We hear a lot about the British health system from our various relatives in the UK, and it is not usually positive. In particular, getting x-rays done seems to involve lots of waiting to get x-rayed and further waiting to get the results. I don’t mean a few hours, but rather, days or more typically, weeks.
So I have to admit to being impressed (again and again) by the efficiency of the system here:
Yesterday I went to the dentist because I have had toothache for the last three or four weeks. Not all the time, but sharp pains that come once or twice a day and disappear within a few seconds. She removed a crown on the tooth I thought was the source of the pain, but couldn’t see anything wrong. She recommended that I get an ultrasound scan of my sinuses to check that there was nothing wrong there. So this morning I called the local ear nose and throat doctor to ask for an appointment.
I was able to see him at about 10:00 am and had the scan and he also looked into my sinuses with an endoscopic camera. Everything was clear, so he called to the local radiological clinic and asked if they could do a CT scan of my sinuses and jaw to check if there was a cyst under one of the teeth. I was able to go straight over and at midday I had the scan, and half an hour later I saw the radiologist who showed me the results – I do indeed have a cyst under the root of a tooth 3 along from where the pain appears to originate.
The red ring marks the cyst immediately under the root of my tooth
He copied the entire 250 MB scan onto a CD for me to give to the ear nose and throat doctor tomorrow morning – he will then discuss the results with him before they inform the dentist of the diagnosis and discuss the necessary work that will need to be carried out.
That is impressively fast, I think. Especially compared to the service times in the UK.
