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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to ask Conservative voters what they think will happen to the NHS

117 replies

MyBeautifulSquid · 02/05/2017 16:19

if they stay in after the GE?

Not gonna lie...I am a Labour voter. Not wanting a bunfight or trying to goad anyone ...I genuinely respect everyone's right to vote whatever way they think fit. However I am genuinely terrified of the prospect of losing the NHS ....like most people I am an ordinary earner just about getting by day to day, I cannot afford private healthcare, and doubt I ever will. I have friends in America...I have seen how the US system works.

My Facebook is a bit of a lefty echo chamber Blush and lots are very active so I am constantly being bombarded with doom and gloom articles etc basically saying we will lose the NHS if Labour don't win.

Anyway like I say really don't want a fight, I am genuinely interested and do want to hear from the "other side" what they think.

OP posts:
Soyamilkisniceintea · 02/05/2017 16:21

It won't be lost.

Original poster
MyBeautifulSquid · 02/05/2017 16:24

Can I ask why you say that Soya?

OP posts:
Soyamilkisniceintea · 02/05/2017 16:27

Well, the conservatives were in power 1979-1997. NHS survived. Then the conservatives were back in 2010-2017 thus far. NHS still exists.

To turn your question back round on itself, why assume it's going anywhere? :)

Batgirlspants · 02/05/2017 16:27

Look until we all realise that it's not fit for purpose now as it's outgrown the post war model we will have politicians on all sides woffling about waste and inefficiency snd not being honest enough to tell voters if you want an NHS you are going to have to pay more tax.

Soyamilkisniceintea · 02/05/2017 16:28

YY ^

Hoppinggreen · 02/05/2017 16:31

I am a high level volunteer in our local NHS trust so I know in detail the finances and other issues facing The Trust. To be honest I don't think if the Tories get back in it will make a lot of difference and could even improve things .
I have voted Conservative since I was 18 and normally would again but won't 'this time as a one off ( without wishing to get into details it's about our local candidates). The system is broken and this is down to years of mismanagement, largely by Labour under Blair and I think Labour would make things even worse. We seriously need to change the way we look at our NHS, it's not fit for purpose any more and change is badly needed and if this is more Privatisation as long as PATIENTS get better treatments and outcomes I'm ok with that.

EngTech · 02/05/2017 16:32

I think all sides will not acknowledge the elephant in the room.

We are an aging population and to look after said aging population costs money. We are living longer compared to when the NHS was initially set up.

No politician wants to acknowledge the elephant I.e. the NHS model needs updating but they just tinker round the edges.

arethereanyleftatall · 02/05/2017 16:33

I think 'lose the NHS' is a negative way of looking at it. It does absolutely need an overhaul though, call that what you will.
I do think there is a massive amount wasted with folk going to the drs with colds etc; it seems crazy that a millionaire can go for free; people cost the NHS what £8 for a prescription that costs 29p over the counter etc etc
The current model needs redoing.

DonaldStott · 02/05/2017 16:34

What will happen, because unfortunately the Tories will get in, is that bit by bit, the NHS will be sold off and privatised.

We will have to get health insurance and it will be like America.

Fucking scary. But that is what the tories want.

Substandard health care for poor people. Excellent health care for the rich.

Labour are committed to funding and improving the NHS.

ThroughThickAndThin01 · 02/05/2017 16:35

I'm a Conservative voter, but my main concern is with the NHS. Bit of place marking if you don't mind OP.

DonaldStott · 02/05/2017 16:35

But I am aware Blair got the ball rolling here. He is an Immoral bastard though.

purits · 02/05/2017 16:37

I am getting fed up with this dog-whistle politics. We get this every election - "you've got 100 days to save the NHS".Hmm
It's a scare story put about by Labour because they want everyone to think that no-one can run the NHS except them.

You've called wolf too many times.

Hillarious · 02/05/2017 16:37

The NHS is a bit of a curate's egg. It was superb when my friend had a brain tumour earlier in the year, but let DH down very badly when he injured, but didn't break, his leg a few years ago and he still suffers the consequences of that. It can't be beaten on the big, life saving/life changing issues, but doesn't work so well on the niggly stuff that would improve your life immeasurably if it could be sorted out quickly. It's laying itself wide open to privatisation . . . and that is probably deliberate on the part of Conservative politicians.

LaundryQueenHatesBunfights · 02/05/2017 16:37

The Tories have never, ever said they were going to get rid of the NHS. I really do think that is hysteria (one or two MPs have talked about charging for some services, but that has never been party policy).

The NHS can't carry on as it is. There is an awful lot of money being wasted - especially at high management levels (some on £130k a year with subsidised sports cars) and drug companies charging huge amounts. Pouring money into it without looking at where it is being spent is useless.

ginghambox · 02/05/2017 16:38

10 posts in and we have the usual evil tories will sell it off to their rich mates bollocks

Original poster
MyBeautifulSquid · 02/05/2017 16:38

arethey

even as a lefty I totally agree there! People do abuse the system and there is a lot of waste (like your example re prescriptions)

OP posts:
scatterolight · 02/05/2017 16:38

I think the worship of the NHS is a weird phenomenon. It's almost as if it's the only thing Lefties allow themselves to feel patriotic about. Yet at the same time the glorification of "Our NHS" implies that no other country ever has a working healthcare system that looks after its people. An attitude which strikes me as, at the very least, a little arrogant.

There are many healthcare models out there, not just the US system. And many of them work very well.

Ultimately the NHS cannot survive offering all the services that it currently does with an exponentially growing population. Neither can any government anticipate and plan for demand when population cannot be accurately projected.

It would therefore seem rational, to me at least, to acknowledge these difficulties and attempt to, yes shock-horror, cut non-essential services. And potentially introduce a contributory system for these non-essentials.

Regarding the Tories I assume philosophically that they are aligned with that belief. Whereas Labour appear to be aligned with the belief that the NHS has been created in God's image and must be worshipped with infinite supply of money thrown at it.

PigletWasPoohsFriend · 02/05/2017 16:40

I think as a country we have to have an honest discussion about the NHS with all politics left at the door, whether Labour or Conservative.

It will never happen though.

Bodicea · 02/05/2017 16:40

I don't think it's in their manifesto to get rid of it and I don't agree with all they are doing.
But I was witness to the unforgivable amount of wasted money under labour.
It made me sick to my stomach at the time.
Labour is responsible for there being more non-clinical than clinical members of staff and for feathering the nests of management whilst making it harder for clinical staff to earn pay rises etc. My weekly hours increased under labour for the same amount of pay never to go back. They brought in agenda for change pay scales which are aimed at nurses and don't take into account the myriad of different professions and their different roles. They wasted goodness how much money on agency staff. I used to work 24 hour shifts under labour. It really wasn't all wonderful under labour as everyone makes out.

Soyamilkisniceintea · 02/05/2017 16:40

The problems are multiple and pivot around:

A dense population.
An ageing population
Health tourism
Specialist knowledge increases
Flu jabs!
Inadequate home care - 'bed blockers'

I don't think we necessarily have to adopt an American model. I think the NHS will continue to exist in one form or another. But, it will change, adapt, modify. I don't think that is a bad thing. I also suspect when assisted suicide is passed it will solve a number of problems.

purits · 02/05/2017 16:42

Excellent post scatter

Soyamilkisniceintea · 02/05/2017 16:43

Yes, it was a brilliant post :)

arethereanyleftatall · 02/05/2017 16:43

There's plenty of in between, between America and the current NHS.

PNGirl · 02/05/2017 16:44

I think it needs to be run better and overhauled. That said I just think... Would any party really risk the loss of votes that making people pay at the point of use would bring? I just can't see it. I know plenty of low-income Tory voters who normally vote for them because of their immigration policies.

DoctorDonnaNoble · 02/05/2017 16:45

Not sure why you have flu jabs there! It's much better for the NHS to pay for my injection than for me to be hospitalised (likely for asthma sufferers).