continued from yesterday...

At this point, through a bystander whose English was quite a bit better than that of the police officer, it was explained to us that while the injured man’s medical care was free, looking after him in the hospital wasn't, so, if we deposited him in hospital without funds to support him, they would patch him up and leave him to recover by himself, meaning he would thus receive no meals or after-care beyond the day or so in hospital, after whatever procedures  that were necessary had been carried out. And so, having come to the understanding that, unlike in the United Kingdom, in Sudan at that time, post medical support had to be paid for by the patient, the patient's family, or any parties who wished to help, our American colleagues went through their pockets and managed to scrape together seventy U.S. dollars, lighting up the face of the police officer even more as it was the equivalent of around eight thousand Sudanese pounds. It wasn't a lot but it's all we had to hand at the time (it should be borne in mind however, that at that time the exchange rate for the Sudanese pound was one hundred to a pound sterling). We were never able to discover what happened to the man after that but we live in hope that he was treated and made a full recovery.

For someone like me, born in a country where your medical care is totally covered through taxation, from cradle to grave it was an eye-opener, and it taught me a valuable lesson about the true worth of the NHS. Although, it was some 40 years later, after the previously reiterated car crash that I really understood its value.

Incidentally, the whole thing was far less a surprise to my American colleagues, who unlike those born in the UK have to carry medical insurance throughout their lives, and can go bankrupt paying medical bills, if their insurance decide they have paid out enough and will offer no more cover, or leave the condition untreated and expire when the ailment becomes terminal.

And the moral of this story? Don't knock the NHS it is one of the best universal health services in the world, and for those of you who think going private gets you better doctors, it doesn't. The same doctors that work on you in private care will work on you under the state health system. My partner came into this world with a brain tumour and when it became clear that the theatres in her local hospital were inadequately equipped to complete the procedure, she was taken from Kingston to 'Great Ormond Street, with her head still open, in an ambulance with a police escort to get the job done. If you live in the United Kingdom, from a medical standpoint you are blessed, there is no finer service than the NHS.

GB, Kent.