Hi
@John 2 As I have lived in both Canada and the UK and they both have public health services, I would say there are good and bad in each. The UK runs a two tier system, so both private and public, Canada only has its public health care, private heath is prohibited. There are long hospital and wait times , long waits for ops like knee replacements and other not critical care.
Heath care is controlled by each province, so in effect each province has a different healthcare system, but all are public.
You can always sign up for a Dr in the UK, 1 in every 5 Canadians cannot get a Dr as there is a Dr shortage, especially in the rural areas.
In Canada our public health system means you also require private health insurance for drugs and dental care. If you work and your company supplies you with heath care benefits, great. If your company doesn’t or you work for yourself you have to pay for health insurance. That can be a chunk of change. Drugs are expensive. If your income is low then the province pays.
I do have a Dr so the service he provides is excellent. I find that Canadians are more proactive in their own health care and that is received well by Drs. This is such an over arching thing to say, but I find Canadians are much more invested in their own heath than people in the UK, but things may have changed. I grew up in the UK with that whole mind set that Dr knows best. I have learnt to research and challenge my Dr and ask questions. Drs here tend to listen to their patients. You can suggest a drug and your Dr will consider it. I find Drs are far more accessible , in the UK Drs seem to have a god complex, a don’t question me attitude.
Hospitals, as far as my experience goes, are better than the UK . That said I had excellent healthcare in the UK when I was taken very ill with life threatening pneumonia. I was in the Resus unit at one of the teaching hospitals in the Midlands . The healthcare I received from that hospital was excellent. It could not have been better. They saved my life.
So I think there are pros and cons in both countries. One of the worst countries for healthcare is the US, even when you have private health insurance the system is overburdened and an administrative nightmare.