No free lunch in the near futute
The NHS is unlikely to be free at the point of use within 10 years, say doctors.A British Medical Association poll of 964 young GPs and hospital doctors found 61% thought patients would have to pay for some treatment by 2017.
We live in a capitalist world. I guess this capitalist system wont be able to sustain NHS. Anybody from UK would like to stay in Malaysia where u can get consultancy, X-rays and even blood investigations to be done all for RM 1.00 ?
If I have to pay for my treatment in the UK, I will have to get a loan. I hope that will never happen. NHS hospitals are not too good. The doctors and nurses are great but the environment is bad and the waiting lists are too long.
You are not right if you think that a capitalist system can’t sustain free health services. From an economic point of view free health services never existed- as nurses and doctors never worked for free, and buildings assets and medicines were never free.
The only question is that who and how will pay for the services. You pay for the services as a tax? You pay for the services as an insurance? The financial management of an NHS system is never an easy question, because you have to consider moral question too: Everybody has the right to get the same services taking no consideration of his/her economical productivity? etc.
In Hungary (where I live) the NHS is in a deep reorganisation. We had a national health assurance provider, but we tend to liberelize the health assurance market. What will change? everybody will get the same services? we do not know at this point, but I’m waiting the changes with a trust, that the whole management of the system will become better, so the level of the services will become higher…
Yea, nothing in the world is ever free as no one works or lives for free. You need money to survive. Every other person need money as well to survive. The crux is WHO will be billed.