Rather than take over a PCP thread I thought I share my thoughts on the NHS on a new thread.
I've worked at the Front line of the NHS for 10 years now, I worked in A&E/hospital a few winters ago when we had ambulances waiting at the front door, and through this winter I've worked over Xmas, and starting a nightshift next week. So as you can imagine I'm more than a little but passionate about the NHS, and thought I give my perspective.
Forget the DailyMail / politicians rubbish, and let's look at real number. In proper researched papers on global healthcare the NHS always comes out near the top, and the US at the bottom.
http://ift.tt/17wb7Jg
The UK spends 9.6% of GDP on health care, the US 17%, and most of Europe 10-11%. This is world bank data.
How can this be true when the US hospitals have 30-40 ITU beds EACH, and here in the UK we can barely manage 10-20 ITU beds per 700,000 population??
Because the majority of the sickness in any country is with-in the poorest groups. Money may not buy you happiness but it does buy you health, this is proven world wide.
60-70% of people I treat are either elderly, longterm disabled, or cannot work. These people are left untreated in places like the US because society has accepted that without money you are denied access to the best health care.
The NHS is close to collapse, eveyone that works in it knows it, but I still get a immense sense of pride been able to deliver some of the best healthcare in world to people regardless of their wallet size.
The UK public are spoilt by the existence of the NHS, the cost of medicine is far more than people realise. For example if you have kidney failure and need dialysis. The cost is £60k per year, for the rest of you life, how many of us can afford £60k per year!!?? In other parts of the world if you cannot stump up the cash, well I'm sorry, you have go leave, and good luck.
On a 'normal' day the NHS is working at 95-100% bed capacity, and anyone who understands system design/management will tell you that if your system is working at 100% on a 'normal' day than there is no way it will cope with any additional 'stress', ie:
Trains and airlines timetables have built in 'buffers' to allow for delays, hence sometimes they are early, there is no such luxury in the NHS. Work load has increased year on year, but capacity hasn't, hence this winter a 5-10% rise in demand is close to bringing the whole system down!!
I'm 100% against privatisation. Privatising may be a solution, it will reduce demand and increase capacity. But it will mean a two tiered health care system. I will get a pay rise because the rich will want the best health care professionals and can afford it, but the poor will suffer. I'm not going to preach socialist ideology, but as a country we need to decided what we are comfortable with morally/financially.
In the next 5 years the politicians need to grow some balls and debate the future of the NHS with the public, and as a society we have to all decide which way to go.
I've worked at the Front line of the NHS for 10 years now, I worked in A&E/hospital a few winters ago when we had ambulances waiting at the front door, and through this winter I've worked over Xmas, and starting a nightshift next week. So as you can imagine I'm more than a little but passionate about the NHS, and thought I give my perspective.
Forget the DailyMail / politicians rubbish, and let's look at real number. In proper researched papers on global healthcare the NHS always comes out near the top, and the US at the bottom.
http://ift.tt/17wb7Jg
The UK spends 9.6% of GDP on health care, the US 17%, and most of Europe 10-11%. This is world bank data.
How can this be true when the US hospitals have 30-40 ITU beds EACH, and here in the UK we can barely manage 10-20 ITU beds per 700,000 population??
Because the majority of the sickness in any country is with-in the poorest groups. Money may not buy you happiness but it does buy you health, this is proven world wide.
60-70% of people I treat are either elderly, longterm disabled, or cannot work. These people are left untreated in places like the US because society has accepted that without money you are denied access to the best health care.
The NHS is close to collapse, eveyone that works in it knows it, but I still get a immense sense of pride been able to deliver some of the best healthcare in world to people regardless of their wallet size.
The UK public are spoilt by the existence of the NHS, the cost of medicine is far more than people realise. For example if you have kidney failure and need dialysis. The cost is £60k per year, for the rest of you life, how many of us can afford £60k per year!!?? In other parts of the world if you cannot stump up the cash, well I'm sorry, you have go leave, and good luck.
On a 'normal' day the NHS is working at 95-100% bed capacity, and anyone who understands system design/management will tell you that if your system is working at 100% on a 'normal' day than there is no way it will cope with any additional 'stress', ie:
Trains and airlines timetables have built in 'buffers' to allow for delays, hence sometimes they are early, there is no such luxury in the NHS. Work load has increased year on year, but capacity hasn't, hence this winter a 5-10% rise in demand is close to bringing the whole system down!!
I'm 100% against privatisation. Privatising may be a solution, it will reduce demand and increase capacity. But it will mean a two tiered health care system. I will get a pay rise because the rich will want the best health care professionals and can afford it, but the poor will suffer. I'm not going to preach socialist ideology, but as a country we need to decided what we are comfortable with morally/financially.
In the next 5 years the politicians need to grow some balls and debate the future of the NHS with the public, and as a society we have to all decide which way to go.
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