One of the institutions that are often proud of the British people is their universal health system called the National Health Service (NHS). As in my title, many people think the health system in England was free. Of course this is not entirely true because the NHS dibayai by taxes paid by workers here (including me), which is actually very high as 40% for income tax (income tax) and a maximum of about 20% for value added tax (VAT) , But, in the end, the NHS free of charge when necessary.

I will give some examples to friends who are not familiar with this system. If the British people having a heart attack, they will be taken directly to the central hospital and received emergency angioplasty +/- stent if necessary. All costs of stay in hospital and treatment free of charge. When returning home, they may need to buy drugs is pegged price of around GBP 7 per item.

As another example, people aged over 70 years old may have a problem of low back pain caused by osteoarthritis. They can consult a specialist spine and got surgery 'hip replacement' for free. Thus, all primary treatment (from a GP or General Practitioner - GP), sekondari located in RS, and Tertiary for special treatment such as cancer and transplantation, it is free. How can this possibly go smoothly? I will try to give some points to see further splendor and disadvantages NHS.

1) GP as the entrance. Primary healthcare system in the UK is very strong. This is the key to their success due to treatment (and preventasi) given by a general practitioner is much cheaper than that given by specialists at the hospital. General practitioners into filter that filters the patient's symptoms. If the GP considers it necessary, the patient will be referred to the hospital.

GP is also the 'fund-holder'. This means that they are given money to several billion pounds that can be used for health care costs patients. So, there kadang2 GP is less willing to directly refer patients to specialists. There is some delay in the diagnosis of disease hazard problems, such as cancer, because the GP is less astute diagnose problems in the beginning.

2) Treatment provided must be approved by a body other, called NICE (National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence). All treatment, especially new and expensive treatments such as chemotherapy, should be analyzed by NICE. This analysis is more economical where profits and the price of treatment was compared in a cost-benefit analysis.

So, many of the latest cancer treatment that can not be obtained in the NHS if there is no evidence. It also means Dokter2 in the UK most of alloys or guidelines should be followed in dealing with the patient's illness. Treatment in the UK is very Evidence-Based Medicine which means all medical practices must be founded on the research that has been published in medical journals.

3) Abuse of emergency and a 'waiting list' long. Many British people who do not want to go to their GP and go straight to the emergency room at the hospital. As a result many masalah2 in the ER are somewhat trivial. Many ER unit then becomes overwhelmed with patients. Several years ago, a rather common to wait in the ER orang2 4-6 hours before seen by the doctor. Now the government has set a target of 4 hours to complete the treatment in the ER.

Another problem that is often expressed by a stranger who comes to the UK is a long 'waiting list' referral to a specialist. Patients here have to wait about three months before seeing a specialist for a health problem that is not too dangerous. Cancer symptoms to be traced within 2 weeks. 'Waiting list' is one way of 'rationing' which must be adopted by the NHS.

4) Swelling NHS costs. When the NHS was first formed in 1948, its founder believes bapak2 NHS costs will decrease with the increase of the British public health. Of course this is just wishful thinking. NHS become a victim of its own success. With increasing British public health, they live longer and have many chronic problems such as diabetes, high blood pressure, cancer and heart disease.

All diseases 'non-communicable' is costly consultation and obat2an. Many NHS institutions are now increasingly involved in debt. In welcoming the NHS that 65th birthday this year, the British began bertanya2 orang2 whether the NHS could still stand 60 years.

Of course there are a lot of criticism and censure against the NHS. Some of my friends who come from other countries are always complaining how long the waiting list to consult with a specialist. My response is always the same, it is a very long time to see a specialist because their disease is not dangerous.

If they are diagnosed with cancer, they can get within 1 week of surgery performed by surgeons internationally. This is usually enough to make me silent teman2. NHS was founded on humanitarian grounds.

I'm proud to be part of a universal health system, which means it can be accessed by anyone and include all the people who live in the UK. If you live in America, only those who have expensive insurance that can go to leading Dokter2.

As a tourist who is visiting Britain are, you can get free medical treatment to treatment that could save lives or bodies (saving lives or limbs) for newly diagnosed problem when you're traveling, such as an accident or a heart attack.

Is this system can be realized in Indonesia at the time suata? May not need to be universal throughout Indonesia but it could begin in some areas such as KJS in Jakarta. Indonesian nation as a whole only uses 2.6% of GDP (GDP) for health care costs compared to 9.6% in the United Kingdom and 17.9% in the United States. Let's think together how to improve the health of Indonesia.