Do we need the NHS and why?

Answer 1

wow good question. almost all people that answered said yes, however id like to argue that there is already an inequality within the NHS, those of us who can not afford to go private have to wait at the bottom of the queue, those of us who are more financially secure can just hop on the list at a flash of the good old cash. almost all of the surgeons and consultants that work for the NHS make up their expanding wallets by cancelling the NHS patients and booking in a private patient using all the nhs equipment and facilities.
we all do currently pay for the NHS we just pay it at source along with out tax, so if we were to pay for a private insurance it wouldnt really cost anymore its just that you would only be liable for your own accumulation of costs and not the whole countries.

Germany have a good private health insurance and maybe Britain should look there for an example to follow.

Answer 2

Yes, we do need the NHS. Look at the situation in other countries such as the US where if you haven't got medical insurance then you don't get treatment. Or think what would happen if you had to pay everytime you went to the GP. The temptation would be to ignore your symptoms with what could be disastrous consequences.

My sister-in-law lives abroad and put off going to the GP or midwife because she had to pay and couldn't afford it. As a result, she was seriously ill at the end of her pregnancy and nearly lost her own life and the baby. As it is, her daughter is severely disabled. It can never be known whether she would have gone through this if she had received medical treatment but chances are things would have been very different.

From recent experience with my daughter, my dad and my hubby, the NHS is a remarkable institution staffed by incredibly caring and hardworking individuals and is rightly the envy of most of the world. But unfortunately, at the same time very underpaid and quite often undervalued.

Answer 3

Not to buck the trend I will have to say yes, I worked in Mental health for 3 years in a pysciatric ward. If it was not for us then many of the people who were treated would not be, this could cause massive social problems. - I don't dispute the fact that people might have got a better course of treatment if they had gone private as we were often underfunded and worked sometimes under potentially very dangerous situations. But it was a damb sight better than the old assluyms.

As for the general side of the NHS again definelty need that, healthcare should not be part of an employment plan.

It does seem that we will head towards private healthcare as all of the social policies that were implemented during the war start to become more and more eroded.

Answer 4

With so many greedy private doctors and medicine firms around...WE definately need the NHS.
Basic operations would cost too much money for the average person to pay...so many would go with out.

I actually think that this is a very silly question to ask...how many times in your life/in your families life have you used an NHS service?
Try to imagine what life would be without it...there are many poor people around, many elderly etc, who wouldn't have the finance to go private.
The NHS could be ran better...but untill then it is all we have.

Private health insurrances push the costs of medicines up...care costs etc etc. Because the people who manufacture the medicines know their bills will be paid they charge more.
The same thing goes for care services etc.

It has happened with animal care costs too...so private health insurrances are not good things for those who cannot afford them.

Answer 5

What a strange question, of course we need a health service. What are we supposed to do with all the people who cant afford private medical care, let them suffer or die because they cant pay. I think maybe it should be regulated better rather than just anyone who happens to be in the country can benefit. Means test people after mortgages etc would be the way, the problem is that when the govt means test people they do it at source and forget that just about everyone has bills to pay, and have to eat etc.

Answer 6

Speaking as someone who was caught out by the last 'Polio epidemic' and who is experiencing the latent effects of it now, 'No.'

I cannot for the life of me imagine why anyone should want or need an NHS service when systems like those in America work so wonderfully well for everyone (cough cough cough).

There, in many cases, the Almighty Dollar and your ability to cough it up, is of greater importance than your treatment.

On the one hand, Life and your ability to sustain it, is Expensive.
On the other hand, Life is Cheap.

Sash.

Answer 7

Yes,

Because I have worked for the last 26 years and paid my tax's for this service.

Why should I now pay for private health insurance.

Good on those that can afford private health...but I cannot and will hope that the NHS will live on.

Answer 8

We certainly need a Universal healthcare system, that is free, or at least very low cost at the point of use.

The debate is really whether the NHS in its current form is the right way to provide this.

Answer 9

Yes, we need a National Health Service but its use should be confined to medical necessities and it should have its budget tightly controlled.
I get really irritated when people demand something to be paid for by the NHS purely because the medication exists, regardless of its cost. I'm thinking of IVF treatment for infertility for example, or putting addicts on methadone at the taxpayers expense.

Answer 10

For the less wealthy, otherwise there would be a divide like in Victorian times, where only wealthy families could afford health care and others who could not afford it would not get treatments...leading to the spread of disease..if you think of al the immunisations you had as a child, ony a % of the population would be able to afford them.