I don't know whether to up or down vote you. I agree with you and you are right, but what you said sucks..

Preach! Hans every one should watch the episode on health care from Adam ruins everything. Then everyone will see its really the government who ruins everything

Universal healthcare Sweden here. We get a first contact same day, max 3 to specialized care. Guaranteed by law.

I'm in Canada, I have a family doctor, if I need an "emergency" appointment (ie: flu) I can usually be seen the same day. A few years ago, I wasn't feeling well and found a lump, blood test, ultrasound, biopsy and surgery all done within a week or two. We also have walk-in clinics that accept our health cards so we don't pay for those visits either.

Not only that, there are tons of people who can't even afford to see a doctor in this country which qualifies IMO as can't find a doctor. The ration argument is dumb because health care is rationed by price in this country already.

When I lived in the UK I never had a problem finding a doctor or getting an appointment. It was pretty much the same as in the US, you call up and make an appointment. The big difference is that in the UK you don't pay anything extra, you pay for it as a taxpayer.

Aussie here, and nope, if you need a doctor, you get a doctor, same day. I ended up in the ER last week. No waiting, no $’s. America is nuts

In Canada, you just walk in, get treated, and you pay nothing. Anytime, anywhere.

Canadian here, and I lived in the UK for 10 years. I know some people can have trouble finding a family doctor when they move to area or when their doctor retires.However, in the town where I live (suburban Toronto) there have been about 4 new health care facilities open in the past couple of years. There are walk in clinics by the dozen where you can go and see a doctor without an appointment and without paying. My mother has had a multitude of health problems involving cancer treatment, several major surgeries, including having a kidney removed and has spend at least 12 nights in Intensive Care. All of this is covered by universal health care.

I'm in New Zealand. If I needed a doctor RIGHT NOW I could probably be seen by my usual general practitioner. If they didn't have an appointment though then there is a clinic less than a 5 minute drive away who takes walk-ins and the wait is usually less than 20 minutes. If it is after-hours but not severe enough for a hospital then I can drive 10 minutes for a 24/7 walk-in clinic. As for specialists or needing surgery, the wait in my area is a maximum of 3 months from referral to seeing the specialist at the hospital who will then plan and book the surgery. The surgery is free. If you pay for private health insurance then you can do so much faster but may have to pay a portion of the cost depending on your plan (for example, I have the plan which is second from the bottom with my provider so if the treatment is covered then I only pay 20%).

Netherlands: we are all registered with a GP, who has time either same day or next (depending on urgency). GP will refer to hospital for further treatment. Based on GP estimate of emergency, you are either seen same day or as soon as possible, usually within a week and if they don't have place, or you feel it's too long to wait, you can check other hospitals. You call insurance for the broker and they arrange a swifter visit in a further away hospital.

Medicine everywhere is triaged. So if you have a random minor thing, it might be a day or so IF your usual doctor is super busy (but you can usually get 'em to find someone who isn't for you). If it involves anything threatening, it's on the same day. I've had to wait - once - a few days for serious surgery because a series of motorcyclists had horrible accidents and the surgeons were keeping them alive rather than fixing my foot. Which is okay. Because keeping people alive IS more important.

Universal healthcare Spain. It depends. Sometimes you can get an appointment for your GP for the same day or a few days out. If it's an emergency, there's always an emergency GP available at your local healthcare center, and then there are the ERs at hospitals, of course. The problem is that there've been budget cuts and the system is overflowing with patients, so getting to a specialist usually takes months unless you're labelled as an urgent case. Still, our universal healthcare system is something to be thankful for. For example, two months' worth of my antidepressant only costs €1.70.

Sometimes it's hard to get a NHS doctor to see you quickly for minor ailments, even some chronic disorders because the system is generally overstretched, but when it comes to the serious- potentially life threatening stuff there are legal requirements for "urgent referrals". For example, if a GP suspects any symptom of something like cancer you MUST be seen by an appropriate specialist within 14 days.

I live in Germany and appointments for acute reasons usually take a few days at most (less if it's like, the flu, you can usually be seen on the same day. for real emergencies there's the emergency room, which tends to be chronically understaffed (especially because they privatized the hospitals where I live, so they ARE based on profit), but if it's life-threatening you'll be seen almost immediately). For less acute stuff it depends, it tends to take pretty long to get a psychologist bc there's too little, everything else probably within a month, but again, the sooner the more urgent it is.

Although the Ministry of Health in South Africa is bad, at least we have private hospitals & doctors, with a number of good Medical Aid schemes. Those who can't afford them, go to state hospitals or clinics, which are overcrowded, but free.

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