To think the time has come to abolish the NHS healthcare model

The issue is 'basic' may need to be re-defined. There should be universal core funding but should that include fertility treatment, cancer drugs that extend life by 4-6 months, drugs that slow progression of multiple sclerosis by 1 year, diagnosis of debilitating disease 6 years before the person is symptomatic etc etc.

There are now infusions that help prevent development of type 1 diabetes in children at risk. How much is that worth? Is that basic healthcare?

What about gene therapy that cures sickle cell disease? Sickle cell is a life-threatening disease and sufferers often live in intense pain perpetually. The gene therapy to cure them costs circa £1million - it is a complete cure. Declined by NICE

My question was about funding for transgender support, medications and support.

What are your views on that?

@OptimismvsRealism "what are your views on NHS funding for transgender support, medications and surgery?"

Too poor to pay eighty quid for a safer shag when you also pay 'tens of thousands' in tax, so must be a higher earner?

https://anthonygold.co.uk/latest/blog/impact-of-uk-housing-crisis-on-nhs

We no longer have basic healthcare though?

Like all public services, it’s extremely poorly run and its systems and processes are so backwards.

But it’s free at the point of need, and we are lucky in many ways. My DS had an injury a couple of weeks ago, and we were seen by a doctor and x-rayed twice at our local A&E within less than 2 hours. I didn’t even have to pay to park.

For non emergencies, and for adults as opposed to children, it is often diabolical, but that’s when you can choose to go private.

Going to answer any of the actual questions?

I have a hip condition. I have been on the waiting list to see a consultent for almost a year and no end in sight. Once I finally get to see someone, they'll be a wait for scans, a wait for results and then an even longer wait for surgery.

I'm on several Facebook groups for this condition. Everyone in the US has surgery within a few months of diagnosis. Yes, they pay for it through insurance but at least they get somewhere. I wish I had private health insurance but of course now it wouldn't cover me as it's a pre exiting condition. When health insurance works, it works.

I have lost all faith in the NHS and don't even bother trying to see a GP any more. I buy medication online.

That has nothing to do with the health care system and more to do with a piss poor run city and ridiculous drug use. When you decriminalize drugs and let lawlessness rule what type of person are you going to attract?

Get out of the California bullshit and go see the rest of America

As @Overpayment, your fellow poster in favour of such things would no doubt say, that could have been avoided through better planning.

Bit surprised by the absence of biologics under that board, @newmummycwharf1 . Very surprised, in fact, going by the existence of the Biologics Suite at St George's Hospital in the Rheumatology Department.

Premiums are entirely based on likelihood of needing care though. It’s fair that people who are a higher risk need to pay more. This is the principle of pretty much every form of insurance.

There are obviously cases (like yours) that don’t fall into this model, but it doesn’t negate the principle.

The vast majority of ill health we currently see was preventable, we can’t ignore this massive social problem because there are a handful of cases that sit outside it.

Reform doesn't mean an American system. For example the ludicrous system of sending appointment letters in the post. How many missed appointments are due to the letters not arriving on time? I've missed appointments due to this.

And a lot of people don't realise that GPs are already privatised. We absolutely need to uplift funding but with a focus on prevention and joined up care.

That ^^
The NHS has no issues funding my meds
One is every month and is around £1000 so 12k a year
The other is about £400pm

Both are life changing drugs, with no question if they work or not. One means I can work, exercise, have a hot bath, the other stops me getting countless infections and lowers my sepsis risk

I was just joining the thread to post this.

Many of the models of healthcare in the EU require both personal insurance and funding from their government, in fact many EU governments pay more per capita than our own system.

So anyone thinking we'd switch to a different model and automatically pay less tax needs to check themselves. The government will still need to pay in.

Been working with the NHS for 30 years....it has not worked well in at least 20 years of that. There has been an increase in the population, an ageing population and medical advancements amongst other things. The Tories did pump significant sums into the NHS - we never had cuts, even during austerity. The real terms increase in funding was less than previous years but always an increase and from 2015 - close to the annual real terms increase typically had pre-austerity - circa 4%

50% of the NHS budget is the wage bill and that is where the squeeze was applied with effective pay erosion for over a decade. Hopefully we will start to see a reversal there

The current model is flawed, the context has changed

Well, I do private complimentary therapies like dentist, physio etc but giving birth, operations, cancers, etc - you need a free hospital visit for all those. Otherwise we all are going to be ill, dying and so on. Not many of us earn a mn 6 figure.

Observe, I don't and still prefer to pay for the additional services I mentioned. Ask me how I do that.

Whilst I agree that the NHS is currently not fit for purpose and the European models are appealing, the NHS ingrained in our society and it would take a nuclear bomb to dislodge.
Personally I have 8/10 times had a good NHS experience for myself and my family (I realise this is lucky).
I used to feel so guilty using my work provided private healthcare but then settled my mind that I was providing space for people in the queue behind me.

Re the OP @OptimismvsRealism I think you need a reality check about the slugs and other people you might share the world with. You sound "delightful". I actually relish the chance to pay fair tax to make a fairer society

Thanks for answering my question, and I'm sorry to hear that.

Absolutely not. I would rather have basic healthcare free to all even if the NHS cant afford the odd highly priced drug.

The NHS is broken.
I’m not a financial or business expert but some sort of means tested charges might start the process of people taking responsibility for the lifestyle choices which have a detrimental effect on mental and physical health and cost the NHS millions every month.
Introducing measures to deal with the significant numbers of people who use GP and emergency services inappropriately would also save considerable money.

Expecting people to take responsibility for their health is not a popular view but if things continue as they are, we won’t have an NHS.

Same here, and I live in the country it was developed in!

If you have to resort to an ad hominem attack, you’ve already lost the argument.

That isn’t at all what you said, you very clearly wrote

“These people had the choice to pay for critical illness insurance, but chose not too.

Of course I have a lot of empathy with anybody who is struggling with their health, but the difficult financial circumstances that come with serious illness could have been avoided with better planning.“

So what are your plans for the thousands upon thousands of people who can’t buy critical illness insurance, or would have so many exclusions they may as well burn their actual cash? Or the people who are offered policies costing thousands of pounds per month.

But it’s not ‘the NHS’ that supports people, the state (inc the NHS) has no money of its own. It is net tax contributors who pay for NHS care for people whose illnesses are largely self inflicted.

This was always going to breed resentment and be unsustainable in the long run.