The future of the NHS

[Wragbyred]

As mentioned on another thread, it seems the general chat section needs more topics, so I'll start one.
The current NHS budget stands at around £120 billion a year, expected to be £150 billion in 2018. On its inception in 1948 it was (in modern term) £15 billion
Now I dont know what percentage of GDP that is, but it seems a lot, it's also increased above inflation year on year. Now, when I think of the nearly 60 million people in the country it serves, with an approximate wage bill of £50 billion, it seems obvious that some time in the near future it becomes unaffordable in its current state.
So, there needs to be a debate (and all parties are avoiding it) what we do with it.
The obvious things that need to happen are charges for GP appointments (who in reality wouldn't mind paying £5 to see a GP?) fines for people missing appointments(this has been threatened in the past but I don't think it happens)

Anyway that's the NHS thread, I have a few more to discuss, like increasing what people actually pay in tax (not popular, but we still have a deficit to facilitate), TBH I'm fed up of constant tax cuts when we have bills to pay!

[Manchester Saddler]

Well we could hand over the £350 million per week we are going to save from Brexit to the NHS surely? :mrgreen:

:lol:

The NHS is in a complete mess and the current government's plans for it are obvious.

Such a shame.

[Exile]

Interesting that the cost of the NHS is always in the news. It's a very effective organisation...

[chunkster]

I heard this from a nurse a few months ago so don't start with the racist taunts, the amount of foreign health tourists over the last few years have grown by quite a few, and the amount of eastern Europeans that clogg up a&e with things like splinters in fingers, broken nails and sniffles just because it is free, is unreal. She also said that although it shouldn't happen, doctors have started to push British patients to the top of the operations list, in favour of foreign patients. The only way that i can see out of it is to privatise the NHS as sad as it is, but at least we could be sure that people that are being treated are at least paying for it :|

[Manchester Saddler]

Absolute rubbish.

I've had a lot of dealings with the NHS this year and that is not what I have heard or seen. That is scaremongery straight from the bowels of the Daily Express's sewer.

Privatisation is what the Tories want and that is why they are running it into the ground. It's obvious to everyone but nobody will admit it.

[SaigonSaddler]

The greedy pigs running Britain PLC seek to remove the greatest benefit we have as citizens and guide us into an profiteering American model as soon as possible.

And why shouldn't they.

[Morty]

2 current issues with the NHS:-

1) It relies on a large number of overseas staff (EU and otherwise) to run it (i.e. nurses, health care assistants, consultants) - what happens to these staff post-Brexit?

2) The NHS wasn't designed for it's current use/demand. In the 1940's people weren't (regularly) living into their 80's/90's and beyond (and hence spending 20/30+ years requiring medicines/medical attention) nor where they experiencing the types of ill ness we're dealing with these days, e.g. long term mental health, long term cancer. In the 1940's it was to treat people being hit by buses, mining injuries, etc - now it's much more longer health issues.


In terms of dealing with emergencies and emergency care, the NHS can't be beaten....in terms of administration it's utterly hopeless!

[Manchester Saddler]

2 current issues with the NHS:-

1) It relies on a large number of overseas staff (EU and otherwise) to run it (i.e. nurses, health care assistants, consultants) - what happens to these staff post-Brexit?

2) The NHS wasn't designed for it's current use/demand. In the 1940's people weren't (regularly) living into their 80's/90's and beyond (and hence spending 20/30+ years requiring medicines/medical attention) nor where they experiencing the types of ill ness we're dealing with these days, e.g. long term mental health, long term cancer. In the 1940's it was to treat people being hit by buses, mining injuries, etc - now it's much more longer health issues.


In terms of dealing with emergencies and emergency care, the NHS can't be beaten....in terms of administration it's utterly hopeless!

As I said I've spent a fair amount of time visiting in the Manor hospital this year and the number of overseas staff is immense - same story in Manchester too.

Nobody here wants to go into the NHS because they are underpaid, over-worked and totally underfunded.

The NHS could be better but it needs more money - which the government could afford if taxes were raised or they didn't have the barely hidden agenda to privatise everything and turn the NHS into the American model, where people who can't afford to pay suffer. For example, a man who couldn't afford insurance is now lame because he couldn't pay for treatment for a broken ankle. Such stories are rife in the US and this is what the Tories want to do to our NHS.

Yes - administration is a nightmare - but this could be improved. When you see doctors and nurses working stupid hours to cope with increasing numbers of patients, proportional reduction in finance, and stupid targets then its no surprise.

[derbysaddler]

I heard this from a nurse a few months ago so don't start with the racist taunts, the amount of foreign health tourists over the last few years have grown by quite a few, and the amount of eastern Europeans that clogg up a&e with things like splinters in fingers, broken nails and sniffles just because it is free, is unreal. She also said that although it shouldn't happen, doctors have started to push British patients to the top of the operations list, in favour of foreign patients. The only way that i can see out of it is to privatise the NHS as sad as it is, but at least we could be sure that people that are being treated are at least paying for it :|

Okay, what does that achieve then? a more efficient use of budget perhaps?. One sticking point, a privatised model has to make profit and share dividends for the investor(s). This changes the overriding priority for the organisation running the health and care provision, it must be profitable above all else, that then leads to cutting of funds to pay for the provision of care in areas like staffing, equipment, drugs and some health issues no longer covered by the organisation (as they are not seen as profitable ventures)

Not everything should exist to just make a profit.