Tired of waiting for doctors in Britain.. Ukrainian refugees return to their country for treatment
Long waiting times for British medical care have prompted Ukrainian refugees in Britain to make short repatriation trips for medical treatment due to the long wait for treatment in the UK, particularly after a series of strikes paralyzed the public healthcare system.
A report by British news agency inews cited a number of cases in which people fleeing conflict in Ukraine simply forgave long waiting times for medical care in Britain, opting instead for the perilous 24-hour journey back to their war-torn country.
The left-wing news agency used these reports to criticize the ruling Conservative Party in Britain, which is engaged in fierce and long negotiations with the "NHS" trade unions to demand higher wages in line with inflation in Britain.
The news agency "inews" detailed the account of one of the refugees, Maya Habrouk, who reportedly fled the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, last year to settle in southeast London.
After suffering from a severe toothache, she recorded her symptoms on an NHS chat room and was told to expect a call from a medical professional the next day. When this never happened she went to the local accident and emergency department to no avail.
“And after waiting four hours, she said, the doctor wouldn't even look at me, and also told me to take paracetamol. Again, that didn't help, and I was still in a lot of pain.”
So she ended up deciding to return to Ukraine via Poland, where she says she saw a doctor right away.
"I was told it was an urgent problem with the wisdom tooth and that I had to have it extracted immediately," she added.
The Ukrainian woman confirmed to British news outlets that she knew of three other London residents who had chosen to return to Ukraine for medical treatment rather than wait to use Britain's public healthcare system.
On the other hand, these reports sparked public criticism on social media, especially about whether it was right for those who choose to return to Ukraine to remain eligible to seek asylum in Britain.
"If they are able and willing to return to Ukraine, they are not 'refugees'," wrote one social media user, while another said: "If a refugee can go home to see his doctor, why are they in the UK?"
If it's safe to see your doctor, it can't be unsafe to live there either."
And the UK Conservative government announced in March last year that Ukrainians arriving in England were eligible for free healthcare, including nurse consultations, hospital services and urgent care centres.
However, nurses and ambulance staff in England went on strike over the winter in an attempt to force the government to agree to a raise in their wages.
Strikes have seen millions of Britons wait longer for medical appointments, ambulance response times the worst ever, resulting in many deaths due to delayed ambulance services.
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