I am unbalanced....okay, this is probably a statement that friends will quip at 'well we knew that already' but seriously, I have lost my balance mojo. I feel like someone who is trying to find their way back home after a long night of drinking, the head and legs are not speaking to each other but the determination of the mind keeps you on track. My perception of the world has changed, things move - pavements, stairs, walls and I feel like i'm on a boat in a rough sea. We have private health insurance here and so on my first consultation I admitted to a rather dramatic fall I had back in January ( read New Year blog - after vodka tasting). I obviously didn't admit to being rather over the limit in the vodka stakes, but explained that my first feeling of imbalance happened after this fall. The good and the bad of private health insurance is that they want to test you for as much as possible -money money money but of course this is great on the other hand as you are getting a full medical which would be impossible to get on the NHS. At this time in my life, full medicals are both great and fearful. When the doctor tells you that they are going to test everything in your body, your first thought is - what about if they find something bad? Do I want to know? So far, everything has come back with a positive and so I'm feeling slightly calmer.
So far I have had a CAT scan, MRI, X-ray of my neck, full blood tests and then this afternoon I have the eye doctor, an artery scan and the ear doctor. I am pretty convinced that what I have is an inner ear infection but of course the ear doctor is last on the long list of tests - they can't diagnose me too quickly or they won't be able to do so many unnecessary tests on things like my little toe, my right index finger or my left nostril - heh, you never know how much a left nostril effects your balance! Anyway, I will be trotting off to the hospital for round two of tests and really hope they say ' Ahhh yes, Mrs Ogilvie, an inner ear infection, easily treatable, here are some antibiotics, have a nice day now!'.
When you are an expat in a country like Russia it is absolutely imperative to have the best private health insurance possible. I have many friends here that have terrible trouble with their insurance - having to pay first and then reclaim the money - this is a disastrous way to deal with health here as for one - a simple check up with the doctor is 160 euros and two - trying to get a cheque to Moscow from abroad is basically an impossibility. Graeme's company seem to have the best health insurance policy going and they have been absolutely brilliant from the start. People thinking of coming to work in Russia should first look at their company's health insurance and make sure it is the best it can be because this is a very bureaucratic country, the people are very black and white and it is very hard to do the simplest of things here and it is very very expensive. What I mean by the people being black and white is that I have had friends that have had issues with their health insurance - their child is ill, they take them into the hospital but they experience issues regarding their policy or money - the Russian lady behind the desk has no sympathy - you pay or you go away - my friend asked if he could leave his passport and bank card with them whilst he was trying to sort out the issues with his insurance but the reply he got was ' you pay or you go away'. When you are feeling at your most vulnerable, the Russian way can sometimes feel harsh and unrelenting. Russians are not good at softening the blow. I on the other hand am being treated like a member of the royal family as my health insurance rocks and with a child in a city like this, it is the most reassuring thing you can have.
When you receive treatment like this, you realise how over burdened the NHS is. I think it is high time that high earners start to use private health insurance leaving the NHS for those who really need it. Times have changed since the 50's and people have to stop looking at the NHS as if it were a right that they have earned by being a citizen of the U.K. If people could really look at their income and think, ' I could pay for private health, I have the money and this would unburden a system that is cracking' then the survival of the NHS has a chance. I believe in the NHS as a system but we have lost sight of who really needs this system and it's high time people started to pay their own way if they have the money. We paid for private health in Britain and there are times I would have loved to have stopped paying and put that money into something I deemed more important to my life but that would have been selfish as if we could all do our bit in society to alleviate the debt crisis that has a hold on our nation then maybe we could see a change in the care for people who don't have the money to pay and really need the medicine that most NHS hospitals can't supply because of monetary shortages. There are so many new drugs on the market that could save many people in the system but because people with money are using the NHS and demanding their part then the people that miss out are the people who don't have the clout to get that new drug or new treatment. People might say, ' Well people who can afford to go private get all the new drugs and treatments and so doesn't that make it unfair for the rest?' Well, if more people went private and freed the NHS system up for those whom it was designed to help then maybe the NHS could afford these new drugs and treatments for those who have no where else to turn but the NHS. People love to complain about Britain and institutions like the NHS but if you are not willing to do your part in your society then you have lost your right to complain. The common way in Britain is for people to moan about 'what they have lost out on' if there is a change in government or a financial crisis but what people should be doing is thinking, ' How can I do my part to help Britain back from the brink' . Well, the first and foremost thing people should be saying to themselves, especially if they admire the NHS as a fundamental part of British society is 'Can I pay my own way?' If you can pay your own way - then instead of moaning about life, pay for private health and free up a space for someone who really needs it. YOUR COUNTRY NEEDS YOU! It's time to stand up and be counted people.
