To think we should all just pay 1-2% income tax to help fix the nhs

[Ieatcake]

Lots of health professionals are saying it's like a third world country. We need more beds and more money for socialcare. Not many would even notice a tiny tax rise and it would help fix it ASAP.

Fines for inappropriate ambulance call outs? Fines for accessing A&E without a reference number from the NHS Direct service unless it's a genuine accident or emergency?

Pp(sorry can't scroll) is however correct about concessions for prescriptions.
I've never needed that though. I've had antibiotics a few times and it's been about $4.50 a course, which isn't much (for reference that's less than £3 and I earn a fair bit more here than I did in the UK so it's really not an issue for me)

But to my knowledge concessions/free prescriptions apply to low income earners, the elderly and a few other groups.

Agree with others that throwing money at the NHS isn't going to solve the core issue which is that we;re all getting older and living longer, and medicine has changed totally since the start of the NHS 70 years ago. The whole system needs a shake-up.

I think rather than charge for all GP appointments, we should charge for missed appointments. It doesn’t even need to be a big fee to have an impact.

In theory it's a good idea. (And I say that as someone who pays an extremely high amount of tax and goes private for everything - I think the NHS is so important for society that I would happily do that).

But in practice - no, not in its current state. It's a black hole and it needs a decent plan. I honestly think you could pump in 10% of people's salaries in extra tax and it still wouldn't fix it.

Creambun2 is being extremely naive in just blaming the tories. None of the governments have managed to keep up with the enormous changes needed for the NHS to evolve as medicine, society and population levels took enormous leaps.

It needs to be depoliticised. It needs a real overhaul. And it needs some unpopular changes to be made. Then it would NBU to ask for higher taxes to fund it.

More money is not the answer. Yes NHS could do with more but there are more fundamental issues that need to be fixed.
It’s not fit for purpose but it’s such a political hot potato that nobody will make the radical changes needed as they would face a massive backlash.
In my area proposed changes have been met with absolute outrage by the public and press, with demonstrations, rallies and even a song!!
The vast majority of people who object haven’t even read the proposals, which I believe will ultimately improve things for the long term

After listening to a friend who is a nurse last night, I don't think it will help at all.
I actually think privatising some areas and charging for certain services would help fund the emergency side. Breast enlargements for EG should be paid for all the time, only exceptions being reconstruction after an accident or illness. If you drink so much on a night out you need an ambulance, you should be charged the cost of that ambulance.

@husky - most of the UK population who live north of Watford doesn’t wait weeks for a GP appointment. In many cities infrastructure means most people can get seen when they need to be. In my little Buckinghamshire town we even get evening and weekend appointments. Some cities like Manchester and Coventry even pay for 3 IVF attempts. So yes the media have misrepresented to an extent - London is not the UK. Most of London’s issues stem from the fact that Doctors, GPs and nurses can no longer afford to live in or commute to London.

Prevention is better than cure. We could save the NHS billions if we did more to stop people getting fat.

Skin cancer is a ticking time bomb.

Ban foreign holidays. Ban sofas. Ban sugar. Ban cars. Ban TVs. Ban alcohol. Ban sports. Ban selfies. Etc.

When we have done all that ban the NHS because we will not need it.

We could save the NHS billions if we did more to stop people getting fat.

I’m sure I saw a news article that basically said just that. Increasing obesity levels and type 2 diabetes have helped push the NHS to breaking point and they should be looking at preventing these rather than just treating them. The same as they really push the “stop smoking” methods.

Comparing it to getting old is just daft. Getting old is natural, eating so much you are obese with all the health issues that brings with it is not.

And no, I’m not slim.

Even when I lived in a densely populated part of Sydney, I never waited in the waiting room at ER for more than 30 minutes. And many doctors still take walk-ins and can manage to get you a same-day appointment. The system is more effective, though I do wish that the $7 copayment got through Parliament, as it would've eliminated some of the unnecessary GP etc. appointments.

Getting old is natural. However, it seems getting infirm as you age is seen as preventable. Hence all the tips in how to prevent dementia / age related mobility issues etc.

Bu the tories want rid of the NHS.

It is being deliberately strangled so we don't care when it is finally ditched.
Those who can will have jumped ship to a private service and no one will bat an eyelid when the NHS is finally killed.

This recent article on the BBC shows that more money than ever before is being spent on the NHS even when adjusted for inflation. The first graph should be read carefully - ten times as much in real terms. We are spending roughly the average for the EU so are not underspending by any means. As a previous poster said Labour threw money at it and that did not fix the problems the answer is not to just spend more. The costs and outcomes vary greatly from hospital to hospital so a good start would be to promote best practise. We need an honest discussion about how we can improve the system without trying to score political points or virtue signalling.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-42572110

@Raving - okay, but just going on what I hear from relatives and friends all around the UK, the system is generally overloaded to breaking point in other areas (not just GP waits).

Our GP surgery has a number list of missed appointments each week. It was 246 last time I went. Isn't that ridiculous. What a waste of time when others can't get an appointment.

I think the NHS should stop wasting money too. I know of a few things that have happened locally where stuff was thrown out. At the very least it could have been re sold or even given away but it was thrown in a skip. In one instance it was equipment that was only a year old is nearly a thousand pound each to purchase and when it was decided another company would service the said item they only do their own so all the year old ones were thrown in a skip. These sell on eBay for about £ 7-800 second hand. Other health care professionals can use them. Why did it happen in the first place and why wasn't some money re couped by selling them. There is no reason they can't be resold. My friend who is looking for one was recently told this happened last year about 20 ditched!

We have been very impressed with the NHS when my husband was in for a couple of nights. The obesity issue is huge - I know MN people don’t believe it, in toward he was in most of the people were overweight and most of them where not evil ‘baby boomers’ but below retirement age. One had flown in from an African country for treatment - husband talked to him - he would never have contributed anything.

The practice I go to has 100 people per week not turn up for appointments and it is not a huge practice.

I think people should pay small amounts for GP appointments perhaps £20 at the time of booking they might turn up then.

You can’t compare Sydney to London. Totally different health structures and population sizes. And Australia has severe health inequalities similar to the US: www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/86/4/08-020408/en/

The government has plenty of money to improve the NHS if they wanted to do so. The problem is that they don’t want to.

We also need to be focussing a lot more on tackling the causes of many health problems not just patching up all the consequences.

Similar experience to me super
I was ill one morning, at 8am I was able to go online and book an appointment at a clinic for 11:15 got seen within 15 mins of arriving (including 10 mins of filling out forms because I'd never been there before - didn't have to register). Didn't have to pay a penny as I have a Medicare card and it was a bulk billing clinic. My experiences have always been similar. The healthcare I've received in rural north qld, less rural but not metro central qld and then Brisbane has all been amazing and free at the point of use. When DH had a heart attack (he's fine now) we were in central qld and i was so impressed with how excellent the care was.

I'm not sure if other states are the same as
I've only ever been in Queensland apart from a weekend away in Perth but I honestly cannot praise it highly enough.

The NHS was not set up to cater for so many people or to provide many of the services it now seems to offer so it doesn't matter how much money is thrown at it. It needs a complete overall with less administrators, people being charged for missed appointments and everyone proving they are eligible to use it before getting treatment, no unnecessary free cosmetic surgeries or procedures to increase the population.
Although I have generally always received good service from the NHS, I have recently received 3 letters reminding me to book an appointment for my OAP check even though I've already had mine for this year. A waste of resources and incompetence somewhere.

If the money is used primarily for social care, the NHS, SEN and disability, and legal aid, absolutely. But it needs to be accompanied by a massive tightening up on tax evasion and avoidance.

I think people should pay small amounts for GP appointments perhaps £20 at the time of booking they might turn up then.
And how are OAPs on state pension going to afford that?
The NHS needs a thorough review and a decimation of the management side - that would probably save enough money to pay for more staff on the ground.

quittoday thanks for that, early start for you at conservative party hq today?