The National insurance scheme would barely cost the cost of a major illness no matter how long you have paid into it and yet we expect the best service and best treatment to be there.
The NHS is undoubtedly struggling, would it be better to introduce health insurance schemes which would cover long term illnesses while immediate and life threatening trips to a and e would remain free.
2006-11-03 08:21:29 · 10 answers · asked by Anonymous in Health ➔ Other - Health
Would increasing the tax put forward to the NHS have the same effect?
2006-11-03 08:36:24 · update #1
No,
There is no other way to provide the necessary level of care than by a medical system paid for by national insurance.
If you look at the USA - it is far more expensive and inefficient than the UK without having a demonstrable increase in standards of health.
It is inefficient because its bureacracy is immense you have
The admin of loads of different health care providers -hospitals doctors etc.
You have the admin of the HMOs
You have the admin of the insurance companies
That costs more money than having just the admin of the health care system
Secondly the private care system leads to all sorts of short termist economics that are bad for long term health and long term expenditure on health care.
More money gets spent on drugs than on preventative medicine and primary care to keep people healthy.
All sorts of expensive tests are done which are not strictly medically necessary.
Many people are not covered by health insurance which has a knock on effect in several areas -
1) the problem of poverty illnesses such as TB - prevalent among the homeless and STDs from people who have no access to health care.
2)If you can't get proper quality health care you may take more days off work -this has a knock on effect on the economy and therefore tax levels.
I am not saying the NHS works perfectly but it is improving in many aspects -
even the private health care companies are noticing a down turn in demand for things like knee and hip replacements to be done privately.
One issue though is that some consultants like to push people into their private clinics where they get paid twice as much and so keep waiting lists longer without good reasons.
2006-11-03 08:35:35 · answer #1 · answered by Bebe 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
PEP comments like yours are what makes my job as a nurse worthwhile! I would gladly take a pay cut if it meant that the money saved would go back into where it's needed, which is back to treating and caring for patients.
The NHS is struggling big time at the moment, but it's the fault of the government who set these ridiculous targets - which have been mostly achieved by treating the NHS as a business at the expense of patient care. If it was privatised, it would only get worse. Remember the 80's where Thatcher went about privatising everything? Where are the miners now? Where are the steelworkers now? Look at the state of the Royal Mail and the rail services under privatisation.
2006-11-03 16:48:22 · answer #2 · answered by Nurse Soozy 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
My father recently had a near fatal heart attack, and i was blown away in admiration for the NHS.
The service was impeccible from the speedy atendance of the fantastic paramedics, to the ITU with the dedicated nurses who never seemed to go home, to the conary care unit.
My father has worked hard all his life, never claimed benifit and always paid his taxes, etc.
WE NEED TO SUPPORT THE NHS.
iT IS THE BEST THING WE HAVE IN THIS COUNTRY.
We need to fight to keep it, and if it means more taxes to pay the wages for these fantastic people then so be it.... because they are worth it. They are the heros of this country, and it doesnt become clear until you have seen for your own eyes what these people do.
2006-11-03 16:33:07 · answer #3 · answered by PEP 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
No. A privatised health service would eliminate health tourist however many people wont be able to afford basic medical care.
2006-11-03 16:32:36 · answer #4 · answered by Bella 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
NO.
I would rather see higher taxes than a privatised health service.
2006-11-03 16:25:49 · answer #5 · answered by Jude 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I don't know...perhaps the nhs just needs more government support...I know their workers are stressed to the max.
2006-11-03 16:30:34 · answer #6 · answered by synchronicity915 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Definitely! I much prefer lying in my sick-bed with a curtain round it!
2006-11-03 16:25:05 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Now, if it was private, then it wouldn't be the NHS would it?
2006-11-03 16:24:01 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yup. Would cure the immigration issue overnight!
2006-11-03 16:30:45 · answer #9 · answered by MCP 3 · 0⤊ 3⤋
No it should not
2006-11-03 17:03:07 · answer #10 · answered by Bernie c 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋