When I was 38, I was doing a nightshift (in the home I still work at 20 years later). I started the night with a finger print red mark on my face. Ten hours later it covered the entire side of my face.
At the time, my GP was two buses away (it’s now a ten minute plod) and by the time I got there, it was too late to be seen that morning as a walk in. I was advised to return that afternoon.
On my way back to the bus stop, I decided to call into the chemist’s to see if the pharmacist (all chemist’s have a consultation room) could recommend a cream as I was back on shift that night and needed SOME sleep.
He basically said “hospital. NOW!”
I got to A&E and was very quickly passed to ever increasingly senior doctors. I was diagnosed with cellulitis and told I was to be admitted …. I insisted on leaving (they weren’t happy about this) to pick up some stuff from home as there was no-one to bring it in.
“If you’re not back here by 6 o clock, we’ll send an ambulance to BRING you back ….. we know where you live!”
I was back in time.
So, ten hours after leaving work, I was on the ward and had started treatment and that time included about four hours on buses and an hour or so getting stuff from home, phoning work to cover my shift and informing family and asking someone to feed the cats …. Hardly bad wait times for a walk in and at NO time during the day did I think “I only earn minimum wage, can I afford this?”
Being admitted for three days was really inconvenient because I was missing a night’s work and my washing and ironing went undone until I was allowed out. I missed my cats (turns out they weren’t bothered).
As for the taxes. My total deductions are about 12% of my wage, most of that is NI and pension. The NHS possibly gets £20 a month off me…. maybe £30. I hardly notice it.
How do I feel about cradle to grave medical treatment with no upfront costs apart from a tenner per item (I’m English) prescription charge? Extremely happy and grateful I live HERE.
Photo shows a flare up a few years later, nowhere near as bad so I still went to work (day shifts as activities coordinator by then and still my current role). I’d also moved doctors and my nurse practitioner regularly comes into the home, I just grabbed some antibiotics off her …. after she INSISTED on examining me.