[John Whitworth]

What is happening to the NHS, Mary? I must have missed it.

[Alan Rain]

In the short time since I returned to England after a decade away, I've been invited, twice, by the NHS to participate in medicals. I'm impressed by this level of proactivity. And as I'm writing, I'm listening to a certain Mr B. Sanders bemoaning how the US spends far more than we do on health, and for an inferior system.

I watched an Aljazeera documentary on the UK health service recently. I learned a lot about the nuts and bolts of providing free health care, and if I didn't before, now believe our doctors deserve great respect.
This is not the case in countries where Big Pharma makes the rules. And rakes in all the profits to the detriment of national health.
Long live the NHS.

[Nigel Mace]

Since you are just resampling the NHS in England, Alan, you might find my reply to John's query to Mary on this matter interesting. It is part of my latest post on the "Country music" thread.

[Alan Rain]

Yes, Nigel, I read it. I base my judgement on treatment received, though. A condition I had was diagnosed and treated in 10 minutes here. Elsewhere, I was prescribed hugely expensive and ineffective medication.
But I realise for some the NHS is not satisfactory in whatever guise.

[Mary McLean]

The problem with the NHS is that it's going broke. My own hospital (Addenbrooke's) is in the red to the tune of 1.2 million pounds a week. They're talking about sacking nurses now.

[Nigel Mace]

I also have had excellent treatment, Alan, and the standards of care are outstanding in most medical areas.

However, the problems in NHS England are now, including the financial nonsense of hospitals like Mary's at Addenbrokes, not so much systemic in the normal sense but actually, and deliberately, designed in by the so-called marketising 'reforms' and restructuring, especially that flowing from the Tories' Health and Social Care Act of 2012. That act simply killed the NHS in England in the original sense. The only road now, short of a major political reversal (of which in England there are still, even within Corbyn's ranks, no signs) is a steady and rapidly increasing slide into privatisation.

[Alan Rain]

I have to say that when I left the UK in 2005 under a 'labour' government, the NHS was going broke.
As far as I remember, it was always in crisis, and likely always will be without radical changes in the way it is funded. I also remember debates about making people with self-inflicted illnesses (smokers / addicts / over-eaters / and those with avoidable injuries etc) pay for their treatment. I guess this was a step too radical for risk-averse politicians.
How did this thread get ambushed?

[Julie Steiner]

Originally Posted by Alan Rain

How did this thread get ambushed?

Someone mentioned Political Correctness, which led to a discussion of liberals and their concerns, real and imaginary.

[Alan Rain]

Originally Posted by Julie Steiner

Someone mentioned Political Correctness, which led to a discussion of liberals and their concerns, real and imaginary.

Oh ... it's me.
Well, I know better now.

[John Whitworth]

Perhaps we should pay up front for care as they do in France and Germany, whose health services are much better than ours. Then you get some of it back, depending on your resources.