Pieces_of_Eight
Member
Lots of different issues here.
Firstly, people in the UK take the NHS, A&E, GPs etc for granted as there is no cost at the point of use. If people using the NHS actually saw the bill for their treatment, they would think twice about the cost to the taxpayer. I wonder what private health insurance costs in countries like the USA? Do people take better care of themselves?
Secondly, if the NHS was a company, it would be bankrupt, liquidated and wound up. The level of waste and inefficiency is simply mind blowing. This is only possible because there is no competition and the government of the day just keeps pouring more and more money down the black hole.
Thirdly, what proportion of NHS patients are non-UK taxpayers, who have not contributed to the NHS' finances? Should they be getting free treatment, paid for by the rest of us?
I last went to A&E about a month ago, to a large hospital in a city, with my wife who had fallen from a horse. We were booked in with an appointment, and were early for it. We were actually seen 40 minutes later than our appointment.
The A&E wasn't particularly busy, but the waiting time was 3 hours (it was a Sunday morning). God only knows what would have happened in the event of a major incident involving many casualties (train/bus crash etc), there were just not the resources available to deal with the flow of patients coming in.
Please don't get me wrong, I've had ten times more than my fair share of excellent treatment through the NHS over the years, it just pains me to see it getting abused and mis-managed.
Firstly, people in the UK take the NHS, A&E, GPs etc for granted as there is no cost at the point of use. If people using the NHS actually saw the bill for their treatment, they would think twice about the cost to the taxpayer. I wonder what private health insurance costs in countries like the USA? Do people take better care of themselves?
Secondly, if the NHS was a company, it would be bankrupt, liquidated and wound up. The level of waste and inefficiency is simply mind blowing. This is only possible because there is no competition and the government of the day just keeps pouring more and more money down the black hole.
Thirdly, what proportion of NHS patients are non-UK taxpayers, who have not contributed to the NHS' finances? Should they be getting free treatment, paid for by the rest of us?
I last went to A&E about a month ago, to a large hospital in a city, with my wife who had fallen from a horse. We were booked in with an appointment, and were early for it. We were actually seen 40 minutes later than our appointment.
The A&E wasn't particularly busy, but the waiting time was 3 hours (it was a Sunday morning). God only knows what would have happened in the event of a major incident involving many casualties (train/bus crash etc), there were just not the resources available to deal with the flow of patients coming in.
Please don't get me wrong, I've had ten times more than my fair share of excellent treatment through the NHS over the years, it just pains me to see it getting abused and mis-managed.