that's the way it was when i lived in the uk. people that could afford it had options to the nhs.Yes, their NHS is totally FUBAR. Just like UK's NHS. An average of 4-6 months just to see a physician. Most Canadians and Brits are relying on private insurance through work, or coming to the USA and paying out of pocket to get procedures done here. In most US-Canada border cities and towns, half of the patients getting scans, MRIs, etc are Canadians. Some people remarked a few years back that one county in Texas had more MRI scanners in operation than in all of Canada.
old people with broken hips could be waiting months to get fixed up (but it wasn't years for a test).