The NHS is a very good and noble idea in principle but is clearly unworkable in practise, it costs too much, is inefficient in many area’s and suffers from too much waste in many area’s. It is no longer fit for purpose, at least in its current form. Tinkering on the edges will make no difference, it needs a new and radical rethink. we need to disabuse ourselves of the notion that it must be kept intact, that the private sector cannot do some if not all of the healthcare services better and/or more cost effectively. Maybe it can, maybe it can’t, but lets do the cost/benefit analysis and find out. The notion that the NHS is a cherished national asset that must be preserved at all cost is absurd and damaging economically. Do we still want to drive cars from 1948 and live in houses equipped as they were back then?
The NHS was originally set up in July 1948, the world we inhabit is very different from those days, our health issues are very different. Some of the guiding principles behind the NHS may still be valid, free healthcare at point of delivery, we need hospitals, we need doctors, pharmacists and nurses, we need specialists, but can these only be delivered in one way and one way only?
The NHS or anything that replaces it (what’s in a name?) should be available to those who cannot afford private healthcare, which should be encouraged and incentivised through employer schemes.
We need to investigate the feasibility of private healthcare insurance (not like Obamacare) that is not one size fits all, but is applicable to individuals. Pre-existing or previous medical exclusions would need to be available through the Health Service, along with A&E, palliative care, eye and dental tests, and free healthcare for children, students and OAP’s.
Pay off and cancel all existing PFI commitments, cancel any initiatives not commenced and stop all not committed to. If PFI cannot be made to work as it should, should be completely stopped.
Scrap Healthcare trusts, or retain if they provide value for money and offer a useful service.
Perform root and branch culling of unnecessary management and administration roles throughout health service.
Investigate moving all products and services to the private sector for provision through a competitive free market. Investigate putting all products and services to competitive tender, compared to current cost of provision.
Return to matron system in hospitals to prioritise hospital cleanliness to eliminate so-called superbugs.
Increase nursing salaries to similar level of police officers and teachers.
Allow patients to choose their preferred treatment and allow access to alternative medicine and suppressed cures.
Scrap all QANGO’s involved in healthcare and set up truly independent organisations to represent patients and healthcare workers and to create strategies for healthcare procurement. Create regulatory body to investigate and control power of pharmaceutical companies.
Continue policy of free prescriptions to children, OAPs and unemployed and consider extending to all not in company funded healthcare schemes. Re-introduce free dental tests and eye tests for all. Re-introduce free dental care for children, students and OAP’s and potentially all not in company funded dental schemes.
Make patients pay for self-inflicted treatment, such as injuries whilst drunk, fighting etc., to make people responsible for their own actions. Extend to smokers and drug addicts.
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