It'll be a slippery slope Saf. Once we go private with our 'hands on' care then all accountability is lost. The level and quality will become the lowest common denominator dictated by cost for the provider and dividends for the shareholders. We'll have people being treated like asset/expenditure rather than patients.
Also add, the basic level of cover will be x, y, z but anything over and above in the fine print will be extra. This happens in the French system Farage is quoting - there's basic cover, then you pay more for the extra cover and if you don't have that you pay out of your pocket.
I knew that the France system is also more expensive and a quick google shows that in the 10 yrs prior to covid the French system had 20% more spending per person than the NHS. If we'd matched that per person we'd have an extra £40bn which could help the consultant shortfalls and better primary care.
https://www.health.org.uk/news-and-...ng-compare-across-europe-over-the-past-decade
When we should be nationalising services which the private sector have fcked up, this would be the wrong way to go with the NHS and once it's done we'll never go back.