupboard to put your sample into. Very clever, and much more discreet.
In comparison to a blood test I had in the summer in Enfield, this was a much better experience. It was pretty much painless, whereas in Enfield my arm was in a lot of pain. Maybe that was just the luck of which nurse took the sample though. Another positive is that the doctor took her time - sometimes in England it feels like they want you in and out as quickly as possible, probably because the doctors are overworked and have too many patients to see.
All in all, I'm very impressed with the system here. I'm not best pleased that I'm obliged to pay for this, but as it's only €13 it's hardly going to break the bank. I also think they ought to have some provisions for emergency GP appointments, as they do in England if you're from another country, or even only outside of your local area. I would have really needed to see someone in December, but I was refused an appointment and not given any other help or advice about where I could go, purely because at the time I did not have a social security number. To be honest, if I'd been able to get some assistance then I wouldn't have needed to see a doctor today. At least the treatment I did receive was of a very high quality, and I would not be worried if I needed to see a doctor again in this country.

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