Crossing the borders.

Abstract

It’s only when you come up against a border that you know it exists. Being in Australia made me more English than I ever was in England, and this is because of bumping across the border between English and Australian cultures. Similarly, it was possible for me to go through training in the NHS and believe that this was just the way health systems had to work. Learning another health system brought me up against another border, showing an alternative to the NHS. Like all health systems, the Australian one is complex. It is based on Fee-For-Service — patients pay a fee for a particular service from a GP. Patients are then able to get a rebate from the Federal Government …