Your opinion on the NHS?

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NHS is incredible. Shame it has been ran into the ground and over burdened due ££££ and mismanagement

Saved my life at least twice - Country would be a hellhole without it

Perhaps it time for a "fat tax" for those negligent to their own health. Smokers have rightly had it for years

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 21

Rakas21

Original post by Hydeman

They do that on the NHS? Huh. Must be when people claim their mental health is being affected by cosmetic issues.

That's somewhat unfair to the higher rate taxpayers. If they're already paying a larger proportion in tax and National Insurance contributions, why should they not be entitled to free treatment on the NHS?

Cultural reasons apparently. All of which I consider a waste of money.

Increasing the NHS budget every year requires finding money somewhere. They'll still be entitled for important stuff.

Reply 22

troubadour.

Original post by Rakas21

Cultural reasons apparently. All of which I consider a waste of money.

Increasing the NHS budget every year requires finding money somewhere. They'll still be entitled for important stuff.

Yes, I think they're a waste of money too...

Well, one might question the long-term sustainability of increasing the NHS budget every year. Not in public, of course. That would be tantamount to treason. xD

Reply 23

seaholme

Original post by Rakas21

1) From the start i would give it only a 2% rise per year (inflation if the BOE does its job) every year and i would make it clear that they'll be getting no more, no less

Keeping a tight rein on spending is a good idea in principle but actually one of the reasons the NHS has so many problems is because demands on the services are growing much faster than inflation. Inflation would also affect the NHS in any case, so all you're doing in effect is keeping the budget static. The need for provision is anything but static, however.
Growing population, growing percentage of that population elderly with correspondingly greater co-morbidities, new drugs to which people expect to have access, increasingly greater expectations of the public and less ability to self-manage mild problems - all on a background of shrinking social care provision where healthcare is now taking up the slack for gaps left by social care AND a system which is operating at near maximum capacity (in terms of literal capacity of beds etc. plus minimum staffing levels) having been making budget cuts for years, the system has such little 'give' in it that we get A&E crises every winter because a few more people is enough to decompensate the situation.

I don't know what the answer is, but to expect a static budget to do more for more people every year is too good to be true. If present levels of service are to continue to be provided to more people, then at a minimum the costs associated with those extra people have to be provided. Or you have to start cutting the level of service.

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 24

Rakas21

Original post by seaholme

This is one of the reasons my other two proposals save money internally as well. I would also consider a health tax on some foods.

In the long run we either have to raise the native birth rate, import more taxpayers or more likely move to a European social insurance model. Indeed it could be argued that my third proposal is a step towards that.

Reply 25

It's****ingWOODY

Woohoo, freee drugs :biggrin:

Reply 26

MatureStudent36

Original post by Zaza2000

Life-saving and life-changing.
Without the NHS lots of people would probably be dead by now and everyone would be depressed. I know it's blunt but it's the truth, anyone who had serious conditions wouldn't survive for very long if there was no NHS.

There isn't an nhs in France. Does France have a highe mortality rate than the UK?

Reply 27

username457532

I love the NHS. I am so thankful for it. But it also has great failing and there is ****loads of waste. The first mental health outpatient unit I went to was through CAMHS and there were about 6 receptionists/admin people who did approximately zero work. They would chat amongst themselves and then whenever a psychiatrist or CPN came into the office they then had a long chat with them. I'm completely sure that one lone receptionist would have done more work than them because there wouldn't have been any distractions.