Get the facts

Like most people, I'm sure, I have a love/hate relationship with social media.  I love that I keep in touch with family, especially Grandson Noah who's that bit further away.  (Apologies to Rory's long distance Grandparents but it's all relevant.)  I can't just pop round to see him like I can with the other two.

I love being able to see what the extended family are up to as well although keeping track can be tricky.  There are Whatsapp messages to reply to, Facebook posts to like oh and now there is Instagram too and some of it is just duplicated.  How many Likes do we all need?  (As many as possible because we all want to be popular don't we?)


What I hate though is some of the nastiness that creeps in on public posts.  Of course it's fine to have your own opinion but there are ways to express it.  I (mostly) tend to keep away from any really heated debates, life is too short.  However I do hate it when people post things and haven't even got their facts straight.

One subject that particularly annoys me, probably because it usually veers towards rascism, well actually it's definitely rascist, is "foreigners abusing our NHS system".  Many people are very vocal about their belief that people come to this county (UK) to take advantage of our free health service.

Well I can categorically state it's not free to everyone.  Posters on display in the A & E department I was in on Friday make it clear that if you are not a UK citizen or have the right to be settled here you may have to pay for your treatment.

A recent letter I received for a dermatology appointment also contained a questionnaire I had to complete requesting details that would establish whether I was entitled to free healthcare (such as passport details).

My American DIL who forgot to take the necessary information with her when booking in for her antenatal care received an invoice for over £8000. (Fortunately this was cancelled when she provided her details - she's legally entitled to use the NHS.)

It may not always have been this way, and I have no idea how good they are at following up on billing and collecting fees but it's wrong to say "foreigners come here to benefit from our NHS"

I'm also sure that if someone arrives by ambulance needed resuscitation/blood transfusions or other urgent treatment that they're treated first and status established later and would hope that any ongoing treatment would be billed as necessary.

I did find this useful link that sets out facts and figures when searching for an image for anyone who wants figures.

There, piece said.  Don't worry, I'll leave politics for another day!