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Lies of the Tooth Fairy

Watching Hilary Clinton’s rally in Penacook, NH at the moment, I am again partly appalled and partly outraged by the popular American perception of the British health care system.  An audience member (I know, it’s probably rigged) has just asked Ms. Clinton about reforming the American healthcare system so that "it does not duplicate the mistakes of Britain, where you can’t get access to healthcare in a timely manner" (my paraphrase).

Guys, where exactly are you getting your information from?  Why don’t you consider asking a reasonable cross-selection of Brits about their direct experience (some of us are even online!).  And why do you persist in calling our system "socialised medicine"?  That’s the language of the Cold war, people.

We in the UK actually have both the American and the British systems running side-by-side.  Most dentists are now "private", i.e. you must pay them directly.  The result is that the nation’s teeth have never, in recent times, been in such a poor condition.

Just one example demonstrates how seriously Americans are misled about this.  In 203, NewsMax, the right-wing current affairs website reported that "the so-called National Health Service has wreaked havoc on the U.K.’s dental care…  things are so bad that 600 dentally challenged Welshmen laid siege to one dental office in Carmarthen in a desperate effort to get an appointment. People came from 90 miles away, pitched tents and even attempted bribery. "

Newmax concluded "What remains of the free market is keeping the U.K. from losing its last molar and bicuspid."

This is a breathtaking lie. 

The fact is that, since the free market has been allowed to operate in the UK most dentists have stopped taking patients on the NHS (National Health Service).  Dental costs have soared - people can no longer afford basic treatment - and our teeth are in a parlous state.  A recent survey showed that people are even resorting to self-treatment: "Some said they took out their own teeth or fixed broken crowns with glue. One person in Lancashire had carried out 14 separate extractions with pliers."  That’s what the free market in dental care does, NewsMax.  Get your facts right before you have the temerity to lecture me or anyone else about the British NHS.

And when, as only rarely happens these days, a dentist does open up for practice who is not entirely motivated by pecuniary gain, and makes part of his or her list available to NHS patients, you can bet your bottom dollar that the rush to sign up will be a veritable stampede.  Which is what happened in Carmarthen.

One of my children had to have a hernia operation a few weeks ago. The consultants, the surgeons, and indeed every single person at the hospital couldn’t have been nicer or more efficient.  A MRI scan just before Christmas suggests that all is well.  How much would this cost under the American system?  I dread to think.

The NHS is not perfect, and is certainly under sustained attack - much of which comes from US-based healthcare companies, who see the UK as a wonderfully promising market.

All I can tell you is this - given the choice between the American and the British system, I would move myself and my family, if necessary, to live under the UK system.  It’s a no-brainer. 

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