Mikey
I just watched Sicko yesterday.
You mentioned in an earlier post that you were interested to find out about international healthcare systems.
Well in Ireland for a few years now we have had serious public hospital overcrowding with patients waiting a long time to be seen,I have never heard of anyone waiting more than 12 hours,but this could have happened I don't know.12 hours though is a long time especially if your sick(12 hours in a hospital could make you sick...)
anyhow that 's been another problem, not enough staff to deal with the numbers of people coming in and a serious shortage of beds,which has left many patients sleeping on trolleys on the corridors,without any peace or privacy.can you imagine being sick and on a trolley with the continuous lighting and noise and the people walking by all the time...
I think that this problem is in the process of being sorted out,I have not heard anything about it in a few months......
Also in the news alot over the past few years have been the
outbreak of hospital "superbugs" and vomiting bugs.
And people going into hospital with 1 complaint & catching something else while in hospital.
I guess this can happen to anyone anywhere,sorry for rambling.

My personal experience of hospitals in Ireland:
visit to the Maternity hospital where my son was born,stayed 48hours.I was not impressed with my care there as a public patient at all.I was in labour for only about 6 hours,during which time there was 2 change over shifts,which meant I was attended by 3 different nurses, none of which I had met before,which was very unsettling,giving birth for the first time.There was a continuous stream of strangers coming in &out of the room,and I was not told who some of the people were.
I really felt like I was on a conveyer belt,though ,as soon as my son was born,I was whisked of to have a shower(which was in a private room,very clean there) then brought to my bed in a public ward,the beds have a dividing curtain between each one.I spent 2 nights there ,it was really noisy &not just the crying babies!It was so overcrowded and they kept bringing in more people on beds, when I arrived there were 8 mothers ,the day I left 14 mothers!!and of course their babies beside them in their cots.The beds and cots were side by side in a line.
It really felt,like I said a conveyor belt in a baby making factory.
Ireland has a really high birth rate.
The nurses & doctors ,
I think are they doing the best they can with what they have dealing with so many patients and such long hours must be rough.
(As far as giving birth in a hospital,I would not like to do that again,I would definitely consider a homebirth.)
In nine months of prenatal hospital checkups,I never saw the same nurse or consultant twice,it was always a different person!Lots of student nurses I think.
I know that as a private patient your hospital experience is a different story.You would be more likely to have a regular consultant...etc etc.Although in Ireland it is said that public & private patients receive the same care.They do not,of course there are privileges etc...
I forgot to mention the showers/bathrooms in the public ward were dirty.

Recently I had a mole removed as a public patient in a general hospital.The care I received that day was exceptional.
The doctors & nurses were kind & patient .It felt like that is the way a visit to the hospital should be.

Excuse me if I've rambled too much.
1 more thing, our minister for health is a big fat woman,probably obese, what a joke, she is representing our health care system,where among other things,they fluoridate
the public drinking water.

Someone mentioned Germany as an example of a sound healthcare system.It certainly seems to be great.
Also some of the other European countries seem to have it sussed.
They know all about the mercury in Sweden ,they don't use amalgam over there.