It's been a while since I updated this, mainly because I've been pretty sick for the last week. I'll spare you the details (sinus infection, enough said), but it's been pretty unpleasant.
Fortunately, I'm feeling much better now, thanks to the NHS. That's right, I got to experience socialized medicine firsthand! Turns out if you're a student, and you're living in the UK for more than three months, you're entitled to NHS services, which means free doctor's visits and cheap prescriptions (the antibiotics I got only cost me £3).
It took me a couple days to figure out that I was, in fact, entitled to healthcare (I assumed that because I don't pay taxes in the UK, I couldn't use their services), but after some online research, I was pleasantly surprised (and relieved) to find that could go to an NHS doctor, for free no less! I even found a practice just around the corner from my flat (they call these places "surgeries", though I don't know if surgery is actually performed on the premises).
I had to register with the doctor's surgery first, which entailed going in and filling out a couple forms. However, I was informed that it takes a couple days for the registration to be fully processed, and only once I was fully in the system could I make an appointment. I guess the lesson here is to register before you get sick (now I know why the International Student Guide said to register with a doctor soon after arriving). The receptionist told me to call back within the next day or two, and if my registration had been processed, I could make an appointment, though I would have to make an appointment with the nurse first, as part of the registration protocol.
I called back around the same time the next day, and sure enough, my registration had been processed. I was offered an appointment the following Monday, but I expressed the urgency of my situation (it had been almost four days, and I was feeling really awful at that point), the receptionist was able to squeeze me in the following afternoon, for both the nurse and the doctor.
After a brief exam with the nurse (and several issues of Good Housekeeping in the waiting room, as my appointments were an hour apart), I got to see the doctor, who was very nice, and gave me a prescription for some antibiotics.
By then it was around 5:30 (or "half five", as everyone here seems to say), so I wasn't certain that any pharmacies (or "chemists") would be open (shops and whatnot close pretty early around here), but sure enough, the Boots (the big UK pharmacy chain) right across from my flat was open. Since it was late, I figured I'd have to come back the next day to pick up my prescription, but when I dropped it off, the pharmacist told me that it would only be a couple minutes, and it literally was only a couple minutes! Never in my life have I gotten a prescription filled that fast! The pharmacist then asked me if I pay for my prescriptions, to which I think I stared blankly and went "Buhhhhh..." Apparently, if you meet certain criteria (for example, if you're under 18 and a full-time student), your prescriptions are also free! I didn't fall within any of those groups entitled to free prescriptions, but it still only cost me £3, which less than what I pay for most of my prescriptions back home, with insurance that's very good by US standards (thanks, Ma!).
My whole experience with healthcare here was pleasant and easy (even with the whole registration thing) and only cost a total of £3, but I found most amazing was that this is normal for people here, and in other countries with socialized medicine. And it should be normal. But here I am surprised by the fact that everyone who lives here (even international students) gets affordable health care--that it's treated as a basic right, and not even just privilege of citizenship. This is something that shouldn't seem foreign to anyone, and the fact that it does just further highlights how backwards the US really is when it comes to healthcare. Sure, we may have bathroom faucets that mix hot and cold water, instead of forcing you to choose between scalding and freezing, but being able to comfortably wash your hands doesn't mean a whole lot when so many people can't afford basic medical care.
I'll get off the soapbox now. But seriously, the bathroom faucets here are driving me nuts.
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