As to the question. I think the time for a publicly funded NHS is over. Doesnt mean folk who cant afford it dont get it, it can still be a univerally accessible sysem with means testing. The Dutch is a good model. We should follow that imo. What we must avoid is the sort of PIF approach to private company involvement the last Labout government did. Let the govt manage the means testing only, but let private medical companies do everything else, inlcuding their own contractual negotiations. If there is one thing the big political parties cannot do.is strike a value for money deal.
It did thanks. I meant needed cosmetic procedures like my eye is covered, but if the skin tag had been anywhere else on my face and I wanted it cut off just because it was unsightly, the NHS wouldn't have paid for it.
Wonderful hospitals that look like hotels, choose your surgeon and check their reviews out, everything fast and slick but anything complex / non-routine falls outside their business model. Things don’t go well and the ultimate fallback is calling an ambulance and relying on the NHS. The setup in the UK is very good at offering a specific set of services but ultimately it cannot exist without the nhs. Most of the surgeons work for both.
It may be broken, it may need sorting out, but at no point is insurance based health care the answer. I hope everyone that needs medical care has big pockets
Are you on a wind up one of them would make 10 of the ones our lass wears, you might as well wear a set of head phones
The staff that work for the NHS are fantastic at least 99% of them anyway. It is however a failing product providing a sub standard service in a hell of a lot of cases. In principle it's a fantastic idea but in practice it's simply not working. It's been exploited for years and years and it's not like it doesn't recieve a hell of a lot of funding it definitely does. Surely there's a reason there's only us and 1 other country who operate such a system.
When it was run under Tory government with health ministers personally holding significant shares in private healthcare companies is it any wonder?
The fundamental problem is the NHS has been a service to line people's pockets. The so called trusts that were supposed to help are part of the problem. Secondly the NHS is being abused from outside and within. So our public service has. 1. Privatised parking systems 2. Privatised bedside Telephone service 3. Privatised TV service 4. Privatised WiFi service 5. Privatised vending machines 6. Privatised consultants that are already working for the NHS but use the NHS facilities for free for private consultations
I've used NHS, french health system and Swiss health system. In my experience NHS is "free". But you cannot pay for extra services . Wards etc, multiple people per room curtains only separate. Certain new medication or procedure not covered by NHS, because of the approval process and expense checks. French system is 70 to 80% covers patient costs . Dental and opticians less. Most people buy top up insurance. Able to pay the hospital for private room or other services if you want to. This money is invested back into this hospital. So even standard rooms are 2 or 3 people max. Note, I live in the richest region of France outside of Paris, so experience might differ depending on where you live (have no idea if this is the case) Can also generally pay the difference to get latest procedures if national service only covers the standard one. Swiss: absolutely best quality service but it costs. Everyone has to have a private health insurance. But it's regulated. Standard insurance is reasonable cost per month, but covers less and/or you have to cover first X amount of costs per year before insurance kicks in. Not too bad for a healthy person. Dental care barely covered. Add ons cover dental, other things like membership to fitness/Wellness clubs.... Comparison to French or NHS no waiting times. Accident insurance separate and generally covered by your company ( i broke my knee in an accident while visiting friends in UK, i didn't pay anything and was at a private clinic that is well known for dealing with this many knee injuries due to skiing ) Higher tiers of basic health insurance cost more but cover more , including less premiums to pay . Expensive for large families or where only one parent is working and pays for partner and kid(s). Imo french system is a good middle ground, but still suffers from same mis management issues as NHS. Waiting times for specialist can still be long. A&E still ridiculous at times, but not as bad as NHS. Swiss system guarantees best quality. But is expensive. Obviously nothing like costs in the USA. The fact everyone needs to have insurance and it's regulated means cost is not ridiculous. NHS is still a good system but it needs a massive overhaul imo.
We're lucky to have the system no doubt about it. I think all my experiences and that of my family and kids have been very positive over the years. I'm sure even private healthcare gets it wrong once in a while.
PIF wasn’t ideal but given the shambles the Labour government inherited in 1997 it had to get a lot of building work done. This work enabled the NHS to have the shortest waiting times in its history. Any working class person proposing to get rid of the nhs is like a turkey voting for Christmas. Reformer nutters spouting Farage’s backers nonsense really need to be careful what they wish for.
Exactly people need to be careful what they wish for. Nigels non dom billionaire backers dont want to pay fair taxes to fund the nhs and public services us ordinary people need. So they tell Nigel to get rid. His cult follow against their better interests. Turkeys voting for Christmas
Not everybodies opinion comes from reform. Mine doesnt. When you are one of a tiny minority of countries running this sort of system it is worth looking at. In its current guise it is unsustainable. The Dutch model is a good compromise. Those who cant afford still get it free. Those who can dont.
Well your option certainly resonates with the non dom billionaire backers of Farage who certainly don’t want to pay fair taxes for the good of society. Why any working class person wouldn’t want a nhs is certainly beyond me. Some need to be very careful what they wish for, certainly working class reform supporters.
When the NHS is dismantled they will blame Kier Starmer. It will be nowt to do with Farage, Reform or themselves for voting them in. Mark my words.
