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NHS could charge £75/night for a hospital bed

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We need to decide tbh. I just hope we go left, not full blown capitalism.

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Neither is going to happen.

Going full-right and completely privatising the NHS would be far too unpopular for any party to ever propose it.

And we are a service-led economy. Going full-left would completely destroy it.

New Labour managed to have low corporation taxes and well-funded public services in the boom years, but when the crash hit we favoured cutting public services because increasing corporation and income taxes would be too damaging. It was damaging to France, it would be crushing to the UK.

I think politics will be fairly centrist in the years to come.

Reply 21

TheGrinningSkull

Original post by Obiejess

I can think of a lot things.
Like not privatising it.
Or actually investing in it.
Maybe charging for tourists.

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Original post by ceb_96x

Oh yes charging for tourists is a really good idea actually !! Frustrating how we don't do it here to say the least !!! :angry:

I think the government have invested in it, but there's too many people living a lot longer, more people in country (immigration etc) and like you said, tourists

And what pray tell is that going to bring in to alleviate the stress?

Reply 22

Queen Rosemary

Elderly people need a reality check. Charge them I say.

Reply 23

ceb_96x

Original post by TheGrinningSkull

And what pray tell is that going to bring in to alleviate the stress?

British tax payers paying for beds meant for us, not for tourists. at the end of the day, if say Spain has the audacity to charge us for health care then why shouldn't we? It just reduces the all round stress!

Reply 24

Green_Pink

Original post by ceb_96x

We do. Under European laws, when a EU citizen uses the NHS we charge their Government and vice-versa.

I'd be completely opposed to this. There are many better ways to raise money to support an NHS which is 100% free for all who need it.

Reply 25

sdotd

don't let any foreigners use the system for free
don't let anyone who hasnt paid into the system use it for free
don't let people who come here on holiday use it for free

Reply 26

Wattsy

I think that it's a terrible idea.

Reply 27

Bill_Gates

Original post by Obiejess

We need to decide tbh. I just hope we go left, not full blown capitalism.

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i just hope we look after the most disadvantaged but at the same time unleash those who actually want to get on in life without government interference or hindrance.

Reply 28

SophiaLDN

Awful idea. Won't be surprised if this happens sooner rather than later, the way they are foaming at the mouth to privatise the NHS.

£75/night though? I better get a back massage thrown in.

Reply 29

DarkMagic

I don't think it is completely unreasonable for patients to contribute something for their care but £75 a night is ridiculous IMO. That's £375 for 5 nights, which is more than people on low wages earn if they worked for those 5 days. I would imagine the people that can afford to pay it go private most of the time as well.

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 30

rickfloss

Original post by ceb_96x

Yeah it is wrong, but what else are they supposed to do?

increase taxation by 1%- guarantee that new funds will go towards NHS?

Reply 31

username33685

Just give me back the tax so I can spend it on far superior private health insurance already.

Reply 32

Commercial Paper

Original post by rich2606

Just give me back the tax so I can spend it on far superior private health insurance already.

Absolutely - couldn't have put it better myself.

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Reply 33

Lambrook

That's ridiculously cheap, it should be much higher. I was in the emergency room on a bed for an operation, and just being there for 20 hours had cost me $4,800. That was just for the bed, etc. not the operation which the whole thing ended up being approximately $23,000.

Reply 34

Rakas21

Bad idea. Its not the patients fault they are there and the lack of hospital beds already gives hospitals an incentive to get people in and out quickly.

If the NHS Is facing funding pressures then we should review which services we want to provide on the NHS and make internal cuts, especially to outpatient services.

Reply 35

Kendrick Lamar

Nah just pay for it via increased government spending, cause ya know, then the NHS will still be "free"...

Reply 36

APZ70

Original post by will2348

What frustrates me on the NHS is the way we pay a horrendous amount in tax (52% Inc national insurance on 40k+) and then we still have to pay for prescriptions anyway and now probably this - just go one way or the other for goodness sake. For certain things, I just go private now if it's not too costly - **** waiting 12 weeks when I can get next day.

The NHS is a black hole, we could all be taxed 100% and charged for it and it would still be financially crippled. It needs to be managed efficiently on an 'constant debt-free' basis. That way, it never gets into a mess.

Posted from TSR Mobile

It would be interesting to hear what you mean by a "constant debt-free" basis. They sound like reasonable words, but make little sense to me at least, in the context within which they have been used. How is a national health service that provides free healthcare ever going to be debt-free? Commercial sponsorship? Come on now.

Not to mention that you can probably afford prescriptions if you're paying 40% on earnings over £40k.

As for the story, I think it's just that, a story. I certainly can't see it happening any time soon.

Reply 37

Commercial Paper

Original post by APZ70

In this context, by debt-free, I mean taxation should cover healthcare expenditure to allow it to be free for everyone without having to raise debt to finance the service or charge people for a service that is suppose to be free - or to define it better, provide a reasonable service (in other words, not have to go private because you cannot wait 3 weeks to see a doctor only to be signed to a specialist and wait another 12 weeks).

Most of the costs in healthcare expenditure aren't on the service at all or even funding hospitals and doctors but are simply an interest expense - and given that the NHS isn't a profit generating entity and cannot grow it's cash flow in any meaningful format, it makes no sense to finance it with debt; it needs to all be covered by taxation.

What I'm saying is, they need to make it financially sustainable. What we have at the moment is by far, the most horrendous financially catastrophic situation I think I've ever seen - it's management is absolutely abysmal.

I'd advocate spending tens of millions on a world class management team to rebuild the whole thing from scratch - this isn't much in the grand scheme of things and could yield huge results with the right people.

It should be run as a government service and government entity but have an independent management team with the freedom to run it how they please without political interference to ensure it is financially fit for purpose - that's what I'd like to see.

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(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 38

minimarshmallow

Original post by sdotd

don't let any foreigners use the system for free
don't let anyone who hasnt paid into the system use it for free
don't let people who come here on holiday use it for free

Well, I hadn't paid into the system before I started working a year ago, because I was under 16, then I was in full time education, but if I didn't have free healthcare I wouldn't have been able to afford to get any, and then I wouldn't have been able to work. I'd either have starved to death spending all my money on my healthcare, be completely bed-bound due to a knee and back injury that both needed physio or possibly the stomach ulcer would have got me.

I think that people on holiday should be very highly encouraged to have travel insurance that will at least partly cover them, but we shouldn't let people die because they're stuck down by illness or injury while on holiday.

Reply 39

APZ70

Original post by will2348

I'm not sure spending tens of millions on a world class management team would be overly popular. Nor will it guarantee success however good the individuals are. I'd also argue that seeing the NHS as a single entity (as it's essentially numerous associated organisations) that just requires better central management is over simplistic to say the least.

Healthcare costs clearly need to come down and obviously the NHS needs to be financially sustainable (this didn't really need pointing out) if we want to continue to have a free national service. However, to imply that the greatest healthcare expenditure isn't in providing the service or staff pay, is nonsense. Some would prefer to squeeze other areas (e.g. benefits) funded by taxation in favour of the NHS but that's another can of worms.

I do agree with what you said about there needing to be freedom from political interference. Decisions need to be made that reflect the needs of service users rather than short-term popularity measures that don't make sense in the long-term.