Should the UK "ration" health care differently?

[BuckingFrolics]

My Aunt (she's early 90s) has been propped up and kept going, through limb breaks, fibromyalgia, flu, and heart disease. She's slowly declined and has spent last 9 months in private care home. I can't say she's enjoying much about her life, and latterly has signs of dementia.

It seems to me that as a society we now value life, anyone's and of any quality, and not just as a laudable "principle" but with real money. I would estimate that my aunt, god love her, costs the NHS tens of thousands each year, with her eye care, ear care, prescriptions, GP visits, hospital visits (UTIs are a key element in this). There is nothing "wrong" in the sense of anything specific that might cause her death, she's just very old and tired and things are falling apart.

Several of the ailments she has had might well have resulted in her death, has today's medical interventions not been available.

Am I alone in thinking we as a society need to talk about whether it is right to spend this much on one person who really isn't having a good time of it? Or have I been sucked by capitalism into a transactional and commercial mindframe that results in me having these thoughts?

We ration health care via waiting lists. Other countries do it via insurance/wealth. Whatever way, there needs to be rationing.

I don’t like the notion that a person is not worthy of good healthcare.

What you're suggesting already exists, OP. The NHS thinks very hard about value for money including how many good years the proposed care can achieve for someone. Look up QALYs & DALYs.

Yeah let's kill off all the pensioners
Luckily now that retirement age is 68 and
beyond people will die off sooner so the NHS will save money. None of this retiring at 58!
This would seem harsh if it wasn't true

There are plenty of people who would prefer not to to be nursed through all of those issues in old age. However we need to find an alternative.

I'd rather we had voluntary euthanasia as I don't want to live through the dementia that I saw a relative go through.

The alternative could be not to treat broken bones, infections etc, but that seems inhumane to me.

We shouldnt ration we should find it properly and run it effectively.

The second part of your question about is it right to keep treating people: I'd recommend you listen to a recent episode of Griefcast with Cariad Lloyd with Dr Kathryn Mannix. Fascinating stuff.