what are the advantages of NHS compared to Private health care?

Question

(my economics debate)

Answer 1

The NHS is dearer.

Private healthcare is around £40/mth
My National Insurance contributions are £150, and I'm sure more than 40.00 of that goes towards the NHS

Advantages?
None.
Prescription charges mean nothing is free, unless your a work shy lay-about claiming income support then you don't need to pay

This country is broken

Answer 2

So you've done your own research and now think you know better than those that studied for years, that quite frankly is stupid. I would assume that they looked into your ears and saw wax, something you cannot do for yourself, therefore removing the wax is the first course of treatment. It's quite possible, in fact it's likely, that the wax hadn't softened enough to be removed. I had some removed a while ago and used olive oil, warmed in the microwave and then put in with an ear drop. I have been into hospital on many occasions, broken wrist, ear problems (middle bone behind the ear had piece missing, causing an 98% loss of hearing, misdiagnosed in the 1980's but diagnosed correct in the 1990's and operated on successfully) and collapsed lung after being stabbed amongst other things. I can honestly say that I have never been treated badly by any hospital staff. Why do I believe the NHS is better? I'll give you a couple of reasons. It's not profit motivated and you get after care treatment. People should remember that there is no after care treatment for private patients and should a problem arise from private treatment, it is the NHS that ends up putting things right. You may well, for instance, get a really good private surgeon, but by the same token you may get someone that botches the job. In your instance you might well have been given the Ear Nose and Throat procedure, then when that didn't work you may well have been given some other treatment, all the time the private company treating you would be being paid. The fact that you would have to endure treatment you didn't require would be irrelevant to them. It may also be that you might require a hearing aid. These are provided free from the NHS, plus regular hearing tests when required and free batteries for the hearing aid. You might well have to pay for all this if you went private and have gotten inferior hearing aids. The hearing aids I use are digital, quite small and would cost around £1000 if I had to buy them. Also remember, there may well be some bad doctors in the NHS (although I've not come across one in my 50 odd years), but the same could be said in the private sector. I personally think that to go private just because someone used cold water to syringe your ear is like cutting off your nose to spite your face.

Answer 3

Hiya.

The biggest of all is Accident and Emergency.

You don't see PPP or BUPA ambulances on the road dealing with emergencies, they are all NHS.

The second is Training. All medical staff are initially trained from scratch through the NHS system - they may earn more in Private care, but that's after the NHS has made them what they are!!

Peer advancement of techniques. This is where techniques improve in an environment where your peers are always pushing at the boundaries to discover better, less intrusive ops, and quicker post operative ways of recovery. This benefits us all.


Its free!! Private Care has nothing free! Indeed they want the money up front before a procedure, so the NHS is highly advantageous to the poor and needy in our society.

No matter what you read, in general the NHS do their absolute level best to treat every patient to the very best of their ability. No matter what the cost. That is why they have big deficits each year - they carry out the treatment then try and balance the books.

Answer 4

The NHS provides full health care to everyone and is paid for from our National Insurance Contributions. The service is provided free at point of need. The NHS patient does not have to 'pay' to see a doctor or go into hospital but until age 60 must pay for most prescriptions.

If an NHS patient is on benefits and becomes an inpatient in hospital, their benefits are stopped for the duriation of their stay. Likewise any benefits added to a State Pension are also stopped. These benefits are started again once the patient has gone home. Please be aware that this may also include such as Housing Benefit and anyone in receipt of this should find out about this and any other loss of income as soon as possible.

The main advantage of the National Health Service is that it is among the richest of medical institutions on Earth. In terms of it's wealth it should be seen as a nation. If it were seen as a nation it would be the 32nd richest on Earth.

We are told by the UK.gov that the NHS has run over it's budget by 100million pounds. This is a mere 1% of it's annual spend. Why all the panic, the closing of wards and the loss of vital nursing staff?

The Yo Blair gov have been secretly carrying on the dastardly work of the Thatcherites in quietly privatising sections of the NHS. You know what to do!

Please note that our National Insurance Contributions are not just for medicare, they also pay for a State Pension.

Answer 5

Both have arguements for and against, but the NHS is great for emergency or life threatening illnesses/accidents.
If you have a heart attack, accident or a cancer etc. diagnosed there will be an ambulance and medical assistance immediately (nearly) available without having to prove you have the insurance or enough private funds to pay for private.
If you have an "uncomfortable" rather than a life threatening problem, the private sector can save you waiting time for an op.
However, I must say I have had 3 ops on NHS, haven't waited more than 3 months for any and in each case there were other people in the wards having 'repairs' done because their original op had been done privately and gone wrong.
Personal preference, but I think that another advantage of NHS is you have other people (patients) to talk to. It can sound very nice to have your own room in a private hospital but it can be very lonely when you don't have a visitor and have to spend a lot of the time on your own, especially if you are in for a longish stay. The nurses pop their head around the door occasionally to see if you are ok but are too busy to stop and talk.
The cost is another factor as when you get older and may need these "comfort" ops the cost of the insurance is extortionate, so if you are lucky and gone through life without needing any of this type of treatment you have wasted a lot of money and when you do need it you can't afford the premiums. As said before if you need life saving treatment the NHS will be the first point of call.
A friend of mine, always paid premiums for private treatment and never needed to use it until she hit 65 then was diagnosed with cancer, admitted to NHS hospital enquired about going private and was told (by private service) that it would be a waste as would not get treatment any quicker or better than the NHS hospital and in fact could have ended up in the NHS hospital as they had better cancer facillities. She was paying £4,500 per year for private insurance. Having being told this she cancelled it.
That was 10 years ago and she is still going strong with regular checkups at NHS hospital.
My reccommendation would be to research the cost of Private and then (if you can afford it) put that amount into a savings account and leave it. Then if you are unlucky enough to need "comfort" treatment you will have the money in your savings account rather than waste money year after year for something you don't need.

Answer 6

I was recently booked into my local nhs hospital for a minor procedure, It was cancelled twice because of lack of beds & equipment. I complained about being messed about, & was sent to a private clinic for the procedure at the expense of the nhs. It was quite an experience, the staff were so relaxed & friendly, & not stressed out & rushed off their feet like in an nhs hospital. It was almost like a hotel, apart from all the medical equipment. If
I could afford private health insurance, I`d only rely on the nhs in an emergency.

Answer 7

There are aruments for and against both. I have had private hospital treatment which resulted in a routine operation being done straight away, yet the NHS saved the life of my son and my Mum when both were admitted with very serious conditions and were cared for with extraordinary skill and dedication.

Answer 8

Sorry but no comparison, private health care is as it should be in the national health, no waiting full care and cleanliness

Answer 9

one has politicians telling it what to do .the other your insurance company.

Answer 10

its cheaper but can you afford to wait