For some procedures, Brits depending on the NHS wait years. Some therefore go abroad. Others go private within their own country.
Medications usually aren’t free either if you rely on the NHS, is my understanding.
(NHS = national health service)
In the Netherlands, you pay a monthly public insurance premium of around 130 euro or more. That’s not all. There’s a threshold amount which the public insurance doesn’t cover and so you have to cough up it yourself. My understanding is that the latter doesn’t apply to everything medical; some things apparently don’t have the threshold and are fully covered. Also, if you’re on low income, you can apply for tax credits in support of your monthly premium payments.
In the Netherlands too, as in the UK, there are backlogs. They appear to be Covid-related. It can also be hard to find a primary care physician whose practice still accepts new patients, just like in the UK.
No country currently seems to have an ideal healthcare system, perhaps with the exception of Cuba. I’ve read that the French healthcare system is pretty good, too, but I have no experience with it.
