This is a reminder
A friendly, but firm, reminder
To Brits at home
From a Brit abroad
Let me start by telling you a bit about me
I am 31
I live and work in Shanghai, China
I’ve been here 7 months now
I speak a bit of Chinese
I love living abroad
Before I was in London for 5 years
But before that
I lived in Barcelona
And Buenos Aires
Don’t get me wrong
It’s not that I hate the UK
I just have this itch
To travel
To see the world
I am always planning my next trip
Holiday
Destination
Move
I worked in advertising in London
My agency transferred me here
So for the first time in my travels
Someone else was taking care of stuff
Flights, visas, shipping
And travel insurance
I had a look over the policy
Sure I did
But to be honest
I didn’t know really what I was looking for
And I am young
Ish
And healthy
So thought it would be fine
It was fine
Until two weeks ago
I woke up with a pain
In my hip
I ignored it
Must’ve been the gym
Right?
But by the evening
Not only was it still there
It was worse
I couldn’t lie flat
Bugger
I text an expat pal
Nonchalantly
“what was the name of that hospital you went to once?”
“Shanghai United Family Hospital”
She replies
I leave my flat
And get in a cab
The hospital is amazing
Immaculate
Friendly nurses
Who speak English
I relax
They take my insurance details
And take a look at me
I need a test
A CT scan
Just to check
The doctors and nurses disappear
A tired looking girl
In a pencil skirt turns up
So the CT scan
It is an expensive test
She explains
Right
And…?
Well your insurance isn’t great
You are going to have to pay
Up front
For this test
Ok
I say
How much can it seriously be?
It’s 10,000 RMB
Seriously
That is one thousand and sixty one pounds
And seventy seven pence
JUST FOR THE TEST
I pay it
I have to pay it
I have no choice
The CT scan shows I have appendicitis
They need to operate
They schedule the operation for tomorrow
And begin giving me some antibiotics
And some morphine
Which,
By the way,
Is amazing
The pencil skirt returns
She looks sad
So the total cost for the operation
And the stay in this (lovely) hospital
Where everyone speaks to me in English
Is going to be 200,000 RMB
Did you get that?
That is £21,242
And 14p
That’s right
20k
She is still looking at me
Expectantly
And my insurance?
I ask her
My mouth is a little dry
It covers 30% of the cost
I’ll have to ‘find’ the rest
I don’t have that money
I don’t have anywhere near that money
But I can’t wait
I need the operation
It’s not like I can choose whether I have my appendix removed
20,000 pounds
How can it cost that much??
How can anything that isn’t a house cost that much?
Of course I can go to a local hospital
But the price isn’t that different
And no one will speak English
I panic
I burst into tears
And prepare myself for total bankruptcy
For the next decade
And prepare myself to have an operation in China
Thankfully
I work for a good company
A kind and compassionate company
That agreed to pay
The 20,000 quid
For my appendectomy
So everything was fine
But this brings me to my friendly reminder
The NHS
Is fucking free
At the point of use
Consumption
Whatever
When you are sick
And desperate
And scared
And it is an emergency
There is no talk of money
No talk of waiting
Speaking to the bank
Calling a shit insurance firm in Hong Kong
That don’t work Sunday nights
(Why does everything shit always happen on a Sunday night?)
There’s no pencil skirted bird
Who wearily explains
The real cost of medical care
To yet another unworldly
Naïve
Foolish
Fortunate
Brit
Who has never
Ever realized
Just how fucking blessed they are
That their state
Just
Takes
Care
Of
It
So this is my friendly reminder
The NHS might not be perfect
Sure it needs improving
Who, or what, doesn’t?
But it is the biggest fucking gift
The most amazingly wonderful peace of mind
That our government
Affords us
That when we are sick
When there is an emergency
We WILL be taken care of
Regardless of the cost
My friendly reminder
To all the Brits back home
Is
Never forget that
Don’t take it for granted
And just remember
That medical care
Is anything but free
And that living in the UK
Is a pretty amazingly wonderful
Stroke of luck
Long live the NHS